Album · The Decemberists
What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World by The Decemberists
What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World is an album by The Decemberists, released in 2015. 3 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 27 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Make You Better”, on 21 lists with a best position of #4.
What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World, the Decemberists' seventh album, came out on Capitol on January 20, 2015, the Portland band's first since The King Is Dead. The title comes from "12/17/12", Colin Meloy's song about the day Barack Obama spoke after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and about the strange whiplash of feeling horror at the news while his own life at home was happy.
That push and pull between dread and contentment gives the record its title and its mood. "Make You Better" is the big, aching one that radio took to, "The Wrong Year" bounces along with a bittersweet grin, and the hushed "Lake Song" turned up on a countdown a decade later. The Decemberists are still the band that loves a tall tale, but this time the song that names the album is about Meloy himself.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Make You Better | 21 | #4 | – | 2014–2026 | |
| 2 | The Wrong Year | 5 | #25 | – | 2015 | |
| 3 | Lake Song | 1 | #505 | – | 2025 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.