September 9th, 1543: High upon a craig sits Stirling Castle, in Stirling, Scotland. A site of importance to Scottish monarchs, this day bodes importance not only for Scotland but (later) England and the rest of the world as well. For it was on this day that Mary Stuart—at a wee nine months old—was crowned Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary, claimant to the throne of England, shuttered out by Elizabeth I, eventual execution victim.
September 9th, 1776: The Continental Congress, having adopted the Declaration of Independence in July, declare in a Congressional address: “Resolved, that in all Continental Commissions, and other Instruments where heretofore the Words, ‘United Colonies,’ have been used, the Stile be altered for the future to the United States.”
September 9th, 1956: Fresh-faced 21 year old Elvis Presley makes his debut on the Ed Sullivan Show (Ed, unfortunately, was in the hospital recovering from a car crash). Singing “Don’t Be Cruel” and debuting “Love Me Tender,” Elvis and his sexy swivels reached about 60 million viewers—a little over 80 percent of television viewers at the time.
September 9th, 2003: The Decemberists release Her Majesty The Decemberists.
There is a common theme to these stories: that of efflorescence, of coming into themselves, of obtaining their quiddity. Mary became queen of Scotland, the U.C. became the U.S., Elvis ascended to stardom and the Decemberists made an album that was quintessentially The Decemberists.
Though Her Majesty isn’t their first album, the real debut sounds comparatively unfocused (which, for Colin Meloy and co. is not saying much). Castaways and Cutouts has some great songs, but it’s mired by a murkiness I’d ascribe to growing pains. On C&C, The Decemberists didn’t know they were The Decemberists yet.
Though their used bookstore cum British Museum cum folk hero sound was perfected on 2005’s Picaresque, Her Majesty The Decemberists was the first real blossoming of their brand of bookworm pop, with some of their strongest “story” songs.
Opener “Shanty for the Arethusa” is ripped right from history pages (or, rather, the nautical sea-song pages), followed by “Billy Liar,” one of Meloy’s best pop songs—a mélange of 1950’s boys-classic “Billy Liar” by Keith Waterhouse and Dylan Thomas’s radio play, “Under Milk Wood.”
The stories span the dramatic, the comic and the tragic. “Los Angeles, I’m Yours” sounds like Meloy is hissing through a mocking smile. “The Bachelor and the Bride” details sad ravages. “The Soldiering Life” is a love song (but what love, exactly? Remember kids, keep your minds clean—or not) from the trenches.
“Red Right Ankle” may be my favorite Decemberists song, depending on when you ask me and whether I’ve listened to The Crane Wife recently. Featuring solo guitar and solo vocals—only intruded upon briefly in Act 2 by the whistling peals of an organ—Meloy recounts lines of poignancy, adventure and heartbreak, fusing anatomy and metaphor into one lovely, heraldic song.
After that interlude returns the tragic travails on quasi-spaghetti western tale, “The Chimbley Sweep.” It’s rather enigmatic, what happens to our young chimbley sweep: He sweeps and sweeps, anguish and callow fury accumulating as he dredges the brick and mortar until he is swept into the home of an amorous widow. What then? He says he’s “shipwrecked.” Really, truly, what then?
On the penultimate song, “I Was Meant For The Stage,” the singer announces to the theater that he walked there on the trail of destiny. The singer inaugurates his success (or maybe, his downfall?) in that moment. Downfall seems to be what greets the singer, as the song falls into a cacophony of horns, organ and tambourine.
I don’t pretend to claim that the release of Her Majesty The Decemberists is on par with the coronation of Mary, Queen of Scots, or Elvis Presley’s galvanization of America on the Ed Sullivan Show. I can’t claim that. To borrow from Thornton Wilder’s, “The Eighth Day,” I can’t tell you what the tapestry of Time or History or Humanity looks like. They’re too big.
I can claim they share characteristics though. On a most superficial level, Her Majesty The Decemberists is an example of transitive transformation—the way Mary Stuart was crowned Mary, Queen of Scots; the way the United Colonies was renamed the United States; the way Elvis was propelled into stardom.
I should also add many of these events were casual; nobody knew where Mary Stuart, the United Colonies and Elvis Presley were going before those turning points. Even something as simple as a name change, made important by the fact that the name still stands, 237 years later.
It was the same way with Her Majesty The Decemberists, it was a casual transformation from a good band into a great one.
Other excellent albums released this day: R.E.M.’s New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996) and The Wrens’ Meadowlands (2003).
Did Sean happen to forget about your birthday in his list of notable events? Send your complaints and corrections to sreichard@wisc.edu.
