The Decemberists: O Valencia

“O Valencia” is one of the best tracks off The Decemberists’ highly acclaimed 2006 album The Crane Wife. They’re one of America’s most important indie bands (no offense, Elk City), and I was naturally curious about this song.

After listening to the track a few times and watching the video, I’m pretty sure that the titular Valencia doesn’t refer to our favorite city. The lyrics tell the story of a doomed Romeo & Juliet-type love affair, and the video casts Valencia as the hotel where the final action goes down.

Still, art is always open to interpretation. And one line in the chorus piqued my interest: “Valencia, and I swear to the stars, I’ll burn this whole city down“. That can’t be an accident: Valencia + whole city burning down? Surely, a reference to la Cremà!

Judge for yourselves. The song is awesome, and the extended video is pretty good too:

More Information at Pitchfork
The Decemberists: Official Page