Transcription
The DecemberistsThe Hazards of LoveNate Quer y : upright bass——1. Prelude3. A Bower SceneJen ny Con lee: Ha m mond B-3 orga n, s y nthesizerJim Ja mes: back in g voiceSECON D VOIC E :K eiko A ra k i, Greg Ewer: v iolinsAda m Hoornstra : v iolaCollin Oldha m: cello—2. The Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won’t Wrestle theThistles Undone)FI R ST VOIC E :My true love went riding outIn white and green and grayPast the pale of Offa’s WallWhere she was wont to strayAnd there she came uponA white and wounded fawnSinging: oh, the hazards of loveShe, being full of charityA credit to her sexSought to right the fawn’s hind legsWhen here her plans were vexedThe taiga shifted strangeThe beast began to changeSinging: oh, the hazards of loveOh, the hazards of loveYou’ll learn soon enoughThe prettiest whistles won’t wrestle the thistles undoneUndoneFifteen lithesome maidens layAlong in their bowerFourteen occupations paidTo pass the idle hourBut Margaret heaves a sighHer hands clasped to her thighSinging: oh, the hazards of loveOh the hazards of loveYou’ll learn soon enoughThe prettiest whistles won’t wrestle the thistles undoneUndoneColin Meloy : voice, acoustic g uita rC h r is Fu n k : tenor g u it a rJen ny C on lee: Wu rl itzer pia no, s y nt hesi zerchorusJoh n Moen: the d r ums, back in g voice“Thou unconsolable daughter,” said the sister“When wilt thou trouble the water in the cistern?And what irascible blackguard is the father?”And when young Margaret’s waistline grew widerThe fruit of her amorous entwine inside herAnd so our heroine withdraws to the taigaColin Meloy : voice, electric g uita rC h r i s F u n k : e l e c t r i c g u i t a r, p i a n o , h a m m e r e d d u l c i m e rJen ny Con lee: Ha m mond B-3 orga nNate Quer y : bass g uita rJoh n Moen: the d r ums—4. Won’t Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga)M A R G A R E T:Gentle leaves, gentle leavesPlease array a path for meThe woods all growing thick and fast aroundColumbine, columbinePlease alert this love of mineLet him know his Margaret comes alongAnd all this stirring inside my bellyWon’t quell my want for loveAnd I may swoon from all this swellingBut I won’t want for loveMistle thrush, mistle thrushLay me down in the underbrushMy naked feet grow weary with the duskWillow boughs, willow boughsMake a bed to lay me downLet your branches bow to cradle uschorusBeck y Sta rk : voiceC o l i n M e l o y : e l e c t r i c g u i t a r, 1 2 - s t r i n g a c o u s t i c g u i t a r, v o i c eC h r is Fu n k : elect r ic g u it a rJen ny Con lee: pia no, Ha m mond B-3 orga nNate Quer y : electric bassJoh n Moen: the d r ums, back in g voice—5. The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)WILLIAM:And here I am softer than a showerAnd here I am to garland you with flowersTo lay you down in a clover bedThe stars a roof above our headsAnd all my life I’ve never felt the tremorAll my life — that now disturbs my fingersI’ll lay you down in a clover bedThe stars a roof above our headsAnd we’ll lie ’til the corncrake crowsBereft the weight of our summer clothesAnd I’d wager allThe hazards of loveThe hazards of loveTake my hand, cradle it in your handTake my hand. Feel the pull. The quicksand.I’ll lay you down in a clover bedThe stars a roof above our headsAnd we’ll lie ’til the corncrake crowsBereft the weight of our summer clothesAnd I’d wager allThe hazards of loveThe hazards of loveC o l i n M e l o y : v o i c e , a c o u s t i c g u i t a r, e l e c t r i c g u i t a rC h r i s F u n k : e l e c t r i c g u i t a r, p e r c u s s i o nJen ny Con lee: pia no, Ha m mond B-3 orga nNate Quer y : electric bassJoh n Moen: the d r ums, percussionBeck y Sta rk : back in g voice—6. The Queen’s ApproachWILLIAM:O my own true love!O my own true love!Can you hear me love?Can you hear me love?—
7. Isn’t It a Lovely Night?From ore I labored youFrom cancer I cradled youM A R G A R E T:Isn’t it a lovely night?And so alive with fireflies providing us their holy lightAnd here we made a bed of boughsAnd thistledown that we had found to lay upon the dewy groundAnd now: this is how I am repaid?This is how I am repaid?Remember when I found youThe miseries that hounded youAnd isn’t it a lovely wayWe got in from our playIsn’t it babe? A sweet little babyAnd I gave you motionAnointed with lotionsWILLIAM:Wasn’t it a lovely breezeThat swept the leaves of arbor eavesAnd bent to brush our blushing knees?M & W:And here we died our little deathsAnd we were left to catch our breathsSo swiftly lifting from our chestsAnd now: this is how I am repaid?This is how I am repaid?WILLIAM:Mother hear this proposition rightGrant me freedom to enjoy this nightAnd I’ll return to you at break of lightFor the wanting comes in wavesBeck y Sta rk : voiceColin Meloy : voice, acoustic g uita rAnd waves, and wavesStill the wanting comes in wavesStill the wanting comes in wavesStill the wanting comes in wavesAnd you owe me lifeAnd you owe me lifeC h r i s F u n k : p e d a l s t e e l g u i t a r, s y n t h e s i z e rJen ny Con lee: accordionQU E E N:Nate Quer y : upright bassJoh n Moen: the d r umsAnd if I grant youThis favor to hand you—Your life for the eveningI will re-take by morningchorus8. The Wanting Comes in Waves / RepaidWILLIAM:Mother I can hear your footfall nowA soft disturbance in the deadfall howIt precedes you like a black smoke pallStill the wanting comes in wavesAnd so: consider it your debt repaidConsider it your debt repaidIn the summer of my twenty-first yearAnd the bells rang for our weddingOnly now do I remember it clearAll right, all right, all right!No more a rake and no more a bachelorI was wedded and it whetted my thirstUntil her womb started spilling out babiesOnly then did I reckon my curseAll right, all right, all right!First came Isaiah with his crinkled little fingersThen came Charlotte and that wretched girl DawnUgly Myfanwy died on deliveryMercifully taking her mother alongAll right, all right, all right!What can one do when one is a widowerShamefully saddled with three little pestsAll that I wanted was the freedom of a new lifeSo my burden I began to divestAll right, all right, all right!Charlotte I buried after feeding her foxgloveDawn was easy: she was drowned in the bathIsaiah fought but was easily bestedBurned his body for incurring my wrathAll right, all right, all right!And that’s how I came your humble narratorTo be living so easy and freeI expect that you think that I should be hauntedBut it never really bothers meC o l i n M e l o y : v o i c e , e l e c t r i c g u i t a r, a c o u s t i c g u i t a rS h a r a Wo r d e n : v o i c e , b a c k i n g v o i c eAll right, all right, all right!C h r i s F u n k : e l e c t r i c g u i t a r, s y n t h e s i z e rJen ny Con lee: ha rpsichord, pia no, Ha m mond B-3 orga nColin Meloy : voice, acoustic g uita rAnd you delivered me from danger, thenPulled my cradle from the reedy glenSwore to save me from the world of menStill the wanting comes in wavesNate Quer y : electric bass, upright bassJoh n Moen: the d r ums, percussionIn waves, and wavesAnd the wanting comes in wavesAnd the wanting comes in wavesAnd I want this nightAnd I want this nightColin Meloy : acoustic g uita rRoby n Hitchcock : electric g uita r—C h r is Fu n k : bou zou k i11. The Abduction of Margaret—FI R ST VOIC E :QU E E N:10. The Rake’s SongHow I made youI wrought youI pulled you9. An InterludeS h a r a Wo r d e n : y e l l i n gNate Quer y : electric bassJen ny Con lee: the d r umsC h r is Fu n k , Joh n Moen : t he d r u m s , percussion , yel l i n gAnd all the while whispering arbors provide coverWhat previous witnessed ardors of our loversOur heroine here falls prey to her abductor!R AK E:I had entered into a marriageAll a’gallop with Margaret slung rude ’cross withers
Having clamped her innocent fingers in fettersThis villain must calculate crossing the wild river!Colin Meloy : voice, electric g uita rC h r i s F u n k : e l e c t r i c g u i t a r, s y n t h e s i z e r, p i a n o , h a m m e r e d d u l c i m e rJen ny Con lee: Ha m mond B-3 orga nNate Quer y : electric bassJoh n Moen: the d r ums—12. The Queen’s Rebuke / The CrossingYou may render me a wreck when I come backSo calm your waves and slow the churnAnd you may have my precious bones on my returnAnnan water, oh hear my true love callHear her holler above your water’s pallGod that I could, that my two arms could give me wingAnd I would cross your breadth and wrap my breast about her amberringHer amber ringBut if you calm and let me passYou may render me a wreck when I come backQU E E N:O my own true loveO my own true loveCan you hear me love?Can you hear me love?Colin Meloy: voice, acoustic guitar, electric guitarBecky Stark: voiceChris Funk: electric guitarJenny Conlee: piano, Hammond B-3 organNate Query: bowed bass, electric bass, synthesizerJohn Moen: the drumsJim James: backing voiceKeiko Araki, Greg Ewer: violinsAdam Hoornstra: violaCollin Oldham: celloI’m made of bones of the branches, the boughs, and the brow-beatinglightWhile my feet are the trunks and my head is the canopy highAnd my fingers extend to the leaves and the eaves and the brightBrightest shine, it’s my shineSo calm your waves and slow the churnAnd you may have my precious bones on my returnAnd you may have my precious bonesAnd I will call your depths my homeAnd you may have my precious bones on my returnAnd he was a baby abandoned, entombed in a cradle of clayAnd I was the soul who took pity and stole him awayAnd gave him the form of a fawn to inhabit by dayBrightest day, it’s my dayColin Meloy: voice, acoustic guitarChris Funk: mandolin, hurdy-gurdy, autoharp, synthesizer, marxophone,And you have removed this temptation that’s troubled my innocentchildTo abduct and abuse and to render her rift and defiledBut the river is deep to the banks and the water is wildBut I will fly you the far sideJohn Moen: hand drum, percussionShara Worden: voiceColin Meloy: electric guitarR AK E:—15. The Hazards of Love 3 (Revenge!)CHALOTTE:Chris Funk: electric guitar, baritone guitarJenny Conlee: Hammond B-3 organNate Query: bass guitarJohn Moen: the drumshammered dulcimerJenny Conlee: accordion, Hammond B-3 organNate Query: upright bassDAW N :—14. Margaret in CaptivityI have snipped your wingspanMy precious captive swanHere all clipped of kickstandYou spirit won’t last long13. Annan WaterDon’t you lift a fingerDon’t you snap and jawLimber limbs akimboRest ’til rubbing rawWILLIAM:M A R G A R E T:Annan water, you loom so deep and wideI would cross over if you would stem the tideOr build a boat that I might ford the other sideTo reach the farther shore where my true love lies in wait for meIn wait for meO my own true loveO my own true loveO gray river, your waters ramble wildThe horses shiver and bite against the bridleBut I will cross if mine own horse is pulled from meThough my mother cries that if I try I sure will drowned beDrowned beR AK E:But if you calm and let me passM A R G A R E T:—Father I’m not feeling well, the flowers me you fedTasted spoiled for suddenly I find that I am deadBut father don’t you fearYour children all are hereSinging: O the hazards of love!Can you hear me loveCan you hear me love?Don’t hold out for rescueNone can hear your call’Til I have wrest and wrecked youBehind these fortress wallsPapa turn the water down, the basin’s overflow’dThe water covers everything and me left all aloneBut Papa here in deathI have regained my breathTo sing: O the hazards of love!ISA IA H:Spare the rod, you’ll spoil the child but I’d prefer the lashMy sisters drowned and poisoned, all, and me reduced to ashAnd buried in an urnBut father, I returnSinging: O the hazards of loveNatalie Briare, Clara Ell, Joseph Ell: voicesJenny Conlee: harpsichordChris Funk: synthesizerColin Meloy: percussionKeiko Araki, Greg Ewer: violinsAdam Hoornstra: violaCollin Oldham: cello—16. The Wanting Comes in Waves (reprise)WILLIAM:Here come the waves!And the wanting comes in wavesAnd the wanting comes in waves
And the wanting comes in waves!And I want this nightColin Meloy: voice, acoustic guitarChris Funk: electric guitarJenny Conlee: piano, Hammond B-3 organ, harpsichordNate Query: bass guitarJohn Moen: the drumsJim James, Shara Worden: backing voicesKeiko Araki, Greg Ewer: violinsAdam Hoornstra: violaCollin Oldham: cello—17. The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)WILLIAM:Margaret, array the rocks around the hole before we’re sinkingA million stones, a million bones, a million holes within the chinkingAnd painting rings around your eyes, these peppered holesSo filled with cryingA whisper-weight upon the tattered down where you and IWere lying.So tell me now, O tell me this: a river’s son, a forest’s daughterA willow wand, a will-o-wisp, our ghosts will wander all of the waterW & M:So let’s be married here today, these rushing waves to bear our witnessAnd we will lie like river stones, rolling only where it takes usBut I pulled you and I called you here(Didn’t I, didn’t I, didn’t I)And I caught you and I brought you here(Didn’t I, didn’t I, didn’t I)But these hazards of loveNever more will trouble usWILLIAM:O Margaret the lapping waves are licking quietly at our anklesAnother bow, another breath; this brilliant chill has come to shackleW & M:But with this long, last rush of air let’s speak our vows in starry whisperAnd when the waves came crashing down, he closed his eyesAnd softly kissed herchorusKeiko Araki, Greg Ewer: violinsAdam Hoornstra: violaCollin Oldham: celloAll songs written by Colin Meloy, except “Prelude” by Jenny ConleeAll songs published by Music of Stage Three/Osterohzhna Music, admin. by StageThree Music Inc. (BMI)String arrangements by Jenny Conlee and Nate QueryProduced by Tucker Martine and The DecemberistsRecorded July–September 2008 at Flora in Portland, ORRecorded and mixed by Tucker MartineAssisted by Rich HippMixed in October 2008 at Supernatural Sound in Oregon City, ORMastered at SAE by Roger SeibelManagement: Jason Colton and Ron Laffitte, Red Light ManagementBooking: Kevin French, Big Shot TouringLegal: Gillian Bar, Carroll, Guido & GroffmanDesign: Carson Ellis, Colin Meloy, and Mario Hugo for Hugo & MarieIllustration: Carson EllisBand photo: Autumn de WildeJim James of My Morning Jacket appears courtesy of ATO Records.Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond appears courtesy of Matador Records.Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond appears courtesy of Asthmatic Kitty Records.Robyn Hitchcock appears courtesy of Yep Roc Records.The Decemberists thank:Natalie Briare, Clara & Joseph Ell, Michael Mayer, Olivier Sultan, Tom Hulce, GillianBar, Lionel Conway, Rosemary Carroll, Laurel Stearns, Ambrosia Healy, Sharon Lord,Jennifer Bird, Taylor Brigode, Chris Nary, Brian Stowell, Amy Davidson, Rick Sanger,Dan Cohen, Alison Tarnofsky, Cem Kurosman, Nicole Frantz, Ashley Stagg, MattKroepel, Geoff Travis, Ruth Patterson, Ben Ayres, Rob Jones, David Weise, WendyRobinson,Chuck Pettry, Laura Veirs, Aaron Stewart-Ahn, Mike Scott, Robyn Hitchcock,Carson Ellis, Marissa Maier, Steve Drizos, Sarah Z. Dykes, Louise B. Moen, Hank Meloy,Scout Funk, Eric Lovre, Chad Crouch, Corinna Repp, Paul Dalen, Asif Ahmed, JamesWorden, Bob Stark, Alan Garren, Silverfox Drumsticks, Alex Auxier & Orange Amplifiers, Ed DeGenaro & THD Amplifiers, Pro Sound and Lighting, Dan Lakin & LaklandBassesThis recording and artwork are protected by copyright law. Using Internet servicesto distribute copyrighted music, giving away illegal copies of discs, or lending discsto others for them to copy is illegal and does not support those involved in makingthis piece of music — including the artist. By carrying out any of these actions it hasthe same effect as stealing music. Applicable laws provide severe civil and criminalpenalities for the unauthorized reproduction, distribution, and digital transmission ofcopyrighted sound recordings.—Colin Meloy: voice, acoustic guitar, Nashville guitarChris Funk: pedal steel guitar, eristsJenny Conlee: piano, Hammond B-3 organ, marxophoneNate Query: bass guitarJohn Moen: the drumsBecky Stark, Rebecca Gates, Jim James: backing voices—g 2009 Capitol Records, LLC. www.capitolrecords.com
Columbine, columbine Please alert this love of mine Let him know his Margaret comes along And all this stirring inside my belly Won’t quell my want for love And I may swoon from all this swelling But I won’t want for love Mistle thrush, mistle thrush Lay me down in the underbrush My nake
