"I think of Rider as a weird kind of lullaby. I know that sounds really, um...distressing. But I just picture this sort of, like, some kind of viking-like figure who is kind of like bashing his way through the countryside, just raping and pillaging, you know, just destroying everything that he touches. And then he comes home to his kid, and he's like, "Oh, you know, my kid just woke up. He had a bad dream. Let me sing you a lullaby really quickly." And the kid is just thinking, "My dad's so strong and big and powerful." You know, somehow, that's what I think of when I think of Rider."
-Will Sheff
http://www.thecurrent.org/feature/2011/06/10/okkervil-river-live
"I think of Rider as a weird kind of lullaby. I know that sounds really, um...distressing. But I just picture this sort of, like, some kind of viking-like figure who is kind of like bashing his way through the countryside, just raping and pillaging, you know, just destroying everything that he touches. And then he comes home to his kid, and he's like, "Oh, you know, my kid just woke up. He had a bad dream. Let me sing you a lullaby really quickly." And the kid is just thinking, "My dad's so strong and big and powerful." You know, somehow, that's what I think of when I think of Rider." -Will Sheff http://www.thecurrent.org/feature/2011/06/10/okkervil-river-live