| Okkervil River – Down Down the Deep River Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Thanks for the corrections! "Down a hall in your house" certainly makes more sense than "down a haunted house," haha! It also does sound like he's saying "Spit into the center of your hometown." I'm still not convinced on the third line with '89 in it. Maybe it's "All the way it seemed by '89"? He's definitely saying "by" before '89. I'm incredibly stoked for this album. I think Okkervil River is brilliant, and the three songs we've gotten from the Silver Gymnasium have been great so far. One little detail I like about this song is how the trauma scene that's described in this song, with the rescue party, recalls "Wake and Be Fine" in an interesting way: "The rescue party finally lost their hearts and shattered their bones, and died all alone." Sheff has been really good so far at creating a sort of self-referential universe between songs and albums which I like quite a lot. |
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| Okkervil River – I Guess We Lost Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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This is missing some lyrics at the end. I think they go: "Call the cops! We're star-crossed, we've gone numb. Well it was fun! But I guess we lost, I guess we're done." Fantastic song, especially that final verse listed here: "How I prayed and I hoped it would lead to some moment when all of it just flew apart. How I wished and I schemed it, from whisper to scream. How I wanted to just hold your heart in the palm of my hand, and just watch as it slows and it stops." God, that's just brilliant. I think Okkervil River is at their best in this song. |
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| Okkervil River – Westfall Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Great song. To me, the live performance version that appears on "Overboard and Down" is vastly superior because it catches the personality of the murderous narrator so much better than in the original. A lot of it simply has to do with little things Sheff does with the lyrics--how he spits the word "easy", the maniacal "Ha-ha-ha" after "I got down on both of my knees, and...", the wild shout at the end of the song. But the music fits better as well. Like the ominous suspension of sound cued by the line "One was named Laurie, that's what the story said next week in The Guardian" and the moment at the end of the song the instruments all devolve into absolute chaos. Just brilliant and oh so violent. | |
| Okkervil River – Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear (Randy Newman) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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No comments?! That's a bummer, considering Okkervil River put such a unique spin on an already great Randy Newman song. If you haven't heard this, it's on the Golden Opportunities mix, which you can find here: http://www.mediafire.com/?izy5mjhwj3l I tend to think of Newman's version as purely from Simon's perspective. In the lyrics, there are little hints of the sad reality of the boy's life, but Newman delivers the song in such an amazing and upbeat way--exactly how a little boy holding his teddy bear would. To him, there's no evil or injustice in the world. But Sheff, with his mystically tragic voice, puts a different perspective on the song. I view OR's version more as an outsider looking in on Simon's story or perhaps an older Simon looking back on his past. In the cover, you're forced to confront the pain and sadness of Simon's story. Sheff's Oh-oh's at the end of the song are haunting. |
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| Okkervil River – A Leaf Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I feel ashamed that I've known of Okkervil River for so long yet just recently stumbled across this song. I think it's absolutely brilliant. Of course, that might not be saying much because I think nearly every Okkervil River song is fantastic. A Leaf describes in the sweetest, most delicate way life's most excruciatingly harsh truth. "And if God loves us back, now we know what it is: She must have no control over this world's events because no one deserves this much punishment." Wow. This line is just so fantastic, and it introduces such an interesting concept. I love that God is depicted as a woman. It fits so perfectly with the tenderness of the song as a whole. And this line brings the tragedy of the song full-circle by implying that the narrator isn't the only one who can't help the people he/she loves. What if God is in the same, tragically powerless position? |
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| Okkervil River – Love to a Monster Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| Yep. A reference to Joni Mitchell's song of the same name. Okkervil River actually covers "Blonde in the Bleachers" on the "Golden Opportunities" mix. And OR also has a song called "You Can't Hold the Hand of a Rock and Roll Man," which is from a line in "Blonde in the Bleachers." Seems to me like this song had a lot of influence on Sheff. | |
| Okkervil River – I Came Here To Say I'm Going Away (Serge Gainsbourg) Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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God, I love this. Perhaps my favorite cover on the Golden Opportunities mix. I'm almost certain Sheff is referencing Verlaine's "Chanson d'automne" ("Autumn Song.") "In autumn The long sobs Of the violins Wound my heart, A languorous, Monotone. Suffocating, Pale when The hour strikes I remember Past days And weep And go away In the ill wind Carried off Hither and ever Like a Dead leaf." |
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| Okkervil River – Disfigured Cowboy Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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So, you posted this a long time ago. I'm not at all sure this will help, but I found a link to the song: http://hypem.com/#!/item/qcnw/Various+Artists+-+Okkervil+River-+Disfigured+Cowboy |
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