Lesson 16 New Words & Expressions. swim dig lazy lazy bones.
Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
-
Upload
imbuziliro -
Category
Documents
-
view
216 -
download
0
Transcript of Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
1/20
The Hazards of Love
"Prelude" - 3:04
~Instrumental~
Jenny Conlee: Hammond B-3 organ, synthesizerJim James: backing voice
Keiko Araki, Greg Ewer: violins
Adam Hoornstra: viola
Collin Oldham: cello
"The Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won't Wrestle the Thistles Undone)" - 4:19At some time between 784 and 796 the earthwork known as Offa's Dyke was built between Wales and Mercia.
odonata: Apparently it was customary for the English to cut off the ears of Mercians who strayed east of the wall and for the Mercians
to hang every Englishman who crossed it going west. So, when the lyrics tell us that Margaret went riding out "Past the pale
(boundary) of Offa's Wall..." I'm inclined to think that she is leaving her native Wales, and at some risk.
Ancient kingdom, central England. One of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of the Heptarchy, it comprised the border areas, corresponding
to modern Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and northern West Midlands and Warwickshire. Offa, who ruled from 757 to 796,
created a single state from the River Humber to the English Channel. After Offa's death, Mercia declined, overshadowed by Wessex. In
877 the Danes divided Mercia into English and Danish sections. After the reconquest of the Danish lands in the early 10th century, it
came under the rule of Wessex.
bower noun
1. a leafy shelter or recess arbor.
2. a rustic dwelling cottage.3. a lady's boudoir in a medieval castle.
taiga, northern coniferous-forest belt of Eurasia, bordered on the north by the treeless tundra and on the south by the steppe.
Although Great Britain would no longer be considered part of the Taiga due to its extensive deforestation, during the Middle Ages
relatively large expanses of boreal forest still existed, particularly in northern Scotland. It has a continental climate, with long, severe
winters of 6 or 7 months. Thawing occurs during late April or early May, and the growing season is short. The mean average summer
temperatures are fairly high, but there are night frosts. Podzols are the soils of this zone. Only the hardier cereals and roots, such as
barley, oats, and potatoes, can be cultivated. The principal species of trees are cedar, pine, spruce, larch, birch, and aspen. The taiga
has many swampy areas formed during the spring.
Margaret is a female first name, derived from the Greek word margarites or "pearl."
FIRST VOICE:My true love went riding out
In white and green and gray
Past the pale of Offas Wall
Where she was wont to stray
And there she came upon
A white and wounded fawn
Singing: oh, the hazards of love.
She, being full of charity
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
2/20
A credit to her sex,
Sought to right the fawns hind legs
When here her plans were vexed
The taiga shifted strange
The beast began to change
Singing: oh, the hazards of love
Oh, the hazards of love
Youll learn soon enough
The prettiest whistles wont wrestle the thistles undone
Undone
Fifteen lithesome* maidens lay
Along in their bower
Fourteen occupations paid
To pass the idle hour.
Margaret heaves a sigh
Her hands clasped to her thigh
Singing: oh, the hazards of love
Oh the hazards of love
Youll learn soon enough
The prettiest whistles wont wrestle the thistles undone
Undone
Colin Meloy: voice, acoustic guitar
Chris Funk: tenor guitar
besstudor: I once read a historical fiction book that took place in the ancient city of Ur. When the women [menstruated], they had to
lock themselves in a special room for a week or so, and b/c they thought the blood was sacred, they had to sit over basins of water until
the water was stained red.
irascible (-rs'-bl, -rs'-)
adj. 1.Prone to outbursts of temper easily angered.2.Characterized by or resulting from anger.
blackguard
noun 1. a low, contemptible person scoundrel.
2. Obsolete.
a. a group of menial workers in the kitchen of a large household.
b. the servants of an army.
c. camp followers.
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
3/20
In ancient Greek and Roman cultures, the spur provoked an allusion to phalli and columbine was a plant of Aphrodite (Venus). In Celtic
culture, the flowers were supposed to open the door to the other world. In the Christian tradition, the particular morphology
contributed to associating the columbine with the praise of God. The spurs on the flowers are reminiscent of five doves sitting together
and thus of the Holy Spirit. Five birds together was a name for the plant in parts of Austria and the English name, columbine, little
dove or dove-like, also alludes to this property.
The seeds of the European Mistletoe can only become capable of germinating after having passed through the digestive tracts of birds
particularly the Mistle Thrush. 'Mistle' means dung in old Anglo-Saxon, and 'toe', which emerged from 'tan', means twig.
In the classical poets, we meet with only a few allusions to the Willow as growing by the water-side, and as twisted into baskets by the
ancient Britons, the word `basket' itself being one of the few words which, under the form "bascauda," ancient Britain seems to have
given to the Latin vocabulary but from Elizabethan times it is invariably the symbol of forsaken love. This is remarkable, since, with
one notable exception, all the Biblical references to this group of trees are associated with joyfulness and fertility.
William is from the Norman language (although Norman French was Latin-based and the proper name is
Jenny Conlee: Wurlitzer piano, synthesizer
Nate Query: upright bass
John Moen: the drums, backing voice
"A Bower Scene" - 2:09
SECOND VOICE:
Thou unconsolable* daughter, said the sister,
When wilt thou trouble the water in the cistern?
And what irascible blackguard is the father?
And when young Margarets waistline grew wider
The fruit of her amorous entwine inside herAnd so our heroine withdraws to the taiga
Colin Meloy: voice, electric guitar
Chris Funk: electric guitar, piano, hammered dulcimer
Jenny Conlee: Hammond B-3 organ
Nate Query: bass guitar
John Moen: the drums
"Won't Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga)" - 4:07
MA RGA R ET:
Gentle leaves, gentle leaves
Please array a path for me
The woods all growing thick and fast around
Columbine, columbine
Please alert this love of mine
Let him know his Margaret comes along
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
4/20
And all this stirring inside my belly
Wont quell my want for love
And I may swoon from all this swelling
But I wont want for love
Mistle thrush, mistle thrush
Lay me down in the underbrushMy naked feet grow weary with the dusk
Willow boughs, willow boughs
Make a bed to lay me down
Let your branches bow to cradle us
And all this stirring inside my belly
Wont quell my want for love
And I may swoon from all this swellingGermanic) and is a cognate from the German Wilhelm, and of Germanic origin: wil = "will or desire" helm"helmet, protection"
A common idiom is "to be in clover", meaning to be living a carefree life of ease, comfort, or prosperity.
The corncrake, or landrail, is like a slimmed-down quail. It is a shy, dull coloured bird, its plumage a gentle merging mixture of browns,
fawns and chestnut. It nests in hayfields and feeds on insects and small animals. The most striking thing about it is the male's loud,
monotonous, tuneless call. Almost mechanical - certainly not musical - it consists of a harsh crek-crek, crek-crek, crek-crek, a kind of
staccato metallic sawing which goes on day and night throughout the nesting season.
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
5/20
One region notorious for its quicksands is Morecambe Bay, England. As the bay is very broad and shallow, a person trapped by the
quicksand would be exposed to the danger of the returning tide, which can come in rapidly.
But I wont want for love
WILLIAM:
O my own true love!
O my own true love!
Can you hear me love?
Can you hear me love?
MARGARET:
And all this stirring inside my belly
Wont quell my want for love
And I may swoon from all this swelling
But I wont want for love
Becky Stark: voice
Colin Meloy: electric guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, voice
Chris Funk: electric guitarJenny Conlee: piano, Hammond B-3 organ
Nate Query: electric bass
John Moen: the drums, backing voice
"The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)" - 4:26
WILLIAM:
And here I am softer than a showerAnd here I am to garland you with flowers
To lay you down in a clover bed
The stars a roof above our heads
And all my life Ive never felt the tremor
All my life that now disturbs my fingers
Ill lay you down in a clover bed
The stars a roof above our heads
And well lie til the corncrake crows
Bereft the weight of our summer clothes
And Id wager all
The hazards of love
The hazards of love
Take my hand, cradle it in your hand
Take my hand. Feel the pull. The quicksand.
Ill lay you down in a clover bed
The stars a roof above our heads
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
6/20
And well lie til the corncrake crows
Bereft the weight of our summer clothes
And Id wager all
The hazards of love
The hazards of love
The firefly primarily uses its light in mating ceremonies. Mature fireflies which emit light have extremely short life spans of two to three
weeks and are traditionally regarded as a symbol of impermanence, which resonates with much of classical Japanese tradition (as with
cherry blossoms). Fireflies are also symbolic of the human soul ("Hitodama"), which is depicted as a floating, flickering fireball.
In the language of flowers, the thistle (like the burr) is an ancient Celtic symbol of nobility of character as well as of birth, for the
wounding or provocation of a thistle yields punishment.
A thorny plant with a beautiful flower, the national symbol of Scotland. It's thorns symbolize both evil and protection. In Christianity it
represents the suffering of Christ.
La petite mort, French for "the little death", is a metaphor for orgasm.
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
7/20
Colin Meloy: voice, acoustic guitar, electric guitarChris Funk: electric guitar, percussion
Jenny Conlee: piano, Hammond B-3 organ
Nate Query: electric bass
John Moen: the drums , percussion
Becky Stark: backing voice
"The Queen's Approach" - 0:29
~Instrumental~
"Isn't It a Lovely Night?" - 3:39
MARGARET:
Isnt it a lovely night?
And so alive with fireflies providing us their holy light
And here we made a bed of boughs
And thistledown that we had found to lay upon the dewy ground
And isnt it a lovely way
We got in from our play
Isnt it babe? A sweet little baby
WILLIAM:
Wasnt it a lovely breeze
That swept the leaves of arbor eaves
And bent to brush our blushing knees?
M & W:
And here we died our little deaths
And we were left to catch our breaths
So swiftly lifting from our chests
And isnt it a lovely way
We got in from our play
Isnt it babe? A sweet little baby
Becky Stark: voice
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
8/20
Colin Meloy: voice, acoustic guitar
Chris Funk: pedals teel guitar, synthesizer
Jenny Conlee: accordion
Nate Query: upright bass
John Moen: the drums
pall
noun 1. a cloth, often of velvet, for spreading over a coffin, bier, or tomb.
2. a coffin.
3. anything that covers, shrouds, or overspreads, esp. with darkness or gloom.
4. Ecclesiastical. a. pallium (def. 2b).
b. a linen cloth or a square cloth-covered piece of cardboard used to cover a chalice.
5. Heraldry. pairle.
6. Archaic. a cloth spread upon an altar corporal.
7. Archaic. a garment, esp. a robe, cloak, or the like.
In Irish mythology Finn mac Cumhail, the legendary leader of Ireland's heroic band of warriors known as the Fianna, cornered a
beautiful white deer, which his hounds then refused to dispatch. That night Finn was visited by the goddess Sadb, who explained that
a spell had turned her into the deer Finn had chased, a spell from which his love could release her. Though they became lovers, the
magician who cast the spell reclaimed Sadb when Finn was away repelling a Viking raid on Dublin, and though the Fianna searched the
land, Sadb could not be found. Some years later however, another of Finn mac Cumhail's hunting sorties tracked down a naked, long
haired boy whom once again his hounds refused to kill. The boy did not know his father but knew his mother to be a gentle hind who
lived in fear of another man. Details of the story convinced Finn that this was his son, and he named him Oisin, meaning fawn. Oisin too
became a heroic Fenian warrior, though he also inherited some of his mother's gentler arts and was acknowledged as Ireland's greatest
poet.
"The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid" - 6:27
WILLI AM:
Mother I can hear your footfall now
A soft disturbance in the deadfall how
It precedes you like a black smoke pall
Still the wanting comes in waves
And you delivered me from danger, then
Pulled my cradle from the reedy glen
Swore to save me from the world of men
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
9/20
Still the wanting comes in waves
In waves, and waves
And the wanting comes in waves
And the wanting comes in waves
And I want this night
And I want this night
QUEEN:
How I made you
I wrought you
I pulled you
From ore I labored you
From cancer I cradled you
And now: this is how I am repaid?
This is how I am repaid?
Remember when I found you
The miseries that hounded you
And I gave you motion
Anointed with lotions
And now: this is how I am repaid?
This is how I am repaid?
WILLIAM:
Mother hear this proposition right
Grant me freedom to enjoy this night
And Ill return to you at break of light
For the wanting comes in waves
And waves, and waves
Still the wanting comes in waves
Still the wanting comes in waves
Still the wanting comes in waves
And you owe me life
And you owe me life
QUEEN:
And if I grant youThis favor to hand you
Your life for the evening
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
10/20
A rake is defined as a man that is habituated to immoral conduct. Rakes are frequently stock characters in novels. Often a rake is a man
who wastes his (usually inherited) fortune on gambling, wine, women and song, incurring lavish debts in the process. The rake is also
frequently a cad: a man who seduces a young woman and impregnates her before leaving, often to her social or financial ruin. To call
the character a rake calls attention to his promiscuity and wild spending of money to call the character a cad implies a callous seducer
who coldly breaks his victim's heart. These men are also known as heels. A bounder is an 'ill-bred, unscrupulous man', the social
inferior of the cad.
The boy's name Isaiah is of Hebrew origin, and its meaning is "salvation of God the Lord helps me". Biblical: one of the major prophets
and writer of the Book of Isaiah.
The girl's name Charlotte is of French origin, and its meaning is "little and womanly". Feminine dimunitive of Charles, used in England
since the 17th century, and made popular by Queen Charlotte, George III's wife (19th century). The boy's name Charles is of Old German
origin, and its meaning is "free man".
Dawn is a female given name. It is of Old English origin, and it's meaning is the first appearance of light, daybreak.
Myfanwy means "my woman" from the Welsh prefix my "my" combined with banw "woman". Myfanwy ( annwyl, beloved) is a
popular Welsh song, composed by Joseph Parry and first published in 1875. Parry wrote the music to lyrics written by Richard Davies
('Mynyddog' 1833-77). Some sources say it was written with Parry's childhood sweetheart, Myfanwy Llywellyn, in mind, although the
lyrics were probably inspired by
I will re-take by morning
And so: consider it your debt repaid
Consider it your debt repaid
Colin Meloy: voice, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Shara Worden: voice, backing voice
Chris Funk: electric guitar, synthesizer
Jenny Conlee: harpsichord, piano, Hammond B-3 organ
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
11/20
Nate Query: electric bass, upright bass
John Moen: the drums, percussion
"An Interlude" - 1:40
~Instrumental~
Colin Meloy: acoustic guitar
Robyn Hitchcock: electric guitar
Chris Funk: bouzouki
"The Rake's Song" - 3:16
R A K E:
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
All right, all right, all right!
No more a rake and no more a bachelor
I was wedded and it whetted my thirst
Until her womb started spilling out babies
Only then did I reckon my curse
All right, all right, all right!
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
All right, all right, all right!
What can one do when one is a widower
Shamefully saddled with three little pests
All that I wanted was the freedom of a new lifeSo my burden I began to divest
All right, all right, all right!
Charlotte I buried after feeding her foxglove
Dawn was easy: she was drowned in the baththe fourteenth-century love-story of Myfanwy Fychan of Dinas Brn, Llangollen and the poet Hywel ab Einion. That story was also the
subject of the popular poem, 'Myfanwy Fychan' (1858), by John Ceiriog Hughes (1832-87).
Foxglove plants are among the most poisonous plants commonly grown.
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
12/20
Druantia is a goddess associated mostly with trees. Three trees that are most often associated with her are fir, oak, and evergreen. In
pagan mythology Druantia is a fir tree goddess. Her name is believed to be derived from the Celtic word for oak trees, "drus" or "deru".
She is known as "Queen of the Druids". She is a goddess of fertility for both plants & humans, ruling over sexual activities & passion.
She also rules protection, trees, protection of trees, knowledge, creativity. Archetypally she is an aspect of the eternal mother as seen
in the evergreen boughs.
Isaiah fought but was easily bested
Burned his body for incurring my wrath
All right, all right, all right!
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
13/20
And thats how I came your humble narrator
To be living so easy and free
I expect that you think that I should be haunted*
But it never really bothers me
All right, all right, all right!
Colin Meloy: voice, acoustic guitar
Shara Worden: yellingNate Query: electric bass
Jenny Conlee: the drums
Chris Funk, John Moen: the drums, percussion, yelling
"The Abduction of Margaret" - 2:07
FIRST VOICE:
And all the while whispering arbors provide cover
What previous witnessed ardors of our lovers
Our heroine here falls prey to her abductor!
All agallop with Margaret slung rude cross withers
Having clamped her innocent fingers in fetters
This villain must calculate crossing the wild river!
Colin Meloy: voice, electric guitar
Chris Funk: electric guitar, synthesizer, piano, hammered dulcimer
Jenny Conlee: Hammond B-3 organ
Nate Query: electric bass
John Moen: the drums
"The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing" - 3:56
QUEEN:
Im made of bones of the branches, the boughs, and the brow-beating light
While my feet are the trunks and my head is the canopy high
And my fingers extend to the leaves and the eaves and the brightBrightest shine, its my shine
And he was a baby abandoned, entombed in a cradle of clay*
And I was the soul who took pity and stole him away
And gave him the form of a fawn to inhabit by day
Brightest day, its my day
And you have removed this temptation thats troubled my innocent child
To abduct and abuse and to render her rift and defiled
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
14/20
The River Annan (Uisge Annan in Gaelic) is a river in southwest Scotland. It rises at the foot of Hart Fell, five miles north of Moffat. A
second fork rises on Annanhead Hill and flows through the Devil's Beef Tub before joining at the Hart Fell fork north of Moffat.
wreck (n.) 1228, "goods cast ashore after a shipwreck, flotsam," from Anglo-Fr. wrec, from O.N. *wrek (cf. Norw., Icel. rek) "wreck,flotsam," related to reka "to drive, push" (see wreak). The meaning "a shipwreck" is first recorded 1463 that of "a wrecked ship" is from
1500. General sense of "remains of anything that has been ruined" is recorded from 1713 applied by 1795 to dissipated persons. The
verb meaning "to destroy, ruin" is first recorded 1510. Wreckage is first attested 1837.
wrack
noun 1. wreck or wreckage.
2. damage or destruction: wrack and ruin.
3. a trace of something destroyed: leaving not a wrack behind.
4. seaweed or other vegetation cast on the shore.
Bones symbolize belief in resurrection, and crossed thigh-bones is the well known symbol of mortality. Bones were often used in the
arms of exalted members of hitherto persecuted minorities. The skull was an emblem born by the Thracians.
But the river is deep to the banks and the water is wildBut I will fly you the far side
Shara Worden: voice
Colin Meloy: electric guitar
Chris Funk: electric guitar, baritone guitar
Jenny Conlee: Hammond B-3 organ
Nate Query: bass guitar
John Moen: the drums
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
15/20
"Annan Water" - 5:12
WILLIAM:
Annan water, you loom so deep and wide
I would cross over if you would stem the tide
Or build a boat that I might ford the other sideTo reach the farther shore where my true love lies in wait for me
In wait for me, in wait for me, in wait for me
O gray river, your waters ramble wild
The horses shiver and bite against the bridle
But I will cross if mine own horse is pulled from me
Though my mother cries that if I try, I sure will drown-ed be
Will drown-ed be, will drown-ed be, will drown-ed be
But if you calm and let me pass
You may render me a wreck* when I come back
So calm your waves and slow the churn
And you may have my precious bones on my return
Annan water, oh hear my true love call
Hear her holler above your waters pall
God that I could, that my two arms could give me wing
And I would cross your breadth and wrap my breast about her amber ring
Her amber ring, her amber ring, her amber ring
But if you calm and let me pass
You may render me a wreck when I come back
So calm your waves and slow the churn
And you may have my precious bones on my return
And you may have my precious bones
And I will call your depths my home
And you may have my precious bones on my return
Colin Meloy: voice, acoustic guitar
Chris Funk: mandolin, hurdy-gurdy, autoharp, synthesizer,
marxophone, hammered dulcimerJenny Conlee: accordion, Hammond B-3 organ
Nate Query: upright bass
John Moen: hand drum, percussion
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
16/20
Swans are often a symbol of love or fidelity because of their long-lasting monogamous relationships.
"Margaret in Captivity" - 3:08
R A K E:
I have snipped your wingspan
My precious captive swan
Here all clipped of kickstand
You spirit wont last long
Dont you lift a finger
Dont you snap and jaw
Limber limbs akimbo
Rest til rubbing raw
MA RGA R ET:
O my own true love
O my own true love
Can you hear me love
Can you hear me love?
R A K E:
Dont hold out for rescueNone can hear your call
Til I have wrest and wrecked you
Behind these fortress walls
MA RGA R ET:
O my own true love
O my own true love
Can you hear me love?
Can you hear me love?
Colin Meloy: voice, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Becky Stark: voice
Chris Funk: electric guitar
Jenny Conlee: piano, Hammond B-3 organ
Nate Query: bowed bass, electric bass, synthesizer
John Moen: the drums
Jim James: backing voice
Keiko Araki, Greg Ewer: violins
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
17/20
Adam Hoornstra: viola
Collin Oldham: cello
"The Hazards of Love 3 (Revenge!)" - 3:22
CHA LOTTE:Father Im not feeling well, the flowers me you fed
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
18/20
A baby's body has about 300 bones at birth. These eventually fuse (grow together) to form the 206 bones that adults have.
chinknoun 1. a crack, cleft, or fissure: a chink in a wall.
2. a narrow opening: a chink between two
Tasted spoiled for suddenly I find that I am dead
But father dont you fear, your children all are here
Singing: O the hazards of love!
DAWN:
Papa turn the water down, the basins overflowd
The water covers everything and me left all alone
But Papa here in death I have regained my breath
To sing: O the hazards of love!
ISAIAH:
Spare the rod, youll spoil the child but Id prefer the lash
My sisters drowned and poisoned, all, and me reduced to ash
And buried in an urn*, but father, I return
Singing: O the hazards of love
Natalie Briare, Clara Ell, Joseph Ell: voices
Jenny Conlee: harpsichord
Chris Funk: synthesizerColin Meloy: percussion
Keiko Araki, Greg Ewer: violins
Adam Hoornstra: viola
Collin Oldham: cello
"The Wanting Comes in Waves (Reprise)" - 1:31
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
19/20
WILLI AM:
Here come the waves!
And the wanting comes in waves
And the wanting comes in waves
And the wanting comes in waves!
And I want this night
Colin Meloy: voice, acoustic guitarChris Funk: electric guitar
Jenny Conlee: piano, Hammond B-3 organ, harpsichord
Nate Query: bass guitar
John Moen: the drums
Jim James, Shara Worden: backing voices
Keiko Araki, Greg Ewer: violins
Adam Hoornstra: viola
Collin Oldham: cello
"The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)" - 5:57
WILLIAM:
Margaret, array the rocks around the hole before were sinking
A million stones, a million bones, a million holes within the chinkingbuildings.
Willow is known as the tree of enchantment. It is famous for its unique healing properties and is used to generate great psychic energy
as an aid in divination. The water-willow is a symbol of freedom.
Among European rural people, especially in Gaelic and Slavic folk cultures, the will-o'-the-wisps are held to be mischievous spirits of
the dead or other supernatural beings attempting to lead travellers astray. Sometimes the lights are believed to be the spirits of
unbaptized or stillborn children, flitting between heaven and hell (compare Wilis). Modern occultist elaborations bracket them with the
salamander, a type of spirit wholly independent from humans (unlike ghosts, which are presumed to have been humans at some point in
the past).
And painting rings around your eyes, these peppered holes
So filled with crying
A whisper-weight upon the tattered down where you and I
Were lying.
So tell me now, O tell me this: a forests son, a rivers daughter
A willow wand, a will-o-wisp, our ghosts will wander all of the water
W & M:
So lets be married here today, these rushing waves to bear our witness
And we will lie like river stones, rolling only where it takes us
But I pulled you and I called you here
(Didnt I, didnt I, didnt I)
And I caught you and I brought you here
(Didnt I, didnt I, didnt I)
-
7/29/2019 Lazy Analysis of The Decemberists "Hazards of Love"
20/20
But these hazards of love
Never more will trouble us
WILLIAM:
O Margaret the lapping waves are licking quietly at our ankles
Another bow, another breath this brilliant chill has come to shackle
W & M:But with this long, last rush of air lets speak our vows in starry whisper
And when the waves came crashing down, he closed his eyes
And softly kissed her
But I pulled you and I called you here
(Didnt I, didnt I, didnt I)
And I caught you and I brought you here
(Didnt I, didnt I, didnt I)
But these hazards of love
Never more will trouble us
Colin Meloy: voice, acoustic guitar, Nashville guitar
Chris Funk: pedal steel guitar, banjo
Jenny Conlee: piano, Hammond B-3 organ, marxophone
Nate Query: bass guitar
John Moen: the drums
Becky Stark, Rebecca Gates, Jim James: backing voices
Keiko Araki, Greg Ewer: violins
Adam Hoornstra: viola
Collin Oldham: cello
All songs written by Colin Meloy, except Prelude by Jenny Conlee
www.decemberists.com
www.myspace.com/thedecemberists