Named both in reference to the Russian Decembrist Revolt (they use the national anthem of the Soviet Union as an introduction at many concerts) and to the atmosphere associated with the month of December, the Decemberists write songs that range from upbeat pop to instrumentally lush ballads. They often employ instruments like the accordion, Hammond organ, Wurlitzer organ, and upright bass. In their lyrics, they eschew the angst and introspection common to modern rock, instead favoring a storytelling approach, as evidenced in songs such as "My Mother Was a Chinese Trapeze Artist" from the 5 Songs EP and "The Mariner's Revenge Song" on Picaresque. Their songs convey tales ranging from whimsical ("Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect") to epic ("The Tain") to truly dark ("Odalisque"). They often invoke historical events and themes from around the world. Early in their career, The Decemberists' musical and lyrical aesthetics frequently prompted critics to compare them to Neutral Milk Hotel. Since their debut, their sound has undergone a consistent evolution, most notably in the direction of progressive rock with a strong folk influence, though they have also been described as indie rock and, by Stephen Colbert, as "hyper-literate prog rock." For example, one song, "When the War Came", uses a little-known story from the Siege of Leningrad to describe the heroism of civilian scientists during warfare. The lyrics state: "We made our oath to Vavilov / We'd not betray the solanum / The acres of asteraceae / To our own pangs of starvation". Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov was a Russian botanist whose laboratory, a seedbank containing 200,000 types of plant seeds, many of them edible, was preserved throughout the siege, during which hundreds of thousands of people died.
In March 2005, the Decemberists were reportedly the first band to distribute a music video via BitTorrent -- the self-produced "16 Military Wives" (from Picaresque). That same month, the band's equipment trailer was stolen; fans contributed to a replacement fund, and another fund-raiser was organized via an eBay auction, with buyers bidding for copies of Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey and original art work by Carson Ellis. They also received help from Lee Kruger, The Shins, The Dandy Warhols and other musicians. The Martin Guitar Company offered six- and twelve-string guitars on permanent loan. In early April, police discovered the trailer in Clackamas, Oregon, and a fair amount of the band's merchandise, but the instruments and equipment were not recovered.
On 12 December 2005, Meloy revealed to Pitchfork Media that they had signed to Capitol Records, and planned to begin recording their major label debut with producers Tucker Martine and Chris Walla, of Death Cab for Cutie fame, in April 2006. The Decemberists' first album on Capitol, and their first major label debut, The Crane Wife, was released on 3 October 2006. The release was accompanied by an appearance the same day on the world-wide syndicated TV talk show Late Night with Conan O'Brien when the track "O Valencia!" was performed. The Decemberists began their tour in support of The Crane Wife, with The Rout of the Patagons Tour, on 17 October 2006, at Portland, Oregon's Crystal Ballroom. Their opening act was Lavender Diamond. Later on in the tour, Alasdair Roberts opened for the band.
In July 2007 the Decemberists set out on a five-date tour with a full orchestral accompaniment. On 7 July, the tour put the group on the stage of the historic Hollywood Bowl for the first time in their career, and they were joined by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. On 15 July the group performed with The Mann Festival Orchestra at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They then played a free concert in Chicago, Ilinois, at the recently developed Millennium Park with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra. In September 2007 they also played at Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin, Texas.
In October 2007, they began The Long and Short of It Tour. However, having completed the European portion of the tour and immediately after playing the Chicago dates, the rest of the tour was canceled due to illness.
On 24 March 2009, the band released The Hazards of Love, their fifth album. The album's first single, "The Rake's Song", was made available for free on the band's website. The album featured guest appearances from My Brightest Diamond, Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond, Robyn Hitchcock and Jim James. The album peaked at #14 on the Billboard 200.
On 11 January 2011, the band released their sixth album The King is Dead. The band released the first single "Down by the Water" for free on their website. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States and is the highest charting album in the band's career. The second single, "This Is Why We Fight" was released on January 25, 2011.
There is another band with the same name:
(2). The Decemberists formed in Liverpool in 1984 when Andy Ford and Tom Gent from Swim Naked hooked up with Colin Pennington, who had just left The Tunnel Users. They played their first show at The Cavern in 1985 and then played extensively in their home city. After recording demo tapes which attracted attention from BBC Radio 1's John Peel and Rough Trade Records, they secured a residency at University Of London Union (ULU). Their first release was James Is (Still The Same) on the Discreet Campaigns compilation cassette tape alongside New Order and Cocteau Twins. After the appearance of Gift Horse on the Ways To Wear Coats compilation LP in 1987, the band changed their name to Hellfire Sermons.
James Is (Still The Same) was included on The Sound Of Leamington Spa Volume 6 in 2009. They are listed as ‘The Decemberists Of Liverpool 1985-87’ on this album to make a distinction from the famous 21st century group of the same name.
Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect
The Decemberists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I marched the streets of Birkenau
And I recall in spring
The perfume that the air would bring
To the indolent town
Where the barkers call the moon down
The carnival was ringing loudly now
And just to lay with you
Save lay my rifle down
And try one, and try two
I guess it always comes down to
Alright, it's okay
Guess it's better to turn this way
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey
And I am nothing of a builder
But here I dreamt I was an architect
And I built this balustrade
To keep you home, to keep you safe
From the outside world
But the angles and the corners
Even though my work is unparalleled
They never seemed to meet
This structure fell about our feet
And we were free to go
And try one, and try two
Guess it always comes down to
Alright, okay
Guess it's better to turn this way
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey
And here in Spain I am a Spaniard
I will be buried with my marionettes
Countess and courtesan
Have fallen 'neath my tender hand
When their husbands were not around
But you, my soiled teenage girlfriend
Oh, while you furrow like the lioness
And we are vagabonds
We travel without seat belts on
To live this close to death
And try one, and try two
I guess it always comes down to
Alright, it's okay
Guess it's better to turn this
But I won, so you lose
Guess it always comes down to
Alright, it's okay
Guess it's better to turn this way
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey
The song "Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect" by The Decemberists talks about a series of dreams that the singer experiences where he takes on different roles and personas. In the first verse, he dreams of being a soldier marching the streets of Birkenau, a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. He remembers the sweet smell of spring in contrast to the horrors of the camp. He mentions a carnival ringing loudly and the barkers calling the moon down, depicting the surrealness of the situation. The only thing he desires is to be with his loved one, but his rifle symbolizes his duty and responsibility.
In the second verse, the singer dreams of being an architect but admits that he is nothing of a builder in reality. He built a balustrade as a security measure to protect his loved one from the outside world. However, even though he created the structure with meticulous effort, it still collapsed, and they were both free to go. This collapse symbolizes the inevitable fallibility of human efforts.
In the third verse, the singer imagines himself to be a Spaniard in Spain, where he has a tendency to dominate women (countesses and courtesans) while their husbands are away. However, he seems to be truly in love with his teenage girlfriend, who has a bold personality but is also vulnerable. He describes them as vagabonds traveling without seat belts to live close to death, which suggests their adventurous and careless way of living.
Overall, the song touches upon themes of love, power, and the limitations of human efforts. It highlights the complexities of human emotions and desires that can play out in our dreams and imaginations.
Line by Line Meaning
And here I dreamt I was a soldier
In my dream, I was a soldier
And I marched the streets of Birkenau
I walked the streets of Birkenau in my dream
And I recall in spring
I remembered the springtime in my dream
The perfume that the air would bring
The fragrance that the wind carried
To the indolent town
To the lazy city
Where the barkers call the moon down
Where the carnival people beckon the moon
The carnival was ringing loudly now
The carnival was very noisy
And just to lay with you
To be with you intimately
There's nothing that I wouldn't do
I would do anything
Save lay my rifle down
Except put my weapon down
And try one, and try two
Trying again and again
Guess it always comes down to
It seems to always end up that
Alright, it's okay
Everything's fine
Guess it's better to turn this way
Maybe it's better to change direction
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey
And I am nothing of a builder
I'm not skilled at construction
But here I dream I was an architect
But in my dream, I was a skilled architect
And I built this balustrade
I built a balustrade
To keep you home, to keep you safe
To keep you secure and protected at home
From the outside world
Away from the world outside
But the angles and the corners
However, the angles and corners
Even though my work is unparalelled
Despite my work being unmatched
They never seemed to meet
They never came together
This structure fell about our feet
The structure fell apart around us
And we were free to go
And we were liberated
And here in Spain I am a Spaniard
Now I'm a Spaniard in Spain
I will be buried with my marionettes
My puppets will be buried with me
Countess and courtesan
Noblewoman and mistress
Have fallen 'neath my tender hand
Have been captivated by me
When their husbands were not around
When their husbands were absent
But you, my soiled teenage girlfriend
But you, my stained teenage girlfriend
Oh how you furrow like a lioness
How you frown like a lioness
And we are vagabonds
We are wanderers
We travel without seat belts on
We travel without seat belts fastened
To live this close to death
Living dangerously close to death
But I won, so you lose
But I emerged victorious, so you lost
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Colin Meloy
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jmlavergne4629
Here I dreamt I was a soldier,
and I marched the streets of Birkenau.
And I recall, in spring,
the perfume that the air would bring
to the indolent town.
.
Where the barkers called the moon down,
the carnival was ringing loudly, now.
And just to lay with you
there's nothing that I wouldn't do,
save lay my rifle down.
And try one,
and try two.
I guess it always comes down to:
Alright, it's okay.
Guess it's better to turn this way.
And am nothing of a builder,
but here I dreamt I was an architect
and I built this balustrade
to keep you home, to keep you safe
from the outside world.
.
But the angles and the corners,
though my work is unparalleled,
they never seem to meet.
The structure fell about our feet
and we were free to go.
And try one,
and try two.
I guess it always comes down to:
Alright. Okay.
Guess it's better to turn this way.
And here in Spain, I am a Spaniard.
I will be buried with my marionettes.
Countess and courtesan
have fallen 'neath my tender hand
when their husbands were not around.
.
And you, my soiled teenage girlfriend:
Oh, are you furrowed like a lioness?
And we are vagabonds.
We travel without seatbelts on.
We live this close to death.
And try one,
and try two.
I guess it always comes down to:
Alright, it's okay.
Guess it's better to turn this...
.
But I won, so you lose.
Guess it always comes down to:
Alright, it's okay.
Guess it's better to turn this way.
@greenwave819
Lyrics:
And here I dreamt I was a soldier
And I marched the streets of Birkenau
And I recall in spring, the perfume that the air would bring to the indolent town
Where the barkers called the moon down
The carnival was ringing loudly now
And just to lay with you, there's nothing that I wouldn't do
Save lay my rifle down
And try one, and try two
Guess it always comes down to
Alright, it's okay
Guess it's better to turn this way
And I am nothing of a builder
But here I dreamt I was an architect
And I built this balustrade to keep you home
To keep you safe from the outside world
But the angles and the corners
Even though my work is unparalleled
They never seemed to meet
The structure fell about our feet, and we were free to go
And try one, and try two
Guess it always comes down to
Alright, it's okay
Guess it's better to turn this way
And here in Spain, I am a Spaniard
I will be buried with my marionettes
Countess and courtesan have fallen 'neath my tender hand
When their husbands were not around
But, you're my soiled teenage girlfriend
While you furrow like a lioness
And we are vagabonds
We travel without seat belts on and live this close to death
And try one, and try two
I guess it always comes down to
Alright, it's okay
Guess it's better to turn this
But I won, so you lose
Guess it always comes down to
Alright, it's okay
Guess it's better to turn this way
@mcortezwriter
here i dreamt i was an english major
and i listened to decemberists
or, wait--maybe:
here i dreamt i was in grad school
and i listened to decemberists
and i recall in spring the black horn rims
and skinny jeans
i'd wear to seminar
@killrockstars
Check out more Decemberists videos here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBCC225F6600DC838
@dustynuggets22
How depressing
@MangekyoSharingan313
"Robin took a long walk, that night. She thought about how opening yourself up to another person usually means opening yourself up to going a little crazy; she thought about how much easier it was just to be alone. And then she came to see me.
@CLuvTravels
That dialogue followed by this song.....great moment
@codelicious6590
How much easier it is to simply open yourself up to going a little crazy, the rest follows naturally.
@blueinstagram3951
This song is perfect.... The sound and lyrics combine to create a medley of nostalgia, happiness, and sorrow at the same time.
@lucillenegan
Ted Mosby, Architect
@user-vh4yi8yy3g
That would never work
@CLuvTravels
Hah, amazing story, as per use
@codelicious6590
Ah...wait for it..