“The Mariner's Revenge Song” by The Decemberists

Colin Meloy wrote "The Mariner's Revenge Song" for Picaresque, the Decemberists' third album, which came out on Kill Rock Stars in 2005. The title reads like a chapter heading lifted from the very kind of book the record is named after: the picaresque, a satirical form born in Spain that trails a low-born rogue scraping by on his wits through a crooked world.

The band cut the album in the summer of 2004 at the Prescott Church in northeast Portland, rented for a month, with Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla producing. To dodge creative block they stuffed a secondhand bike helmet with scraps of paper, each one an idea or tactic to try, and the sessions made room for decidedly un-rock instruments like accordion and hurdy-gurdy. Troy Tietjen handled the mix on this one.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.