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Cover of Codes and Keys by Death Cab for Cutie
Cover: Codes and Keys

Song · Death Cab for Cutie

“You are a Tourist” by Death Cab for Cutie

From the album Codes and Keys (2011)

“You are a Tourist” by Death Cab for Cutie appears on 43 radio countdowns from 38 stations between 2011 and 2026. It was first released in 2011 on the album Codes and Keys. Its best result is #3 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 2011. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #8 alternative song of 2011, #3,168 alternative song of all time and #35 of the '10s.

43countdowns
38stations
#3best position
0#1 finishes
10top 10 finishes
2011–2026years charted

Watch

Death Cab for Cutie - You Are A Tourist [Official Video]

Video from YouTube (Death Cab for Cutie). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"You Are a Tourist" was the first single from Codes and Keys, Death Cab for Cutie's seventh album, and it arrived in 2011 as one of the band's brightest, most restless tracks. It came together late, after most of the record was already done, and Chris Walla's production and Alan Moulder's mix give it a propulsive, glassy shimmer: jittery guitar, a driving pulse, Gibbard's voice skating over the top.

The song's fixation on transience runs back to Gibbard's own life. His father served in the Navy, so the family moved constantly when he was a kid, and years on the road as a touring musician only deepened that unsettled sense of home. Gibbard later posted the original demo on SoundCloud in 2016, complete with a sample from OMD's Dazzle Ships. It became the band's first number one on the alternative chart.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2011 24 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 30 Songs of 2011 30
2011 3 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2011 91
2011 8 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 101 Songs of 2011 101
2011 64 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON 89X Top 89 Songs of 2011 89
2011 7 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 102 Songs of 2011 102
2011 19 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON 102.1 The Edge Top 102 Songs of 2011 102
2011 24 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2011 99
2011 6 KSLG Eureka (Humboldt County), CA KSLG Top 94 Slugtracks of 2011 94
2011 12 Exit 97.7 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY WEXT Top 97 of 2011 97
2011 41 WXPN Philadelphia, PA WXPN Year in Review: Top 100 Songs of 2011 100
2011 9 99 Rock Lebanon-Hanover-White River Junction, NH-VT 99Rock WFRD Top 99 of 2011 98
2011 50 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2011 88
2011 60 94.5 The Buzz Houston, TX 94.5 The Buzz Top 94 of 2011 94
2011 88 89.9 WLCA St. Louis, MO WLCA Top 89 of 2011 89
2011 5 106.1 The Corner Charlottesville, VA 106.1 The Corner Top 107 of 2011 105
2011 21 X107.5 Las Vegas, NV X107.5 Top 50 Songs That Didn't Suck 2011 50
2011 18 ALT 104.5 Philadelphia, PA Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2011 51
2011 25 KFMA Tucson, AZ KFMA Top 50 Songs of 2011 50
2011 30 94.3 WCYY Portland, ME WCYY Top 50 Songs of 2011 50
2011 12 X96 Salt Lake City, UT X96 Top 50 Songs of 2011 49
2011 7 Lightning 100 Nashville, TN Lightning 100 Best of 2011 50
2011 16 WRNR 103.1 Annapolis, MD WRNR Top 103.1 Songs of 2011 104
2011 35 KFOG San Francisco Bay Area, CA KFOG Foghead Favorites of 2011 50
2011 27 97X Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL 97X Top 97 of 2011 97
2011 40 89.7 The River Omaha, NE / Council Bluffs, IA 89.7 The River Top 89 of 2011 89
2011 47 Rock 93.5 Columbia, SC Rock 93.5 WARQ Top 93 of 2011 92
2011 8 92.3 WTTS Indianapolis-Bloomington, IN WTTS Top 50 Songs of 2011 50
2011 5 KJEE 92.9 Santa Barbara, CA KJEE Top 92 Songs of 2011 92
2011 35 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2011 103
2011 13 103.1 The River Kalispell-Flathead Valley, MT 103.1 The River Top 103 of 2011 103
2011 8 90.5 WERG Erie, PA WERG Top 90 of 2011 90
2011 18 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 2011 111
2011 11 107.1 The Peak Westchester County, NY WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2011 107
2011 16 WBRU Providence, RI WBRU Top 95.5 Songs of 2011 96

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2011 1024 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2012 494 WYEP WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown 500
2013 562 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 508 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2019 96 103.3 The Edge 103.3 The Edge Top 103.3 Songs of the Decade 103
2022 1074 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 603
2024 808 WXPN WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) 885
2025 497 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century 909
2026 202 KXT KXT 917 Song Countdown 917

Also listed as: You Are a Tourist; You Are A Tourist; You're a Tourist; You are a tourist.

Charting alongside it in 2011

Best songs of 2011 →
  1. 1Pumped up KicksFoster The People
  2. 2RopeFoo Fighters
  3. 3The Adventures of Rain Dance MaggieRed Hot Chili Peppers
  4. 4WalkFoo Fighters
  5. 6Rolling in the DeepAdele
  6. 7Howlin' for YouThe Black Keys

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