Literary References in Songs by The Decemberists
Because we all know Colin Meloy loves a good book. List of songs and references in the comments; well known works listed when authors are broadly referenced. Recommendations appreciated for items that were overlooked.
created by sailorsoftgirl
last updated March, 2026
Comments
“The Legionnaire’s Lament” - Beau Geste by P.C. Wren “Song for Myla Goldberg” - Bee Season by Myla Goldberg "The Soldiering Life" - The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul Fussell "Billy Liar" - Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse, Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas The Tain EP - Táin Bó Cuailnge (Irish Epic), Mercian Hymns by Geoffery Hill “Valerie Plame” - Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House by Valerie Plame “The Infanta” - The Birthday of the Infanta by Oscar Wilde “The Crane Wife 1,2 & 3 - Tsuru no Ongaeshi (Japanese folktale), The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness "The Island” - The Tempest by William Shakespeare “O Valencia” - Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare “When the War Came” - Hunger by Elise Blackwell “The Shankill Butchers” - Can You Feel The Silence by Johnny Rogan "Calamity Song" - Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace "E. Watson" - Shadow Country by Peter Matheissen "Joan in the Garden" - The Book of Joan by Lidia Yuknavitch "Down by the River" - Leda and the Swan by W.B. Yeats "William Fitzwilliam" - The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel "Down on the Knuckle" - Sylvia Plath "Sucker's Prayer" - Arthur Rimbaud, Charles Baudelaire "The Harrowed and the Haunted" - Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost "Cavalry Captain" - The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Tennyson
I also need y'all to know how much it hurt me, a noted David Foster Wallace hater, to put Infinite Jest on this list.
oh wow this is incredible!! thank you for putting this together đź’— gonna have to queue up some Decemberists now I guess
Yay!! I’m glad you like it! I basically created it thinking “no one asked for this but oh well” so it’s nice to know someone appreciates it 💛
Omg this is amazing!
