This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
With all the grain of Babylon
To cultivate, to make us strong
And hidden here behind the walls
Are shoulders wide and timber on
'Til the war came
'Til the war came
A terrible autonomy
Has grafted onto you and me
Our trust put in the government
They told their lies as heaven-sent
'Til the war came
'Til the war came
And the war came with a curse and a caterwaul
And the war came with all the poise of a cannonball
And they're picking out our eyes by coal and candlelight
When the war came, the war came hard
We made our oath to Vavilov
We'd not betray the solanum
The acres of asteraceae
To our own pangs of starvation
When the war came
When the war came
And the war came with a curse and a caterwaul
And the war came with all the poise of a cannonball
And they're picking out our eyes by coal and candlelight
When the war came, the war came hard
With all the grain of Babylon
With all the grain of Babylon (with all the grain of Babylon)
With all the grain of Babylon (with all the grain of Babylon)
With all the grain of Babylon (with all the grain of Babylon)
With all the grain of Babylon (with all the grain of Babylon)
With all the grain of Babylon (with all the grain of Babylon)
With all the grain of Babylon (with all the grain of Babylon)
With all the grain of Babylon
To cultivate, to make us strong
And hidden here behind the walls
Are shoulders wide and timber on
'Til the war came
'Til the war came
A terrible autonomy
Has grafted onto you and me
Our trust put in the government
They told their lies as heaven-sent
'Til the war came
'Til the war came
And the war came with a curse and a caterwaul
And the war came with all the poise of a cannonball
And they're picking out our eyes by coal and candlelight
When the war came, the war came hard
We made our oath to Vavilov
We'd not betray the solanum
The acres of asteraceae
To our own pangs of starvation
When the war came
When the war came
And the war came with a curse and a caterwaul
And the war came with all the poise of a cannonball
And they're picking out our eyes by coal and candlelight
When the war came, the war came hard
With all the grain of Babylon
With all the grain of Babylon (with all the grain of Babylon)
With all the grain of Babylon (with all the grain of Babylon)
With all the grain of Babylon (with all the grain of Babylon)
With all the grain of Babylon (with all the grain of Babylon)
With all the grain of Babylon (with all the grain of Babylon)
With all the grain of Babylon (with all the grain of Babylon)
With all the grain of Babylon
Lyrics submitted by toadtws, edited by SlowestRunner
When the War Came Lyrics as written by Colin Meloy
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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From an interview from Pitchfork:
"The last great book I read was Hunger by Elise Blackwell. It’s about the siege of Leningrad in World War II, and there was a botanical institute. During the siege, which lasted a long time, the entire population were starving, but all of the botanists in the institute swore themselves to protect the catalog of seeds and plants and things, from not only a starving population, but also from themselves. It’s pretty amazing. I actually ended up writing "When the War Came", a song on the new record, about that."
I found out through my English Professor, Elise Blackwell, that her book Hunger was the basis of this song. She said that this is her only claim to coolness that the Decemberists wrote this song about her book, but she also said she did not enjoy the song very much. I personally enjoy the song and feel that it is obviously about the book, but the references are hard to understand unless you have read the book.
Vavilov refers to Nikolai Vavilov who was a prominent botanist and geneticist who created the largest collection of plants and seeds in the world
Vavilov refers to Nikolai Vavilov who was a prominent botanist and geneticist who created the largest collection of plants and seeds in the world
So, not everyone is allowed to "rock-out", and should stick to one type of music? I'll bet you didn't like "Perfect Crime #2" either because it sounded too disco-y, right? If you want to hear more of the old Decemberists, then listen to the old Decemberists. If they kept producing the same music over and over, would you be satisfied?
badass.
badass, indeed.
This reminds me of a led zepplin song...believe it or not
Well...it's alright. I prefer their older sound to this new, more....rock-y sort.
I prefer the older sound, too. This isn't nearly as good.
After finding out about the song's source material, I think I might pick up Hunger. I have to admit I do like the "With all the grain of Babylon" line.