Lyrics for A Cautionary Song as interpreted by Hunter

A Cautionary Song Lyrics
There's a place your mother goes
When everybody else is soundly sleeping
Through the lights of Beacon Street
And if you listen you can hear her weeping
She's weeping because the gentlemen are calling
And the snow is softly falling on her petticoats
And she's standing in the harbor
And she's waiting for the sailors in the jolly boat
See how they approach?

With dirty hands and trousers torn
They grapple until she's safe within their keeping
A gag is placed between her lips
To keep her sorry tongue from any speaking, or screaming
And they row her out to packets
Where the sailor's sorry racket calls for maidenhead
And she's scarce above the gunwales
When her clothes fall to a bundle
And she's laid in bed on the upper deck

And so she goes from ship to ship
Her ankles clasped, her arms so rudely pinioned
Until at last she's satisfied
The lot of the marina's teaming minions
And their opinions
And they tell her not to say a thing
To cousin, kindred, kith, or kin, or she'll end up dead
And they throw her thirty dollars and return her to the harbor
Where she goes to bed, and this is how you're fed

So be kind to your mother
Though she may seem an awful bother
And the next time she tries to feed you collard greens
Remember what she does when you're asleep

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duckadooz
06-15-2004

Rated 0 
this song is about prostitution, a little obvious. it's got an appropriate accordian part that adds very nicely to the song. props to the decemberists for being so bold as to sing about this time frame and so on. it's a cool song, either you love it or you don't

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1 Reply
lovemotionstory
06-22-2004

Rated 0 
this song is so clever, i love it!
"remember what she does when you're asleep."

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knowthyself
07-05-2004

Rated +1 
"Backed by the incessant thumping of an accordion, an age-old Bostonian tale of harlotry and self-renunciation is woven. The story begins with a down-and-out mother standing in the harbor, awaiting the rowboat that will take her to the 'jolly boat' where she is paid to please the ruttish sailors. There is an exceptional drawing in the liner notes of the mother coyly looking off to the side as a burly brute of a man rows her out. She is bound and gagged before she is hoisted upon the ship, where the men are itching for virginal satisfaction. She is passed along from boat to boat until--not she, but they--are content. They toss her a paltry wad of money and admonish her before dumping her back at the harbor. The meaning behind the song's title is made known in the final lines urging meticulous young children to be appreciative of their guardians’ breadwinning."


http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=43

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bitter_strings
12-18-2004

Rated 0 
this song is amazing
"remember what she does when you're alseep"
it's reality.

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thegreatcreator
02-01-2005

Rated 0 
great lyrics..one of my favorites from them

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tps12
03-11-2005

Rated 0 
One thing I like about the Decemberists is that they put really horrible stuff in their lyrics without trivializing them. One thing I hate is that the fans don't often get the "without trivializing" part. At one show, I heard frat boys laugh at this song. What is wrong with you lunatics?

Colin needs to either stop writing about rape (the new album has at least one rape song) or start lecturing audience members who make light of the subject.

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justinetherese
03-19-2005

Rated 0 
can't believe somebody actually laughed at this song. i cried when i listened for the first time. colin makes you feel sorry even it's not your problem at all. he sounds like he's also underestimating his sorrow, sings like he's saying "you can't get it, but i'm gonna tell you anyway."

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MorrisStephenson
03-29-2005

Rated +1 
I think you guys might be taking the song a little bit too seriously.

Forgive me for sounding insensitive, but I interpret songs like this, as well as they're latest "The Mariner's Revenge Song" as an emulation and depiction of music and subject matter of 18th century-esque pirate and 'sea-dog' music.

I just got a light hearted 'story teller' vibe from these songs, and I can't help but giggle at this song when he says "Remember what she does when you're asleep".

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lost_in_twlight
04-06-2005

Rated 0 
ha, ha, your mom is a whore. but it sucks. and this song is very funny and light, i agree with morrisstephenson, guys it's funny.

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tps12
04-13-2005

Rated 0 
Right, MorrisStephenson, but the whole point I think is to draw attention to the bizarre contrast between what sounds like a light-hearted song with its pretty nauseating subject matter. You laugh at the end because that's where the point is made most cuttingly. I'm talking about people laughing at the graphic rape scenes, which only makes sense if you are an actual pirate.

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megggan
06-13-2005

Rated 0 
I think the mention of collard greens is pretty silly and gives me an image of a young boy looking at his mother in a whole new light after finding out that she's a whore.

another good line is "the lot of the marina's teeming minions (in their opinions)" which makes me giggle to imagine sailors boosting their egos by imagining their fleet to be something spectacular.

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Waves Of Delusion
08-27-2005

Rated 0 
My mom liked this song and so she made me play it for her, and she came to immediately conclusion it was about prostituition. I had never put much thought to it.

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angelsandangles
09-17-2005

Rated 0 
this song is amazing i love it

"remember what she does when your asleep"

awesome

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angelsandangles
09-17-2005

Rated 0 
this song is amazing i love it

"remember what she does when your asleep"

awesome

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benfoldsxox
12-22-2005

Rated 0 
i think its hard to decide if this is about rape or prostitution:
rape-"with dirty hands and trousers torn they grapple 'til she's safe within their keeping
a gag is placed between her lips to keep her sorry tongue from any speaking, or screaming"
prostitution-"and they throw her thirty dollars and return her to the habor where she goes to bed, and this is how your fed"

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Triangle Man
12-28-2005

Rated 0 
Your mom's a whore. :P

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necroGL
12-28-2005

Rated 0 
wow how old is that guy?

I just love the accordians it gives it such a sea shanty feel to it.

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TheDictionary
12-31-2005

Rated 0 
Benfoldsxoxo (love the name, by the way):

It's definitely about prostitution. If it were rape, why would the song allude to the fact that she does this on a regular basis? Prostitution is willingly giving your body for money, so whether or not she is tied up and moved around as if she were cargo, the point is that she does this intentionally and for a sole purpose.

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JeffKaos71
01-10-2006

Rated 0 
You don't think prostitutes get raped? They do on a regulare basis and they usually go right back out on the corner despite the danger.

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JeffKaos71
01-10-2006

Rated 0 
If they forced her do anything she didn't want to do, its Rape!

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b.chroneos
01-22-2006

Rated +1 
I don't think rape is the subject, especially given the point at the end that she is making money for a reason, namely to feed herself and her family, and the elements that make one think of rape, are just bluntly descriptive elements to what she has to do to make that money.

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Formenotyo
01-22-2006

Rated 0 
I think it is about alot of things. Prostitution, Motherly Love, Mans need to Dominate, and Humiliation. She makes money buy selling her body. The gag and tie part is not rape it is just showing males need to dominate to prove they are better. that also goes along with humiliation. Then the motherly love is her willingness to do anything to provide for her children. That is what i see at least.

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atzero06
01-26-2006

Rated 0 
This is a damn good song. At the very end of the song after "remember what she does when you're asleep," if you turn the volume a bit high, you can hear something being whispered. Can anyone make out what he says.

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n00t
01-28-2006

Rated +1 
I think this song is much more tongue-in-cheek than a lot of people seem to think. I see it much more as an elaborate lie told by maybe a nanny or a grandmother or something to get a young child to appreciate the food they're given better. I think the more graphic the more effective it would be in this case, and this song is graphic to the point that it's over-the-top. It's obviously being told to a child (who else would be so upset about their mother telling them to eat collard greens). It's more than likely false due to the fact that she only does it when everyone's sleeping and she's told not to tell anyone she knows what she does (stipulations which would silence questions about why she hadn't mentioned any of this before). I personally love the song.

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1 Reply
lizziew
02-01-2006

Rated 0 
colin meloy just did a solo tour and during the boston show he said that the inspiration came from his ex-girlfriends mother. "Not that she was a prostitute or anything... I think she worked at a bank or something" Anyway, he said he got Beacon Street out of the fact she was from boston, and it developed from tehre

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