June Hymn

I hear this song and all is forgiven, dear Mr Meloy, for Hazards of Love.

Eternal devotion is the heart of this song. Devotion in terms of the achievement of domestic bliss. Devotion to a family home built together. Devotion to a neighborhood that one could not bear to leave even in death. Devotion is objectified by the growth brought by early summer, and personified in the place of Springville Hill.

It's such a beautiful work, so hopeful and certain. I place myself and my partner in the picture Meloy paints us and I am overcome with joy to the point of tears.

Bravo!

Between this and January hymn I am expecting a new album before long titled "Colin Meloy Sings the Months"

Official lyrics from the Decemberists site:

June Hymn Here’s a hymn to welcome in the day Heralding a summer’s early sway And all the bulbs all coming in To begin The thrushes bleating battle with the wrens Disrupts my reverie again

Pegging clothing on the line Training jasmine how to vine Up the arbor to your door And more You’re standing on the landing with the war You shouldered all the night before

And once upon it The yellow bonnets Garland all the lawn And you were waking And day was breaking A panoply of song And summer comes to Springville Hill

A barony of ivy in the trees Expanding out its empire by degrees And all the branches burst to bloom In the boom Heaven sent this cardinal maroon To decorate our living room

Chorus

And years from now when this old light Isn’t ambling anymore Will I bring myself to write “I give my best to Springville Hill”

Chorus

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.

This is one of my all-time favorite songs.

There is this amazing phenomenon that the human mind accomplishes, it can assign meaning to the world around it. Once yellow bonnets are upon it (a purely natural and meaningless infestation, really), they beautifully "garland all the lawn", in the eyes of the writer. Once "you were waking", then miraculously "day was breaking", and song (meaning) becomes your coat of armor that allows you to assign meaning to the world around you.

Natural and fairly ordinary things happen throughout the song, but they are interpreted by the artist as being profound. This idea is introduced in the opening verse.

In verse two, when he manipulates the direction a plant is growing he feels like he is "training jasmine how to vine" (and more), and the vine ends up taking on this epic struggle to claim new territory and strive for its potential.

The next verse is sheer beauty as the writer develops a rich storyline to accompany a flowering ivy plant. I feel challenged by Meloy to consider the possibility that these interpretations might actually be descriptions of something fundamental and real.

We are responsible for giving meaning to the world around us. Nothing would be beautiful if there was no human there to witness it and deem it so. This is how summer continually comes to Springville Hill. The potential of "natural" Springville Hill is realized by the human interpretation and assignment of meaning here referred to as summer.

I leave the break to you, it's a profound and highly interpretable passage in this context. I hear it several different ways, what do you guys think?

Thank you Colin Meloy, this song really speaks to me.

I play guitar in the style of the late Richie Havens and also sing. June Hymn has been in the repertoire for some years now. I cannot explain exactly why I feel is sense of overwhelming sadness when listening to or sing the song. \n\nI think it is about painful loss, grief, for a time past. Maybe shared love. Certainly the description of flowers, and other plants are joyful. For example, ‘training jasmine how to vine up the arbour to your door’ suggests a bond with nature and also human intervention. ‘A barony of ivy in the trees’ is sheer delight. These images are being remembered, perhaps. ‘Your door’. Who is being referred to? \n\nIt’s the reference to Springville Hill that evokes the past and the sadness in me. Added to this is the plaintive middle 8 which is almost a cry ‘will I bring my self to write. . ?’ extending into ‘I give my best to Springville Hill. \n\nOh yes I love the descriptive language eg ‘a panoply of song’ and what it conjures up in the mind. \n\nLike earlier comments, it’s just how June Hymn feels to me. ‘The King is Dead’ album is one of my favourites, not least because of the mighty and inspirational ‘This Is Why We Fight.’ To be honest for me there isn’t a dud on the album. \n\nI also have struggled with the F# before new verses. However, it feels right now! Playing the Richie Havens method eg using the thumb to make the major chords means I have to adapt from Colin Meloy’s excellent playing. \n\nOne of the very best songs that I love to sing.

Just a note that "Springville Hill" is a reference to a small area of Linnton in Portland, off Springville Road. There aren't many houses up there, and the area definitely brings to mind the various images in this song.

I have the following corrections to these lyrics:

"Here's a hymn to welcome in the day"

"The thrushes' bleeding battle with the wrens"

"Training jasmine how to vine / up the arbor to your door"

"And summer comes to Springville Hill" in the refrain

"A barony of ivory in the trees Expanding out its empire by degrees And all the branches burst abloom In the boom Heaven sent this cardinal maroon To decorate our living room"

"I give my best to Springville Hill"

According to the Decemberists' website, the last verse is:

And years from now when this old light Isn’t ambling anymore Will I bring myself to write “I give my best to Springville Hill”

The meaning changes dramatically if you take these as the correct lyrics. At first, with the reference to a 'lie', I thought the song might be a continuation of the January hymn, with the protagonist having given himself over to the delusion of having his love with him (perhaps explaining why she never shows up directly in the song), with 'rye' meaning whiskey (his refuge when the delusion no longer holds).

But with the new lyrics... well, the song becomes much less twisted. :)

I can't help but assume that the lyric "burst to bloom" is a nod to the Bright Eyes album, "Burst and Bloom"