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The Rake's Song Lyrics
I had entered into a marriage
In the summer of my twenty-first year And the bells rang for our wedding Only now do I remember it clear Alright, alright, alright No more a rake and no more a bachelor I was wedded and it whetted my thirst Until her womb start spilling out babies Only then did I reckon my curse Alright, alright, alright Alright, alright, alright First came Isaiah with his crinkled little fingers Then came Charlotte and that wretched girl Dawn Ugly Myfanwy died on delivery Mercifully taking her mother along Alright, alright, alright What can one do when one is widower Shamefully saddled with three little pests All that I wanted was the freedom of a new life So my burden I began to divest Alright, alright, alright Alright, alright, alright Charlotte I buried after feeding her foxglove Dawn was easy, she was drowned in the bath Isaiah fought but was easily bested Burned his body for incurring my wrath Alright, alright, alright And that's how I came your humble narrator To be living so easy and free Expect you think that I should be haunted But it never really bothers me Alright, alright, alright Alright, alright, alright
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10-27-2008
This is definitely one of The Decemberists' darker songs. Right up there with "The Culling of the Fold", "Mariner's Revenge Song", and "The Tain".
Although there is not a lot to read into this song. It is simply the tale of a bachelor unable and unwilling to adjust to a life of responsibility.
02-03-2009
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11-12-2008
it's Welsh
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01-16-2009
02-03-2009
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01-25-2009
It almost makes me feel guilty for dancing around to it, lol.
07-22-2009
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01-29-2009
but it's great
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01-31-2009
i was reading a book where the characters family disappears, listening to this at the same time and it was the most fitting soundtrack.
so haunting, but beautiful lyrics.
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02-03-2009
also, "starts" after "womb"
"a" before "wid'wer" (widower)
"that" after "Expect"
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02-04-2009
04-30-2009
08-12-2009
Condoms existed well back in the 15th century. Originally they were made from things like lamb intestines or turtle shell. The rubber condom came around in 1855 after rubber vulcanization was discovered.
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02-04-2009
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02-18-2009
If you listen to this song and pay attention to or even read all the lyrics, it's an AWESOME! song. The lyrics are hilariously twisted.
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03-12-2009
On with the literal/shameful interpretations. I love this song. For shits and giggles I will take my most generous liberties in this interpretation.
[New character is introduced, a guy known only as the Rake]
I got hitched
At 21
There were some wedding bells
I can actually remember it now (lot of booze that day, sorta hazy)
Alright, alright, alright
No longer a completely unhinged crazy bachelor dude
I was married and really wanted to have sex... like, a lot
Until she starts pumping out kids (wizard's sleeve)
Then I finally realized what an idiot I was for getting married at 21
Alright, alright, alright
Alright, alright, alright
First came Eziah with his crinkled little fingers
Then came Charlotte and that wretched girl Dawn
Ugly Myfanwy died while being popped out
And, thankfully, did me the service of also killing his mother at the same time. (two birds, one stone)
Alright! alright! alright!
What can you do when you don't have a wife anymore
and are stuck with three friggin' kids
All that I wanted was the freedom of a new life
So I began to offing the brats
Alright, now we are talking
Charlotte I buried after feeding her a poisonous flower
Dawn was easy, she was drowned in the bathtub
Eziah fought but still had weakly small child-muscles
Burned his body for pissing me off
Alright, alright, alright
And that's how I came your humble narrator
To be living so easy and free
You might think this would scar me
But that doesn't really happen when you are a sociopath like me
Alright!
[now with that pleasant back-story out of the way, let's get back to this main shindig with Margaret. I hear she hasn't been raped by any insane men/creatures in awhile...]
[Also, from previous personal song comment - I deduced based on cultural and natural clues that the country of setting was most likely Scandinavian. Now, with this song and the Welsh name Myfanwy, the exact country becomes a bit more puzzling. The idea of castles, the Welsh name and the feel of the album for me personally, point pretty specifically to England or Wales (United Kingdom area), but according to maps of tagia climate zones, they are not really present lower than Scandinavia. At the very least, I can, with conviction, cross off any tagia location in North America or Asia.]
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03-16-2009
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03-22-2009
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03-25-2009
I'm still listening through the whole story / album so I haven't figured out The Rake is the Narrator of the story exactly.
Still a great song - and the preceding Interlude is such a "sweet" juxtaposition.
08-12-2009
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03-30-2009
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04-04-2009
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04-09-2009
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04-12-2009
"The Rake's Song - Introduces the villain of the story, the Rake, who provides some background details of his life. The Rake was married at the age of 21, and was happy with it for a while, until his wife began having children, whom he despised. He had three children, Isaiah, Charlotte and Dawn. His fourth child, Myfanwy, died in childbirth along with her mother. With his wife gone, he began to desire a new life of freedom, but saw the children as a major obstacle. He killed Charlotte first, feeding her poisonous foxglove, then drowned Dawn in the bath, and finally went on to kill Isaiah. Isaiah tried to fight back, but was easily defeated by his father, who then burned his body as punishment. The Rake then tells us that his actions have never really bothered him and that he is not haunted by his actions. (This is a bit of dramatic irony because in The Hazards of Love 3 (Revenge!) his children will literally come back to haunt him.)"
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04-19-2009
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04-20-2009
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04-20-2009
So dark and disturbing.
What weirded me out is that I felt I had heard it before, at least the chorus 'alright, alright, alright'. I got a false memory of my dancing around to it at a younger age without knowing the lyrics. Then I looked it up and realized it was only just released.
Freaky song.
It's funny because in class right now we are talking about Hogarth's 18th century art series depicting 'The Rake's Progress' - the process by which a young man becomes a rake - a vagabond, scoundrel, etc.
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05-02-2009
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05-06-2009
05-24-2009
For one, she could be referring the the soil he was laying on, which might well have a lot of clay. There's also a chance that she means a literal cradle made from clay, but I don't think that's terribly likely. What I think the the most likely interpretation is his body - Genesis describes Adam being formed from clay, and clay is often used as a metaphor for human flesh.
05-29-2009
08-03-2009
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05-19-2009
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06-24-2009
11-30-2009
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