History Music / TheDecemberists

-->-- "The Mariner's Revenge Song"

* [[AbductionIsLove Rape Is Love]]: "We Both Go Down Together". Probable UnreliableNarrator.

* CompleteMonster: The Rake's wife died in childbirth so what does he do? Murder all his children so he can go back to the swinging single life.

* LocationSong: "Yankee Bayonet" by centers on a girl from Oconee County, SC whose sweetheart is killed in the Civil War somewhere "on the sea-swept Carolinas".

* RapeAsDrama: "The Landlord's Daughter", "The Abduction of Margaret", possibly "The Chimbley Sweep", "Odalisque", "The Bachelor and the Bride". They managed at least one per album until [[LighterAndSofter The King Is Dead]].

As of 2011, Colin Meloy has added novel writer to his list of accomplishments, having written the young adult novel ''WILDWOOD'' and its sequels, '' Under WILDWOOD'' and ''WILDWOOD Imperium''. In February 2017, Colin announced a new book tilted ''The Whiz Mob and the Grenadine Kid'' set to be released October the same year. The band also appeared live with Wilco and Letters to Cleo in the sixth season finale of ''Series/ParksAndRecreation''.

''I guess we have some time to kill.''\\

--'''The Decemberists''', "The Mariner's Revenge Song"

* TheOtherRainforest: The band is from Portland, Oregon.

* BellyOfTheWhale: "The Mariner's Revenge Song", both figuratively and literally.

* NotSoSafeHarbor: A few of their more maritimal shanties count: "The Mariner's Revenge Song", "Shanty for the Arethusa" ([[XMeetsY with ghosts!]]), and ''A Cautionary Song''.

* {{Shotacon}}: Possibly "The Chimbley Sweep". It's not completely clear whether the Sweep is still young enough for it to be shota territory by the third verse. He probably is, though, going by the fact that he's still addressed as "urchin".

** "Billy Liar".

Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query, and John Moen form the band's current rotation, with Meloy, Funk and Conlee being the only original members remaining in the band (the band's best known former member is drummer/vocalist Rachel Blumberg who was a member of the band between ''Her Majesty'' and ''Picaresque''). The songs, penned and sung by Meloy, vary from quirky, introspective pop about filicide to rollicking ballads about pirates and gypsies. (There is a disproportionate amount of drowning.) Meloy often employs the narrative form, creating baroque tales from the perspective of lovers, soldiers and sailors.

As of 2011, Colin Meloy has added novel writer to his list of accomplishments, having written the young adult novel ''WILDWOOD'' and its sequel, '' Under WILDWOOD''. The band also appeared live with Wilco and Letters to Cleo in the sixth season finale of ''Series/ParksAndRecreation''.

* NewSoundAlbum: ''The King Is Dead'' brings with it an Americana sound best described as BruceSpringsteen gone [[CountryMusic Country]] (that steel guitar!). Seriously. Other albums do exhibit subtle changes, but none presented as big of a change as this one.

* 2006 - ''The Crane Wife'': Humorously called "The best JethroTull album since ''Heavy Horses''".

* BellyOfTheWhale: "The Mariner's Revenge Song".

** One of two in their ''entire discography'' ([[ClusterFBomb not counting live performances]]). The other, from The Perfect Crime #1: "So we ran around town with the cops stepping on our tails[=/=]Because we'd rather break depth than a fist-fuck in county jail[=/=]To pull [[TitleDrop the perfect crime]], this is the perfect crime!"

** "16 Military Wives," primarily during the "la-di-da"s, and "The Mariner's Revenge Song."
** "Billy Liar" is turned into one live.