"The nameless French soldier of 'The Legionnaire's Lament' lies prostrate under the hot desert sun, yearning to be back in his fertile homeland. Putting the lyrical clues together, it is most probable that the roasting soldier is a member of the French Foreign Legion enlisted to pacify Algeria in the 1830s. A minor dispute between the two countries resulted in Charles X of France imposing a naval blockade of Algeria and then, in June, 1830, invading the country. Taking that position, one would have to take the mention of a Frigidaire either as flippancy, or Meloy squeezing humor out of an anachronism. The evidence in support of Algeria as the setting for the song lies in many narrative clues. The mention of the 'desert dry'--the Saharan desert is in the southern-most part of the country, and the references to late 18th and early 19th century items: laudanum, a drug made illegal by 1920, and 'charabanc', a term for a sightseeing bus now long obsolete. Then there is the various French references: joie de vivre, Paree, the Seine, shiraz wine, and Champs Elysee avenue. 'The Legionnaire's Lament' epitomizes the greatest strengths of the Decemberists: heedful historical anecdotes wrapped in shiny melodious pop songs."
"The nameless French soldier of 'The Legionnaire's Lament' lies prostrate under the hot desert sun, yearning to be back in his fertile homeland. Putting the lyrical clues together, it is most probable that the roasting soldier is a member of the French Foreign Legion enlisted to pacify Algeria in the 1830s. A minor dispute between the two countries resulted in Charles X of France imposing a naval blockade of Algeria and then, in June, 1830, invading the country. Taking that position, one would have to take the mention of a Frigidaire either as flippancy, or Meloy squeezing humor out of an anachronism. The evidence in support of Algeria as the setting for the song lies in many narrative clues. The mention of the 'desert dry'--the Saharan desert is in the southern-most part of the country, and the references to late 18th and early 19th century items: laudanum, a drug made illegal by 1920, and 'charabanc', a term for a sightseeing bus now long obsolete. Then there is the various French references: joie de vivre, Paree, the Seine, shiraz wine, and Champs Elysee avenue. 'The Legionnaire's Lament' epitomizes the greatest strengths of the Decemberists: heedful historical anecdotes wrapped in shiny melodious pop songs."
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