I never thought the death imagery was quite literal. death like, eh, quickly killing off the days of summer, summer's own death, things (like the romance) coming to an end in general. Slipping into a grave, slipping to sleep, all of that indicates a kind of peacefulness and sense of eternity, which will strike anyone who has laid in the embrace of a romantic interest (or maybe just me) as pretty familiar. I agree with an earlier comment: the song is like "Summer Nights" in Grease, with that sweet, sad rememberance of a summer romance.
I must disagree with anyone who thinks that the decemberists are losing their lyrical edge. There was a great deal of complex, intellectual word choice in songs like "coccoon" on previous albums that now seems to be disappearing. Such words screamed, "hello, look at me! I am deep!" And they were deep, of course. But this. The contrasting imagery of vitality, radiance, drowning, and death explored in this song, the close correlation of love and destruction that only successfully gets explored by the best of poets. There is ALOT at work here.
Decemberists lyrics aren't becoming weaker. They're becoming more subtle.
I never thought the death imagery was quite literal. death like, eh, quickly killing off the days of summer, summer's own death, things (like the romance) coming to an end in general. Slipping into a grave, slipping to sleep, all of that indicates a kind of peacefulness and sense of eternity, which will strike anyone who has laid in the embrace of a romantic interest (or maybe just me) as pretty familiar. I agree with an earlier comment: the song is like "Summer Nights" in Grease, with that sweet, sad rememberance of a summer romance.
I must disagree with anyone who thinks that the decemberists are losing their lyrical edge. There was a great deal of complex, intellectual word choice in songs like "coccoon" on previous albums that now seems to be disappearing. Such words screamed, "hello, look at me! I am deep!" And they were deep, of course. But this. The contrasting imagery of vitality, radiance, drowning, and death explored in this song, the close correlation of love and destruction that only successfully gets explored by the best of poets. There is ALOT at work here.
Decemberists lyrics aren't becoming weaker. They're becoming more subtle.
I agree with both your interpretation and opinion on their songwriting abilities. the lyricism is amazing.
I agree with both your interpretation and opinion on their songwriting abilities. the lyricism is amazing.