The Mariner's Revenge Song

Song infobox
Name = Mariner's Revenge Song


Artist = The Decemberists
Album = Picaresque (album)
Released = March 22, 2005 (US)
track_no = 10
Recorded = August 2004–September 2004
Genre = Indie rock
Length = 8:45
Writer =
Label = Kill Rock Stars
Producer = The Decemberists, Christopher Walla
Chart position =
Background =
prev = On the Bus Mall
prev_no = 9
next = Of Angels and Angles
next_no = 11

"The Mariner's Revenge Song" is a track by The Decemberists from their 2005 album "Picaresque". The song describes a story of revenge.

Plot summary

The story begins as the narrator, one of two survivors stranded in the belly of a whale, explains to his companion how (unknown to him) their lives were interwoven.

The narrator details how, when he was three, his widowed mother fell in love with a roustabout, who was charming at first but was later revealed as a gambler and womanizer. The roustabout then disappeared, leaving only his gambling debts and the mother sick with consumption. The magistrate repossessed their estate to pay for the debts and the mother later died, leaving the boy an orphan. On her deathbed she asked the boy to avenge her death.

Fifteen years later the boy hears of a whaler captain who matches the roustabout's description. The next day he joins a privateer ship to hunt him down. After 20 months at sea, they spot the whaling ship though a giant whale attacks the ship before they are able to board. All of the crew is killed, excepting the narrator and the roustabout.

The narrator then tells the man who ruined his mother's life that it must have been by Divine Providence that only they survived, as these are the last words the man will ever hear, and he finally gets his revenge.

Performance history

"The Mariner's Revenge Song" has been one of the Decemberists' most popular at live performances. It had been played at virtually every live show as an encore since its release up until the 2006 tour. At this point, the band swore off playing it at nearly all of the shows, saying that they were giving it a break for a while.

When played live, the song utilizes a characteristic variety of instruments, with Chris Funk on mandolin, Nate Query on stand-up bass and bowed bass, Colin Meloy on vocals and guitar, John Moen on floor tom and Jenny Conlee on accordion. The band usually brings out a large paper maché whale jaw to use as a prop, and encourage the audience to "scream like you're being eaten by a whale" during the part of the song when the whale attacks the ship.

On March 21, during their "Twilight in the Fearful Forest Tour 2007" at The Landmark Lowes Theater in Jersey City, New Jersey, the song was "revived" and brought back from retirement as the last song played in the regular set. Colin Meloy said that they were playing it for all the people who never experienced the song live. The band continued to play it throughout the tour.

Recording

The band has stated that the song was recorded in one take around a single microphone. The various band members stepped towards the mic and back to control the audio level of their instrument. Drummer Rachel Blumberg had to stand much further away because of the relative loudness of the drums.