| The Decemberists – June Hymn Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Was somewhat disappointed with the comments on this one. Meloy has generally a "tragic" style throughout most of his work. This one struck me as a bittersweet story about the hope and renewal of Spring but which is tainted by a tragedy which has occurred in the lives of this family. The song is written from the point of view of a woman who is in her garden. Someone, perhaps her son, was in a war - that's why there are yellow bonnets on the trees (remember Meloy is so good that there is not one word in his songs that is irrelevant) - yellow bonnets for the soldier to come home safely. A tragedy occurred "in the boom, Heaven sent this cardinal maroon (blood) to decorate our living room). The man on the landing is her husband (or perhaps her injured son) who "shouldered" the war the night before by dealing with what happened. There is so much in this song (ivy on the branches) - too much to go over here. Another Meloy masterpiece. Like most of his songs, it is done with a broad brush and the understanding of the song comes in bits and after repeatedly listening and thinking about it. These comments could very well be wrong. It's just hard for me to believe that this is a simple ode to Spring. Nothing about Meloy's writing is simple. | |
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