The Decemberists – Sons and Daughters

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  General Comment:its about overcoming the futility of our own existence and creating a new life in the shadows of those who came before.

  Flag paradoxleoon April 10, 2013   Link

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    we are the sons and daughters.

    Flag paradoxleoon April 10, 2013  
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  General Comment:To me it seems like it's about a regiment in an army. Sons and daughters of the country. Make our homes on the water, breeching a shore. Take up arms, by land by sea by dirigible, and arise from the bunker all seem very military. Leaving tracks untraceable, they don't want to be followed.
  
  Here all the bombs fade away, looking forward to thr end of the war.
  

  Flag Warjikinon August 13, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:I also like to think this song is about a nuclear apocalypse.
  It always makes me think of the Fallout series.
  
  When we arrive (from the fallout shelters)
  Sons ans Daughters (future generations)
  We'll make out homes on the bunkers (left over from the nuclear war)
  Aluminum shanty walls to build homes from
  Cinnamon I'm actually rather confused on, but after some research I found that cinnamon is a preservative that isn't strongly affected by radiation.
  It could also just be because filling your mouth with cinnamon causes you to choke and gag, implying that these post-holocaust survivors would want to kill themselves.
  
  By land by sea etc are all ways armies might invade
  Our tracks are untraceable meaning the signs of humanity are not gone.
  
  
  This is just a theory though.
  It's probably about post WWII England.
  

  Flag Starsybyllon June 06, 2011   Link

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  My Interpretation:Fridge Brilliance about this song says the following. The lyrics are intentionally anachronistic. There is no single time period where aluminum was a precious metal, and when cinnamon had the same value as gold, and when people traveled by dirigible and feared bombs. The song is not meant to represent any single time period. Rather, it is meant to gather the hopes and optimism of all the pilgrims and pioneers through many different time periods. The idea of escaping some horror and moving on to a new land and creating a better life is a recurrent theme throughout human history. This song is about all those people, not just any one particular set. The last several choruses of the song are sung as a round to further emphasize this point. As the song of one set of pilgrims progresses and fades away, a new song from a new set comes in and renews the hope.

  Flag TV4Funon January 08, 2011   Link

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    This. Perfect evaluation of this song, IMHO.

    Flag marcuserroniuson September 15, 2012  
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  Lyric Correction:I think the line:
  Until tides are pulled, hold your ground
  should be:
  'Til tides all[?] pull our hull aground

  Flagged treanton July 03, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:oh, and i forgot (oh no, more!)- "Take up your arms" makes me think of all these different groups and how they were at some point usually willing to give their lives to protect the place they now called home.

  Flag unraveledpoeton June 20, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:I feel like this song is a story of Americans and the journey that many different groups of people have made in coming to this country, and they eventually make up the "Sons and Daughters" of America. It is definitely about starting anew and being hopeful about the future, and it really traces the journey of many different groups- for example, Christopher Columbus in search of the new world and an exotic location but ended up here instead of India ("we'll fill our mouths with cinnamon"), or Colonists escaping from England ("we'll make our homes on the water"), or the thousands of immigrant groups that left "in dirigibles" or by setting sail across an open ocean not knowing what lied ahead, only knowing that they were leaving the ravages of war in their homeland behind to start a new and better life. It has a "historic" feeling, maybe by their use of "take up your arms," which makes me think of the Civil War era. ....or, to sum it up really shortly (hah!), this is an amazing song that can really move you.

  Flag unraveledpoeton June 20, 2010   Link

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  My Interpretation:No one's pointed out that at one point, aluminum was a metal more precious than gold, and cinnamon was a currency in some parts of the world. "Escapist anthem" is the clearest meaning behind this, that's all; 'go forth from your unfortunate life and start anew here where we can live like kings, living in houses of gold and eating money.' ... figuratively.

  Flag lilichenon June 14, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:I know it says 'we'll fill our mouths with cinnamon now', but sometimes it sounds like it says 'we'll fill our mouths with cinnamon, nom' as in nom nom nom :P

  Flag LovesBeatleson March 22, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:what a nice album.

  Flag girlfrombarcelonaon February 22, 2010   Link

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