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Cover of The King Is Dead by The Decemberists
Cover: The King Is Dead

Song · The Decemberists

“This Is Why We Fight” by The Decemberists

From the album The King Is Dead (2011)

“This Is Why We Fight” by The Decemberists appears on 36 radio countdowns from 29 stations between 2011 and 2025. It was first released in 2011 on the album The King Is Dead. Its best result is #2 on the WLCA Top 89 of 2011. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #41 alternative song of 2011, #4,227 alternative song of all time and #162 of the '10s.

36countdowns
29stations
#2best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
2011–2025years charted

Watch

The Decemberists - "This Is Why We Fight" [Official Video - Europe Link]

Video from YouTube (TheDecemberists). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"This Is Why We Fight" comes from the Decemberists' 2011 album The King Is Dead, and Colin Meloy wrote it alone and sings it, stacking up 12-string and baritone guitars, harmonica and percussion into a churning, dust-kicking drive.

Jenny Conlee's organ swells underneath, Nate Query and John Moen lock the rhythm down tight, and the whole thing rolls forward like a marching column. Tucker Martine recorded, mixed and co-produced it with the band, keeping the sound warm and roomy and leaving space for Meloy's battle-cry chorus to ring out.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2011 80 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2011 91
2011 54 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 101 Songs of 2011 101
2011 20 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 102 Songs of 2011 102
2011 16 Lightning 100 Nashville, TN Lightning 100 Best of 2011 50
2011 18 WXPN Philadelphia, PA WXPN Year in Review: Top 100 Songs of 2011 100
2011 2 89.9 WLCA St. Louis, MO WLCA Top 89 of 2011 89
2011 62 Rock 93.5 Columbia, SC Rock 93.5 WARQ Top 93 of 2011 92
2011 35 WRNR 103.1 Annapolis, MD WRNR Top 103.1 Songs of 2011 104
2011 20 WRSI 93.9 The River Northampton / Pioneer Valley, MA WRSI Top 93 Songs of 2011 93
2011 99 106.1 The Corner Charlottesville, VA 106.1 The Corner Top 107 of 2011 105
2011 39 89.7 The River Omaha, NE / Council Bluffs, IA 89.7 The River Top 89 of 2011 89
2011 78 97X Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL 97X Top 97 of 2011 97
2011 14 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2011 103
2011 76 94.1 The Zone Rochester, NY 94.1 The Zone Most Played Songs of 2011 94
2011 54 KJEE 92.9 Santa Barbara, CA KJEE Top 92 Songs of 2011 92
2011 25 90.5 WERG Erie, PA WERG Top 90 of 2011 90
2011 63 103.1 The River Kalispell-Flathead Valley, MT 103.1 The River Top 103 of 2011 103
2011 63 WFUV New York, NY WFUV Top 90 Songs of 2011 90
2011 15 Exit 97.7 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY WEXT Top 97 of 2011 97
2011 18 KSLG Eureka (Humboldt County), CA KSLG Top 94 Slugtracks of 2011 94
2011 29 92.3 WTTS Indianapolis-Bloomington, IN WTTS Top 50 Songs of 2011 50
2011 14 107.1 The Peak Westchester County, NY WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2011 107
2011 67 99 Rock Lebanon-Hanover-White River Junction, NH-VT 99Rock WFRD Top 99 of 2011 98
2011 46 WBRU Providence, RI WBRU Top 95.5 Songs of 2011 96

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2011 1364 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1394 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 145 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Songs of the New Millennium (2013) 885
2014 1395 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2018 362 WTMD WTMD Listeners' Top 897 Songs, 2003-2018 896
2022 1163 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 603
2023 996 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2024 423 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century 1055
2024 507 WXPN WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) 885
2025 634 The Current 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now 893
2025 474 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century 909
2025 491 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) 714

Also listed as: This is why We Fight; This is Why We Fight; This is why we Fight.

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. 5You are a TouristDeath Cab for Cutie
  6. 6Rolling in the DeepAdele

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