| "Down by the Water" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Decemberists | ||||
| from the album The King is Dead | ||||
| Released | November 2010 | |||
| Recorded | 2010 | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Length | 3:42 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriter(s) | The Decemberists, Colin Meloy | |||
| The Decemberists singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Down by the Water is a song on the American indie rock band The Decemberists' sixth album, The King is Dead . It was released as a single in 2010.
"Down By the Water" includes Peter Buck and singer-songwriter Gillian Welch, who contribute 12-string guitar and vocal harmonies, respectively. [1] It also features accordion riffs and heavy harmonica reminiscent of Neil Young; [2] particularly the song "Heart of Gold". [3] "Down By the Water" has been compared to the music of Bruce Springsteen. [4] [5] It was featured for free download on November 2, 2010, on their official website. Meloy has said that The King Is Dead is more straightforward and heavily influenced by R.E.M., [6] and "Down By the Water" is a prime example. [7] Meloy himself has said that the song "started out as more of a paean to R.E.M. than I think any of us really wanted it to be". [8]
Lyrically, "Down By the Water" is vaguely mournful. [9] It has been described as "folksy", "uptempo", [10] and "country-esque", and the chorus as "booming". [4] Though "Down By the Water" has been called "catchy" and radio-friendly, it is also said to lack the quality of prose found on earlier Decemberists' work. [2]
The song reached number 33 on the U.S. Rock songs chart. [11] It was favorably reviewed by critics. NPR considered it one of the top 100 songs of 2011. [12] It was ranked the 97th best song of the year by Pazz and Jop. [13] The song was nominated for both Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song at the 54th Grammy Awards. [14]
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Adult album alternative [15] | 2 |
| U.S. Rock songs [11] | 33 |
| Japan Hot 100 [16] | 35 |
Declan Patrick MacManus, known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television presenter. Per Rolling Stone, Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical traditions of Bob Dylan and Van Morrison with the raw energy and sass that were principal ethics of punk", noting the "construction of his songs, which set densely layered wordplay in an ever-expanding repertoire of styles." His first album, My Aim Is True (1977), is widely regarded as one of the best debuts in popular music history. It spawned no hit singles, but contains some of Costello's best-known songs, including the ballad "Alison". Costello's next two albums, This Year's Model (1978) and Armed Forces (1979), recorded with his backing band the Attractions, helped define the new wave genre. From late 1977 through early 1980, each of the eight singles he released reached the UK Top 30. His biggest hit single, "Oliver's Army" (1979) sold more than 400,000 copies in Britain. He has had more modest commercial success in the US, but has earned much critical praise. From 1977 through the early 2000s, Costello's albums regularly ranked high on the Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics' poll, with This Year's Model and Imperial Bedroom (1982) voted the best album of their respective years. His biggest US hit single, "Veronica" (1989), reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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