The Decemberists – The Island: Come and See; The Landlord's Daughter; You'll Not Feel the Drowning

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Come and See

There's an island hidden in the sound
Lapping currents lay your boat aground
Affix your barb and bayonet
The curlews carve their arabesques
And sorrow fills the silence all around
Come and see

There's a harbor lost within the reeds
A jetty caught in overhanging trees
Among the bones of cormorants
No boot-mark here nor fingerprint
The rivers roll down to a soundless sea
Come and see
Come and see

The tides all come and go
Witnessed by no waking eye
The willows mark the wind
And all we know for sure
Amidst this fading light
We'll not go home again
Come and see
Come and see

In the lowlands, nestled in the heath
A briar-cradle rocks its babe to sleep
Its contents watched by Sycorax
And Patagon in parallax
A foretold rumbling sounds below the deep
Come and see
Come and see

The tides all come and go
Witnessed by no waking eye
The willows mark the wind
And all we know for sure
Amidst this fading light
We'll not go home again
Come and see
Come and see

The Landlord's Daughter

As I was a-ramble
Down by the water
I spied in sable
The landlord's daughter
I produced my pistol, then my saber
Said, "Make no whistle or thou will be murdered!"

She cursed, she shivered
She cried for mercy
"My gold and silver if thou will release me!"

"I'll take no gold, miss, I'll take no silver
But I'll take those sweet lips, and thou will deliver!"

You'll Not Feel the Drowning

I will dress your eyelids
With dimes upon your eyes
Laying close to water
Green your grave will rise
Go to sleep, little ugly
Go to sleep, you little fool
Forty-winking in the belfry
You'll not feel the drowning
You'll not feel the drowning

Forget you once had sweethearts
They've forgotten you
Think you not on parents
They've forgotten too
Go to sleep now, little ugly
Go to sleep now, you little fool
Forty-winking in the belfry
You'll not feel the drowning
You'll not feel the drowning

Go to sleep, little ugly
Go to sleep, little fool
Forty-winking in the belfry
You'll not feel the drowning
You'll not feel the drowning

Hear you now the captain
Heed his sorrowed cry
Weight upon your eyelids
Is dimes laid on your eyes

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Lyrics submitted by Nodima


The Island: Come and See; The Landlord's Daughter; You'll Not Feel the Drowning song meanings
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  • 0
    My Opinion:You'll not feel the drowning is about a sailor who died. They are throwing him off the ship. And although they know he was a bad person, he was their friend. The dimes upon his eyes are probably actual dimes, maybe a tradition on that ship?
    Flag brisingr47on May 19, 2013   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:While I completely agree with this song being a condensed version of Shakespeare's The Tempest, I'd also like to point out that "The Landlord's Daughter" follows the line of a number of 18th and 19th century ballads, such as Whiskey In The Jar (I first produced me pistol/And I then produced me rapier/Saying "Stand and Deliver"/For he were a bold deceiver) and False Sir John/May Colven (which has an impossible number of versions, all of which involve a ruffian of some sort attempting to rape and/or murder a young woman by the sea: Until they come to a lonesome part/A rock by the side of the sea/"Leap off the steed"/Says False Sir John/"Your bridal bed you see/For it's seven ladies I have drowned/And the eighth one you shall be").

    Also 'I'll take no gold, miss, I'll take no silver' reminds of the Medieval ballad of Death & The Lady (which also has many, many versions, including the song "O Death") in which the woman offers riches only to be told 'no wealth, no ruin, no silver, no gold, nothing satisfies me but your soul'.

    It seems to me that Colin had fun mixing The Tempest with old ballad themes, which it's clear he has a fondness for (Mariner's Revenge, anyone?)

    Just my thoughts. Cheers!
    Flag MitreSquareMurderon March 25, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:While it is tempting to simply believe they are three unrelated lyrics, I have a hard time with that the way the piece is titled. So, my interpretation is:

    Sailors discover an unmolested and beautiful island and go ashore
    One sailor exploring, comes across the landlord's daughter
    After finishing with her he drowns her near the shoreline

    I explain the "little ugly" part as her appearance after being beaten. All swollen and purplish. And her being "a fool" for having resisted him. He is telling her "You'll not feel the drowning" as something he heard from his captain that sailors do when they know the ship is going down and he is almost mockingly whispering to her, like a lullaby as he drowns her, this advise.
    Flag warrencon7001on February 09, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:With the last two lines of "You'll Not Feel the Drowning", I feel like it when it says "Weight upon your eyelids" it is going along with the "go to sleep". You know, like eyelids being heavy when you are fighting sleep. And then with "Is dimes laid on your eyes" it would be talking about death, given the already established coins on eyes = after-death tradition. So in my opnion, that section is saying that death is not worth fighting, so one should just go to sleep to make the inevitable more bearable
    Flag Krayonkingon June 28, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:agree with oj slider about the floyd sound awesome song and album the decemberists and colin meloy is the best singer songwriter going around these days
    Flag garrarnooon June 10, 2011   Link
  • 0
    Lyric Correction:I just listened to it three times through, and here we are...

    -You'll Not Feel the Drowning-

    I will dress your eyelids
    With dimes upon your eyes
    Laying close to water
    Green your grave will rise
    Go to sleep now, little ugly
    Go to sleep now, you little fool
    Forty-winking in the belfry
    You'll not feel the drowning
    You'll not feel the drowning

    Forget you once had sweethearts
    They've forgotten you
    Think you not on parents
    They've forgotten too
    Go to sleep now, little ugly
    Go to sleep now, you little fool
    Forty-winking in the belfry
    You'll not feel the drowning
    You'll not feel the drowning

    Go to sleep now, little ugly
    Go to sleep now, you little fool
    Forty-winking in the belfry
    You'll not feel the drowning
    You'll not feel the drowning

    Hear you now the captain
    Heed his sorrowed cry
    The weight upon your eyelids
    Is dimes laid on your eyes
    Flag Makazeon March 18, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Oh shoot! I'm sorry to keep commenting, but I just realized, Caliban was a giant right? So that's probably who they're talking about when they say Patagon!
    Flag reubencoon December 25, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:After reading "The Highwayman" and a summary of "The Tempest" again, I don't think the Highwayman connection is much more than an homage in calling her "the landlord's daughter", just a little connection between two totally different rape victims. But I think the story and this particular girl is all Miranda from the Tempest, not the actual landlord's daughter.
    Flag reubencoon December 25, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:One more thing. I don't think the Japanese theme really does carry through "The Crane Wife". "Shankill Butchers", for example, is about murderers in Northern Ireland. And this one, it's about exploration and, without knowing too many specifics of Japanese history, that could be plausible. But the giveaway is the mention of "bayonets". The Japanese lived a lot of their history without the use of firearms, so bayonets would have been an irrelevant concept to them.
    Flag reubencoon December 25, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Also, I just checked out "The Highwayman". It's an amazing poem. It's funny how I love pretty much everything that Colin Meloy uses as inspiration.
    Flag reubencoon December 25, 2010   Link

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