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The Decemberists — Don't Carry It All
Album: The King Is Dead
Avg rating:
6.6

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2331









Released: 2011
Length: 4:12
Plays (last 30 days): 4
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Here we come to a turning of the season
Witness to the arc towards the sun
A neighbor's blessed burden within reason
Becomes a burden borne of all and one

And nobody, nobody knows
Let the yoke fall from our shoulders
Don't carry it all, don't carry it all
We are all our hands and holders
Beneath this bold and brilliant sun
And this I swear to all

A monument to build beneath the arbors
Upon a plinth that towers t'wards the trees
Let every vessel pitching hard to starboard
Lay its head on summer's freckled knees

And nobody, nobody knows
Let the yoke fall from our shoulders
Don't carry it all, don't carry it all
We are all our hands and holders
Beneath this bold and brilliant sun
And this I swear to all
And this I swear to all

A there a wreath of trillium and ivy
Laid upon the body of a boy
Lazy will the loam come from its hiding
And return this quiet searcher to the soil

So raise a glass to turnings of the season
And watch it as it arcs towards the sun
And you must bear your neighbor's burden within reason
And your labors will be borne when all is done

And nobody, nobody knows
Let the yoke fall from our shoulders
Don't carry it all, don't carry it all
We are all our hands and holders
Beneath this bold and brilliant sun
And this I swear to all
And this I swear to all
And this I swear to all
And this I swear to all
To all
To all
To all
Comments (225)add comment
I very much like this song, but "pitching hard to starboard?"
Posted 5 months ago by kpb    [ Reply ]
Lovely.  Kind of like a different take on The Weight
Posted 7 months ago by hamelp    [ Reply ]
Love these lyrics!
Posted 9 months ago by Rcallinjr    [ Reply ]
 Michaeljcovel wrote:

Jfc, this band goes on and on like December......
is it January yet?


January has the same number of days as December.
Posted 9 months ago by Edweirdo    [ Reply ]
Jfc, this band goes on and on like December......
is it January yet?
Posted 1 year ago by Michaeljcovel    [ Reply ]
 xkolibuul wrote:


Your problem, not ours.  More Decemberists, please!


No, it actually is your problem fuckhead!
Posted 1 year ago by Michaeljcovel    [ Reply ]
 Chimpmeister wrote:

Monotonous, dull, droning, terrible vocals, and it drags on far too long. Awful. 



this band is the worst.
Posted 1 year ago by lily34    [ Reply ]
Monotonous, dull, droning, terrible vocals, and it drags on far too long. Awful. 
Posted 1 year ago by Chimpmeister    [ Reply ]
 Proclivities wrote:

No, it's not a "note-for-note ripoff" at all ("pretty much" or any other sort); it's got a very similar-sounding harmonica intro (which is playing different notes), it has a very similar drum beat, and the chord progression is completely different.  Sure, I'd say it  was influenced by Petty's song, but I wish people would stop using absolute terms like"note-for-note" or "exactly" unless they are actually true; there's already more than enough hyperbole these days..



Absolutely!  This is the age of hyperbole!  The most stupendous amount of hyperbole the world has ever seen is extant in our time!
Posted 1 year ago by fredGarvin    [ Reply ]
 mrtuba9 wrote:



This is the King of the British Empire.
Posted 1 year ago by itsme_bygolly    [ Reply ]
 jbuhl wrote:

Flathead



I swear I like the Decemberists more each time I hear them.
William can we have some more Warren Zevon, Craig Finn and Brian Fallon?
Posted 2 years ago by GarrySR07    [ Reply ]
Posted 2 years ago by mrtuba9    [ Reply ]
 flatop wrote:

I swear, I hate the Decemberists more each time I hear them



Why do you continue to listen?
Posted 2 years ago by itsme_bygolly    [ Reply ]
 flatop wrote:

I swear, I hate the Decemberists more each time I hear them


Flathead

Posted 2 years ago by jbuhl    [ Reply ]
 Proclivities wrote:

No, it's not a "note-for-note ripoff" at all ("pretty much" or any other sort); it's got a very similar-sounding harmonica intro (which is playing different notes), it has a very similar drum beat, and the chord progression is completely different.  Sure, I'd say it  was influenced by Petty's song, but I wish people would stop using absolute terms like"note-for-note" or "exactly" unless they are actually true; there's already more than enough hyperbole these days..
 
God, I love intelligent musical comments. Thanks for the additional information. Clearly, there are a lot of intelligent musicians who listen here. For that (too) I am grateful. 
Posted 3 years ago by dmcanany    [ Reply ]
 flatop wrote:
I swear, I hate the Decemberists more each time I hear them
 

Your problem, not ours.  More Decemberists, please!
Posted 3 years ago by xkolibuul    [ Reply ]
I swear, I hate the Decemberists more each time I hear them
Posted 4 years ago by flatop    [ Reply ]
Brilliant
Posted 4 years ago by cyoungdelmar    [ Reply ]
 TJS wrote:

Yeah it was pretty much a note-for-note ripoff of "You Don't Know How It Feels".
 
No, it's not a "note-for-note ripoff" at all ("pretty much" or any other sort); it's got a very similar-sounding harmonica intro (which is playing different notes), it has a very similar drum beat, and the chord progression is completely different.  Sure, I'd say it  was influenced by Petty's song, but I wish people would stop using absolute terms like"note-for-note" or "exactly" unless they are actually true; there's already more than enough hyperbole these days..
Posted 4 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
colin meloy,  the singer , who i have shaken hands with and spoken to briefly, describes his own voice as "braying" and i gotta say, apt, that

not my fave decemberists tune
Posted 5 years ago by mthomaspdx    [ Reply ]
Reminds me of Lindisfarne.
Posted 6 years ago by andy.ormsby955    [ Reply ]
 nicknt wrote:
Mediocre song, a bad copy of Neutral Milk Hotel. 

 

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA


wonderful to the rest of us

10
Posted 6 years ago by DocStrangelove    [ Reply ]
Mediocre song, a bad copy of Neutral Milk Hotel. 
Posted 7 years ago by nicknt    [ Reply ]
 JoeHaarlemNL wrote:
No problem with RP playing this but don't like it at all.
 
Now that is a mature attitude.  

Not everyone likes everything, and it takes restraint to listen without complaining or stabbing at the PSD button.  Thank you, JoeHaarlemNL!
Posted 7 years ago by unclehud    [ Reply ]
 h8rhater wrote:

Mess?!? You live in a hovel. 

Hovel:  "a small extremely dirty or unpleasant dwelling".

 
{#Roflol}
Posted 7 years ago by Cannon    [ Reply ]
Love the Decemberists... now if only Bill will follow this up with Carbon Leaf!
Posted 8 years ago by VV    [ Reply ]
 DaveInVA wrote:
I hate this song more every time I hear it. And it usually takes at least 2 clicks of the PSD to cover up the mess it leaves.

 
Mess?!? You live in a hovel. 

Hovel:  "a small extremely dirty or unpleasant dwelling".
Posted 8 years ago by h8rhater    [ Reply ]
LOOOVE when the bass line starts....
Posted 9 years ago by raga    [ Reply ]
No problem with RP playing this but don't like it at all.
Posted 9 years ago by JoeHaarlemNL    [ Reply ]
 LowPhreak wrote:
Yes, RP is not allowed to play anything that may have been even a minor hit, or known of by more than a handful of kewl beatniks at the local hip coffee house.

Get over it and enjoy the music, nerd.

 
What?  It's not just music, it's a referendum on people's coolness.
Posted 9 years ago by dwhayslett    [ Reply ]
I didn't always hate this song, but I am starting to now. 
Posted 10 years ago by stf9    [ Reply ]
WOW look at all the haters!  I really like The Decemberists.  I don't hear any yelling.  Gets a solid 7 from me!
Posted 10 years ago by diannemck56    [ Reply ]
I disagree with this sentiment, as I enjoy the song, but this comment made me laugh out loud.  Bravo!  {#Clap}

DaveInVA wrote:
I hate this song more every time I hear it. And it usually takes at least 2 clicks of the PSD to cover up the mess it leaves.

 


Posted 10 years ago by skooba    [ Reply ]
STFU, already.
Posted 10 years ago by jagdriver    [ Reply ]
I hit PSD and got Zep's 'No Quarter'. Much better! Thank you random generator.
Posted 10 years ago by LowPhreak    [ Reply ]
This song is more yelling than it is singing.
Posted 10 years ago by coyote620    [ Reply ]
 hayduke2 wrote:
way down there, instant psd or mute

 
absolutely, every time.
Posted 10 years ago by lily34    [ Reply ]
 JHZ wrote:
And again I was hoping for TP's "You don't know how it feels when this started" - too bad it is just this tune.
 
Oh but if only.
Posted 10 years ago by LPCity    [ Reply ]
Ouch! The harmonies give me an instant headache.
Posted 10 years ago by coyote620    [ Reply ]
I swear, I like the Decemberists more each time I hear them.

6 -> 7
Posted 10 years ago by subgyro    [ Reply ]
Love it - this is my feel better song when I'm having a crappy day
Posted 10 years ago by alevin    [ Reply ]
I hate this song more every time I hear it. And it usually takes at least 2 clicks of the PSD to cover up the mess it leaves.
Posted 10 years ago by DaveInSaoMiguel    [ Reply ]
Yes, RP is not allowed to play anything that may have been even a minor hit, or known of by more than a handful of kewl beatniks at the local hip coffee house.

Get over it and enjoy the music, nerd.
Posted 10 years ago by LowPhreak    [ Reply ]
yuk very commercial sukie bill
Posted 10 years ago by nightmann    [ Reply ]
 Dosequis wrote:

Or REO Speedwagon. 

 
I don't think there are any REO Speedwagon songs with a harmonica, but then I've always made it a strict rule to avoid ever hearing any of their 'music', so it's possible that there is.  The music arrangement in this tune sounds cool, it's his strained yodeling and affected enunciation that detracts from this song for me.
Posted 10 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
 Dosequis wrote:

Or REO Speedwagon. 

 
Priceless!

Put this song in the category of 'I can't stand it but I also can't articulate why I can't stand it.' These are some heavy and thoughtful lyrics but they deserve to be interpreted by a better vocalist. And maybe lose the shitty harmonica and replace it with a shitty accordion. 
Posted 10 years ago by Sasha2001    [ Reply ]
 jagdriver wrote:

How about forever? Like many RP listeners, I've had ENOUGH of the Decemberists!

 
And I haven't had nearly enough. Keep 'em coming. Loving this! :)
Posted 10 years ago by stevendejong    [ Reply ]
 ench wrote:
I swear, every time this song starts, I think its Tom Petty.

 
Or REO Speedwagon. 
Posted 10 years ago by Dosequis    [ Reply ]
This song has always annoyed me.
Posted 10 years ago by coyote620    [ Reply ]
Can we please be coming to the turning of the season? 

Please?!?

I know Imbolc and all just passed, but sheesh! I'm so ready for winter to end.


{#Headache} 
Posted 10 years ago by eeastridge    [ Reply ]
I swear, every time this song starts, I think its Tom Petty.
Posted 10 years ago by ench    [ Reply ]
Bill, if you read these, I have a question.  Queen '39 followed by this song, where the drum part is SOOOO similar to Queen's We Will Rock You beat. You have some of the most excellent transitions between songs... so, Coincidence?

Love this place.  Thanks. 
Posted 10 years ago by GawgaBoy    [ Reply ]
Agreed. A hiatus would be good. Don't lose it though!
Posted 10 years ago by FourFortyEight    [ Reply ]
Excellent song.  Less play would even heighten that realization when it would run the next time.  Thanks Bill.
Posted 10 years ago by lissen    [ Reply ]
way down there, instant psd or mute
Posted 10 years ago by hayduke2    [ Reply ]
Ditto to comments on retiring this song for a bit.
Posted 11 years ago by scootmagapril    [ Reply ]
 hanssachs wrote:
Ah - thanks!  I was right - it has been played too often!  Give it a rest, Bill - maybe six months, maybe a year?  It's gettin' tiresome.
 
How about forever? Like many RP listeners, I've had ENOUGH of the Decemberists!
Posted 11 years ago by jagdriver    [ Reply ]
7 to 8 on one listen. (haven't been listening for a couple of years...) Nice segue from Fairport from Neko Case. Not really my bag, that arc, but ya gotta hand it to the DJ.
Posted 11 years ago by Wizzo_oz    [ Reply ]
 SwissReVox wrote:


Click on the Album Cover
->

Last play: Oct 04, 2013 - 03:13 Plays in last 30 days: 5

 
Ah - thanks!  I was right - it has been played too often!  Give it a rest, Bill - maybe six months, maybe a year?  It's gettin' tiresome.
Posted 11 years ago by hanssachs    [ Reply ]
 hanssachs wrote:
This is getting old ... where's the counter that shows how often it's been played in the past 30 days?

 

Click on the Album Cover
->

Last play: Oct 04, 2013 - 03:13 Plays in last 30 days: 5
Posted 11 years ago by SwissReVox    [ Reply ]
This is getting old ... where's the counter that shows how often it's been played in the past 30 days?
Posted 11 years ago by hanssachs    [ Reply ]
 Jelani wrote:
I really like this guys' voice. I think I wouldn't like this if sung by another.
Well, maybe not. maybe Sandy Denny would have made it sound nice as well. 

 
He, he, or Michael Stipe - although this song doesn't sound as much like REM as some of their others.
Posted 11 years ago by Sasha2001    [ Reply ]
And again I was hoping for TP's "You don't know how it feels when this started" - too bad it is just this tune.
Posted 11 years ago by JHZ    [ Reply ]

It is time to retire this song from ever being played again.
Thanks.


Posted 11 years ago by kirbyc    [ Reply ]
I really like this guys' voice. I think I wouldn't like this if sung by another.
Well, maybe not. maybe Sandy Denny would have made it sound nice as well. 
Posted 11 years ago by Jelani    [ Reply ]
 jkamm14 wrote:
Personally, I put all my Decemberists songs away in early January. 

 
Too soon. Their January Hymn is really beautiful
Posted 11 years ago by blackdogsailing    [ Reply ]
Like!
Posted 11 years ago by jocelynsart    [ Reply ]
Too much of a sing-a-long feeling for me
Posted 11 years ago by dyharenas    [ Reply ]
 
Posted 11 years ago by ziakut    [ Reply ]
 stackarukk wrote:


kinda reminds me of Blue Rodeo or Hootie and the Blowfish...

 
...and we need more Blue Rodeo... IMHO
Posted 11 years ago by drivingunit103    [ Reply ]
This tune is about as regular and routine as a good, under rated bowel movement. Only difference is the BM is usually slightly different for each appearance. This tune?....not so much!
Posted 11 years ago by ziakut    [ Reply ]
Sing don't shout.
Posted 11 years ago by Thin_Air    [ Reply ]
Nice addition to the mix. Something not heard on a regular basis. 
Posted 11 years ago by TrixieUpNorth    [ Reply ]
Juvenile lyrics, try hard music- I'd rather listen to Billy Paul
Posted 11 years ago by Pezz9    [ Reply ]
So what if these lyrics evoke the memory of a 19th century poem.  It's poetry, and it's beautiful. 

SOME things that fly there be,—
Birds, hours, the bumble-bee:
Of these no elegy. Some things that stay there be,—
Grief, hills, eternity:
Nor this behooveth me. There are, that resting, rise.
Can I expound the skies?
How still the riddle lies! - Emily Dickinson
Posted 11 years ago by offroadbiker    [ Reply ]
 lbeaton wrote:

I like the song, but a vessel that has a head?
 
I think he's using the word metaphorically to mean "person" or possibly even "sentient being."
Posted 11 years ago by handyrae    [ Reply ]
I like the poetic lyrics.  It's certainly more interesting than "She loves you, yeah yeah yeah"...
Posted 11 years ago by PLC    [ Reply ]
{#No}
Posted 11 years ago by d48m02h1918    [ Reply ]
 dig wrote:
A monument to build beneath the arbors
Upon a plinth that towers towards the trees
Let every vessel pitching hard to starboard
Lay its head on summer's freckled knees

So Annoying. Enough already.
 
I like the song, but yes. A verse that I thought started off pretty well ends in a solecism worthy of Neil Diamond. Surely they can do better.


Posted 11 years ago by lbeaton    [ Reply ]
Very rare for me to have to hit the mute button on RP music
Posted 11 years ago by oldsinger    [ Reply ]
A monument to build beneath the arbors
Upon a plinth that towers towards the trees
Let every vessel pitching hard to starboard
Lay its head on summer's freckled knees

So Annoying. Enough already.
Posted 11 years ago by dig    [ Reply ]
Decemberists have one good album, and the rest is gag-me.  I wish they'd go away.
Posted 11 years ago by Rafter101    [ Reply ]
So, let's compare this with the Avett Brothers. Not too gimmicky, simple but honest, but with a bit of sophistication. Is that why I can still almost find pleasure listening to it?
Posted 11 years ago by ezzyme    [ Reply ]
Just finished a marathon washing up session (haven't joined the dish-washer era yet) and everything from Vince G to this number has had us grooving. Well done Bill.

Posted 11 years ago by TerryS    [ Reply ]
Personally, I put all my Decemberists songs away in early January. 
Posted 11 years ago by jkamm14    [ Reply ]
Quite like this one.  May have to go to a 9 to offset some of the haters.
Posted 11 years ago by ChicoCyclist    [ Reply ]
 KTransue wrote:
Hate the one-note harmony.  PSD.
 
{#Eh}
Posted 11 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
First couple of plays I thought it was ok...but not now...PLEASE take it off the playlist for a while...TOO much.
Other than that, I love what you guys do! 
Posted 11 years ago by jaybax    [ Reply ]
Like.
Posted 11 years ago by poetista    [ Reply ]
..this dude swears alot..8!..
Posted 11 years ago by cShaggy    [ Reply ]
great song great band - play more songs of them
Posted 11 years ago by abahilel    [ Reply ]
very nice!
Posted 11 years ago by helgigermany    [ Reply ]
 
Agreed!
KTransue wrote:
Hate the one-note harmony.  PSD.
 


Posted 11 years ago by coyote620    [ Reply ]
Hate the one-note harmony.  PSD.
Posted 11 years ago by KTransue    [ Reply ]
 MsJudi wrote:
8 ~> 9
 
I'm close to doing the same. Don't get the hate some seem to have for this one.
Posted 11 years ago by cosmiclint    [ Reply ]
 Proclivities wrote:

It has a very similar drum-beat and a harmonica at the beginning - there are probably no notes in common, though.  It wouldn't surprise me if they were influenced by that tune, and it's not as if no one would point out the similarities.
 

and I was sitting here thinking this song reminded me of Bare Naked Ladies "broke into the old apartment, this is where we used to live" it's very similar.
Posted 11 years ago by Quasita    [ Reply ]
Not a great song, not a bad band...but P U L E E Z....don't play this so often. SO SICK OF THIS!!!
Posted 11 years ago by ziakut    [ Reply ]
The PSD button sure is getting a workout..
Posted 11 years ago by neuticle    [ Reply ]
Been trying to figure out who had comparable vocal styles—the Continental Drifters with Peter Holsapple (dBs), Susan Cowsill (yes, of those Cowsills), and Vicki Peterson (Bangles). Their Vermillion is terrific.
Posted 11 years ago by WonderLizard    [ Reply ]
 Donaldinho wrote:
One of my favourite live bands. They have a cultish following here in the UK, so the venues are always pretty small. Loved them on the Hazards of Love tour where they played the whole album straight through in the first half, then came back out for a back catalogue second half. The King is Dead is knowingly derivative in places - check Calamity Song (featuring Peter Buck) vs REM's Talk About The Passion - but it all works. Great stuff.
 

Re: the R.E.M. connection...sometimes it confuses me when Calamity Song comes up on shuffle on my iPod. I wonder if it's a different version of Talk About The Passion...and then I remember. It's not problematic for me, though. I enjoy the song completely.
Posted 12 years ago by Amarissey    [ Reply ]
 leafmold wrote:
I never used to like this band, but somehow they grew on me.
 
I never used to like this band, I still don't like this band, but somehow they grew an inflamed, puss-filled boil on me.
Posted 12 years ago by jchrise    [ Reply ]
One of my favourite live bands. They have a cultish following here in the UK, so the venues are always pretty small. Loved them on the Hazards of Love tour where they played the whole album straight through in the first half, then came back out for a back catalogue second half. The King is Dead is knowingly derivative in places - check Calamity Song (featuring Peter Buck) vs REM's Talk About The Passion - but it all works. Great stuff.
Posted 12 years ago by Donaldinho    [ Reply ]
 TJS wrote:

Yeah it was pretty much a note-for-note ripoff of "You Don't Know How It Feels".
 
It has a very similar drum-beat and a harmonica at the beginning - there are probably no notes in common - so it is not a "note-for-note ripoff" - "pretty much" or not.  It wouldn't surprise me if they were influenced by that tune, and it's not as if no one would point out the similarities.
Posted 12 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
Thank you RP, for the "PSD" button ...
Posted 12 years ago by minimole    [ Reply ]
Had to stop this nonsense.  Wow, I thought I was listening to top 40 mush instead of alternative radio.
Posted 12 years ago by Rooney    [ Reply ]
 hayduke2 wrote:
quik mute to this crap 
 
Hear hear! Or not to hear hear.... = mute. Agreed! 
Posted 12 years ago by KaiT    [ Reply ]
8 ~> 9
Posted 12 years ago by MsJudi    [ Reply ]
Volume = zero
Posted 12 years ago by ERERER    [ Reply ]
Like this
Posted 12 years ago by gemtag    [ Reply ]
OUCH!!! My ears hurt from that segue.  outch, ouch.
Posted 12 years ago by sheeelaaa    [ Reply ]
God damn nattering nabobs of negativism.  {#Arrowd}
Posted 12 years ago by rdo    [ Reply ]
Love the PSD button..LOVE
Posted 12 years ago by neuticle    [ Reply ]
 hayduke2 wrote:
quik mute to this crap 
 
here here
Posted 12 years ago by neuticle    [ Reply ]
Count me in the "Like" column. 
Posted 12 years ago by Patti    [ Reply ]
I never used to like this band, but somehow they grew on me.
Posted 12 years ago by leafmold    [ Reply ]
quik mute to this crap 
Posted 12 years ago by hayduke2    [ Reply ]
Just don't see the draw to this band.. Nothing special at all as far as I'm concerned..
Posted 12 years ago by ski19570    [ Reply ]
Love the song, love the collection.
Posted 12 years ago by Ljenny    [ Reply ]
 ThePoose wrote:
The frontman has one of those very compelling voices that you would gladly listen to as it sang out phone book entries.
 
Your kidding..right?
Posted 12 years ago by neuticle    [ Reply ]
 ThePoose wrote:
The frontman has one of those very compelling voices that you would gladly listen to as it sang out phone book entries.
 

kinda reminds me of Blue Rodeo or Hootie and the Blowfish...
Posted 12 years ago by stackarukk    [ Reply ]