The Decemberists - The Legionnaire's Lament

[kuronekochan44]

love this song, always turn up the volume to high ob it, but, i accidently hit the search button on my keyboard instead, and like thirty search windows popped up when i meant for this song to get thirty times louder XD :)

[JoeyHoffman101]

this song is so happy :P

[BatteryHorse]

@sargentnoob Ooh. For some reason I didn't get it and thought it was just something random.

It does work for pure randomness, too.

[sk8brd4life]

3:35 i hear a girl giggle

[0Reinne0]

@sk8brd4life lol i just had to check it out

[Thisbloodypave]

Crackin' song. Ta, nice one.

[SarSezYes]

im suppose to be writing a piece for my creative writing class, and i come here for inspiration :)

[Daipeter]

I love this. Writing a fantastically upbeat song to so grim a subject matter is a feat that should be repeated over and over again.

[dubld00ce]

3:34 Listen carefully. Do you hear a giggle? Right after "...like a dream".

[Recharge147]

My dad played the Decemberists in the car since I was a baby. Listening to them reminds me of a better time where the only thing to do was eat, poop, and sleep. And my most complicated problem was deciding what color crayon to use.

[Welihy]

My favorite band in the world and has been since I heard them when I was eleven -I'm thirteen now or at least I will be on december fourth- I just don't have any albums sadly...but their all on my xmas wish list I've been bugging my mom for months.

[YesYouAreIgnorant]

@Welihy You sound like someone who could really benefit from internet piracy.

[Welihy]

@YesYouAreIgnorant you DO realize that I was joking? Or did you honestly think that I actually thought that this song was about an ancient Roman?

[Welihy]

@aleesb yes cars are very ancient and french is the exact same as roman.

[Welihy]

Superjayson75 MELOY not McCoy. Colin Meloy!!!

[Welihy]

Look, people, I'm just defining legionairre. I never said what kind of legionnaire he was in the SONG...

[oumammerjammer]

@Welihy

[Welihy]

This song tells about a Legionnaire- or someone who fights in an Ancient Roman Army- who is sad about fighting and afraid he will never return home. In which case the song is his Lament - or expression of grief in a song, poem, etc,..- The Legionnaire longs for his home, and his love, but frets he will never return.

[oumammerjammer]

French Foreign Legion: Google it.

[ace94d]

@Welihy I thought it was about the French Foreign Legions.

[Aleesb]

@Welihy FFL--he wants to go back to Paris, the Seine, Champs-Élysées, cars? Not exactly ancient, eh?

[justdipi235]

I lke to think I have a firm grasp of hstory

....then I listen to a Decemberists song.

[SuperJayson75]

colin mccoy iam not worthy

[mangekyoeyes]

wow best work by decemberists in my opinion great song



[xXHiddenFreakShowXx]

No words can express my love.

[mrmmrmproductions]

Lyrical God Mode Unlocked

[MisterMacanulty]

@mrmmrmproductions Especially at 1:30.

[KOPOMUMBA]

sickkk

[mechanixis]

La da dum dowww

[ToKeepFromGoingUnder]

I really love this band.

[MrPJVidz]

nvm didnt see other comments

[MrPJVidz]

Yay! First Comment! Great quality amazing song too! :)

[justplayfm]

This video was just added to a music playlist at JustPlay.fm

[iutubeification]

This song is very very good. Magical!

[kunochan9]

This song makes ME miss Paris...and I've never been there.

[YesYouAreIgnorant]

@kunochan9 i've been there twice and i still never want to go back. sorry to say - parisians are fucks.

[aceteam300]

DOSE ANY1 ELSE C THE UNICORN IN THIS PIC!!!!!!

[CrazyInsanelikeafox]

@aceteam300 I do now!!!

[chieflewal]

Wait... was one of the Decemberists in the French Foreign Legion?

[ctamigi]

who wants "frigid air" to be "frigiddaire"?

[SPAAAAACEman]

Wait...

I just noticed this song is about war...

Not as happy anymore.

[SPAAAAACEman]

This song makes me happy...

[drkmrln13]

we need 11 condoms and a time machine

[trade25]

@drkmrln13 now there´re 12! i´ll bring a package with 20 condoms, who knows someone with a time machine???

[mangekyoeyes]

@drkmrln13 wat is this comment even about

[FollowYourLogic]

@drkmrln13 13 condoms now

[sargentnoob]

@drkmrln13 I usually don't enjoy the I hate the disliker comment but this one mad me laugh.

[Thebluebridgetroll]

@drkmrln13 INDEED!

[aardvarkmcgillicuddy]

@drkmrln13 14 ! Quick, they're breeding!!!

[Econniff]

I like to think I have a large vocabulary.

....then I listen to a Decemberists song.

[cirodeandrade]

@Econniff So true. I used to think the same before I first listened to them.

[DeathDagger]

@Econniff ikr! Their songs always make you wanna pick up a dictionary:-)

[dgreysouleater1]

@Econniff I know what you mean... I have a Bio-Chemistry dad and an Engish major sister, and they use very big words that I've had to learn, and then I listen to the Decemberists

[aardvarkmcgillicuddy]

@Econniff I had an English education, so it's no problem for me.........(Joke, BTW)

[FortunatelyAnonymous]

Each song has such a unique style of lyrics.

[Petox20x]

One of the my favorite lines of song lyrics ever "Medicating in the sun, pitched doses of laudanum" LOL.

[0Alet]

seems like "hair" at the first

[MrSucitivel]

this is not i ever heard before, and my audio is on mute, but i am 100% sure it is bad, you are all wasting your time, nothing to see here except this troll that's on his way out.

[ArtCrimeLog]

I think it is even better with capibaras lolling about!

[ChuckWhoWould]

@devilears1 You've obviously never been to Paris-- am I right guys? buhbuhbuhbuhbuhbuh

[Skinnyoompalumpa]

@ChuckWhoWould

*rimshot*



[Biverix]

I love this song, just something I noticed today... wouldn't the french foreign legion be made of people who are, you know... not french?

Give it a ponder O.o

[Petox20x]

@Biverix Yes, the Legion is made of foreigners, they don't take Frenchmen. But at its inception its purpose was simply to pick up all the bums off the streets of Paris and ship them off on, what is in my opinion, the fool's errand which was conquering the Sahara of French North Africa. There was no gain from the colony. No disrespect to the Legion, those where and are a band of real men.

[Biverix]

@Petox20x Wow, thank you, I didn't know all of that!

[devilears1]

i wish i knew what a gay paris was.

[90BritishBiker]

@devilears Gay = Happy Paris = Capital of France

[devilears1]

@90BritishBiker thx bro

[network975]

I need a fridgedere

[aliafilms]

i fought in a war.

[Theodorkable]

@aliafilms That's like, totally related. Hurdur.

[ezwetta]

i love this song! my best friend and i studied the lyrics for like a week just to be able to sing it for fun and show it off at school! ; )

[abigailgloria94]

i lalalove the Decemberists!

[HotSauceMonkey]

Thumbs up if you're from Portland!

[radxtiger]

@HotSauceMonkey Totally! I've seen them at least 4 or 5 times live:)

[kumikyoku123]

love this song

[wohoo323]

Täss on hyvä biisi . erillaista musiikkia.

[kumikyoku123]

dude i love the ending of the song at 4:22 its so cool

[leviofoley]

This song makes me want to learn accordion.

[DinosaurViking]

I just learned this a week ago, but "loll" is a word. It means to lie back in a relaxed position, or to sprawl.

[OBLIVIOUSavior]

i once worked on a production line, building cranes, and this song was stuck in my head for three weeks on end.

it was great haha.

[MrSilvUr]

If France ever needs a new anthem...

[CelticIrishWolf]

Looks like 10 people are lacking their joie de vive.

[skrewdreyever]

@CelticIrishWolf maybe their camels are in disrepair!

[CelticIrishWolf]

Top notch song, never heard anything quiet like it. 

[Skinnyoompalumpa]

I am listening to this once 4 chan shuts down

[lisduggan64]

XTC anyone?

[Neverhooder]

I am falling more and more in love with the Decemberists. I've never heard anything quite like them. They wrote a ballad from the point of view of a Legionnaire for heaven's sake! This might be the best song I've ever heard!

[blacksheepgunner]

is there a music video for this song?

[gomobo2232]

Where is nirvana when you them?

[gammaking100]

The drummer is my Science teacher's cousin. Awesome band.

[LovetteCher]

Er, does he use such...big...words in more of his songs?

It's really, really, really wonderful to listen to.

It's such beautiful English. :)

[OtherHanded]

@LovetteCher Yeah, he likes big words.

And I agree, it is beautiful English. I'd be very pleased if everyone talked like this.

[NocturnePerson]

music and history...awesome combination..!

xx

[Alimaleo]

@NocturnePerson great as story-telling songs too! :3 this band is fucking bomb

[raincoatmusic]

Al Stewart held sway over those of us musicians who sought to couple their lyrics with the romanticism so richly embraced in history...

[Elkigulwulv]

hey ppl who give out the names of ripping sites, u kno you aren't supposed to give those site names out, thats how they get shut down, and thats how they become over crowded and becomes a communion site *gag* ... let it stay underground where only the trusted ppl can stay

[Alimaleo]

@Elkigulwulv Ay, le's be pirates for halloween! lol

[blacksheepgunner]

is there a video to this song?

[Insomiak]

God this band... <3333

[MCRsTheBlackParade]

i have the whole Decemberists Discography on my MP3 player with the exception of a few songs which i dont have! Saw them last year in June! AMAZING

[WankershireEngland]

This sounds very much like Robyn Hitchcock.

[3345tgus]

i love the decemberists! they are soooooo unique!

[camisadokiller666]

I'm really getting into this band. Their songs are amazing!

[3345tgus]

i love this song! i love them! they are so original and beautiful voices and music!

[megakid39]

I feel special that my idiotic joke is the first comment people see when they scroll down....

[doverstraits]

When I first heard them I thought they were an English band. Great lyrics.

[TheCrakgenius]

I've never read the lyrics to this song, but have always loved the way the line in the chorus could either be the "sweetly, sleeping, sweeping of the Seine" or "of the sand," depending on how you hear it - this fits beautifully with the mixture of images in the song: trapped in a foreign desert while dreaming of his Parisian home.

[leviathan382]

i hear "with the roar of cars, anf the lulling of the cafe bars,"

[brknspacebar]

Check out my cover of THE RAKE'S SONG

[megakid39]

1: Why are the capybaras lolling (the act of making much lolz)? I distinctly hear "With the roar of cars and the lolling of the capybaras..."

2: My lappy's battery charging light was flashing in time to the song O_

3: What's the picture?

[pcindirellie]

its "the lolling of the cafe bars" (but maybe you're just making a joke?) :)

the picture is the album cover.

[RandomTickTock]

It's actually "The lulling of the cafe bars..." As in, the cafe bars are slowing down and about to close.

[megakid39]

I was making a joke, but I didn't know the exact words. Thanks for answering my questions!

*pokes RandomTickTock*

Too late!

[camalusthegodofwar]

@pcindirellie No, it's lull, like in lullaby. Lulling just means soothing or calming. The song is just saying that the noises of the cafe are calming to the narrator.

[AlfombraX]

I thought it was capybaras too, but I thought it was lowing.... :)

[exxinizn]

@pcindirellie... I thought it was capybaras...

[LordRedland]

@pcindirellie But, I like the lolling capybaras...

Can't say I heard that, but it makes for an interesting interpretation.

[MrSilvUr]

@pcindirellie I belive it's also "lulling"

[KatherinaW]

@pcindirellie wow i suck, i always get into everything i sing aloud, and i've always said " with the roar of caaaars and the LUUUULLING of the cafe' bars!" D=

[foreveragain13]

@KatherinaW that's what it is actually. Lulling. Like lullaby kind of.

[Crumplepunch]

@pcindirellie No, I honestly heard that too. Lolling of the cafe bars makes sense too. Also I thought it was the roar of chords.

[victorGreywind]

@pcindirellie its "lulling" not "lolling"

[MWAtB]

@pcindirellie

Actually the word is lulling.

[mijea]

@megakid39 I think they are saying lulling, not lolling.

[megakid39]

@mijea I know now :P

[chnkmkys]

@megakid39 the lulling ot the cafe bars

[Origamimouse]

@megakid39 Lolling also means to gently rock. I'm not sure if it fits in context, though. Didn't quite catch the line.

[outcold252]

@megakid39 i think its like "lolling about" like sitting not doing anything, taking in the view.

[mimisezlol]

@megakid39 And it's the original lolling, derived from loll, which means to laze about or recline.

[Pinkpoodle230]

@megakid39

lolling: sit, lie, or stand in a lazy, relaxed way

yay grammar.

[Theodorkable]

@Pinkpoodle230 Not so much grammar as vocabulary. ;3

[lilprplebnny]

@megakid39 its lulling, like soothing melody

[MultiMikim]

If only summer rain would fall

on the houses and the boulevard

and the side walk bagatelles it's like a dream

with the roar of cars

and the lulling of the cafe bars

the sweetly sleeping sweeping of the Seine

Lord I don't know if I'll ever be back again

[theherk]

@megakid39 Hilarious. I was just asking my wife Q1. She said cafe bars, and I felt a bit silly. So glad this was the top comment. ;)

[666TAcT666]

I don't find them amazing or anything, nor his voice heavenly, maybe I'm too picky or you people have bad taste but he sucks, yet I'm getting more accustomed to it.

[SandstoneSandgroper]

The more i listen to them the more i find myself deeply in love with this band, sentimental, romantic and adventurous. Wabdiwabdiwahhootititwahoo!

[mkellers]

@SandstoneSandgroper Yeah, he paints a beautiful picture of Paris

These guys are the only band I know that could work 'fecundaty' into a song :P well these and Death Cab for Cutie mabye...

"Curses to this mirage,a bottle of ancient shiraz!", lovely imagery.

[colonelwargod]

If i'm every in Marseilles, i will probably find my self humming and singing this song as i make my way to the Legions Recruiting Station, ya know what i'm bored with my life, screw it, to France i shall go!

[basser]

Probably the only group to ever think of rhyming "sun" with "laudanum".

[Kenentigern7]

Subtly sardononic and abstruse lyrics from a young man. Has much promise, lets see if he develops. Do love their output, but remind me of JT 40yrs after.

Hazards of Love is an accomplished piece of werk

[murtaent]

@Kenentigern7 Sardononic......Nice try.

[Kenentigern7]

@murtaent Clearly I missed the cononversion then? Look closely at the cononstruct of my username.

Don't spend so much time listening to Fat Larry's Band and you may appreciate the double yokes more.

Ho hum and toodle pip

[murtaent]

Whatever makes you tick

[Maisem21]

Amazing.

[LeLegionnairesLament]

What a glorious song.

[sophienevaeh]

Colin and all those associated with The Decemberists are simply the best thing to happen to the music industry....ever

[LifeIsLiar]

I love The Decemberists.

I think, as a kid, Colin Meloy wanted to be a historian. =]

[Wiiosten]

I think so too. that, and he's really fuckin awesome. i love his voice and his lyrics are amazing.

[brknspacebar]

@LifeIsLiar Check out my cover of THE RAKE'S SONG

[yellowdello]

@LifeIsLiar I see him being like a little kid with big glasses and an enormous book, all whilst sitting in a giant comfy chair in a library. lol. not to mention he's wearing a sweater vest.

When I found out he named his son Henry, I nearly died with happiness. It's such an old fashioned name :)

[Rc8v15]

@LifeIsLiar I think, as a kid, I wanted to be Colin Meloy.

[DuffleMuffins]

@Rc8v15 I wish I could have Colin Meloy's musical genius.

[BazookaChipmunk]

@LifeIsLiar I can imagine his parents: "PLAY YOUR GUITAR!" "But I wanna study history!"

"You're going to be a musician whether you want to or not!"

"But--"

"NO BUTS!"

"(sobbing)"

[prairiechicken3]

The Decemberists are my favorite band and I adore this song....and I am a long way from home (Texas to UK) My best friend sent me my copies of The Crane Wife, Picaresque and Hazards of Love, but I truly miss these earlier songs. All my cd's are at home in Texas and I have no way to buy/load them right now. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! for posting this.

[BIGzLIZARDzBIG]

Very nice song i like it very very very very very very very very very very much 5/5 and The decemberists are the best i think :P

[shade270]

This song always makes me think of a Legionnaire lost in the desert, just reminiscing about his home.

[DevalII]

That's exactly what it's about.

[Bamo316]

His voice is utterly amazing. And that accordion is rather delightful as well. Just an amazing band.

How could people dismiss this band and listen to the more popular rap like music is beyond me.

[blacksheepgunner]

is there a video to this song?

[RoozleRay]

This always reminds me of the year I spent my birthday in Paris with my best friend. We weren't praying for fridgid air tho, it was -3C!!

[jakethesnakee93]

lol thats not that cold

[oneday142]

amazing. the cover is beautiful too. amazing.

[leah110850]

didn't know this band until bbc's jools holland show-shame on me-have spent hours watching and listening to all i can-just wonderful!

[alexayb]

Oh, how I love The Decemberists. Possibly my favorite band of all time. :)

[Animutant666]

WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rockyhorror999]

I can't get the tune of this song out of my head! I LOVE THE DECEMBERISTS! Its a rare occasion to listen to at least 40 songs from one band and enjoy every one of them. Thank you decemberists!

[Animutant666]

i feel exactly the same way dude!

[DuffleMuffins]

@rockyhorror999 I could not agree more!

[LostInEveryonesEyes]

I love this song!

It just makes me want to start dancing:D

Decemberists<3

[BrianGodard]

Oh my Lord, I love FOLK-ROCK!!!!

[Silverbluecrest]

its kinda progresive dude :P

[alexayb]

Folk rock