A vocab quiz from the lyrics of a 'literary rock band'
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The Decemberists are a band with a literary bent: Their songs take a page from the ballads of old; each is a story unto itself. There's "The Mariner's Revenge Song" and the tales of "The Crane Wife," "The Legionnaire's Lament" and the cries of "The Chimbley Sweep." They even sing about paying their overdue fines at the library.
The Decemberists sing about characters so fantastical and melancholy, it comes as no surprise that the band's front man, Colin Meloy, earned an MFA in creative writing. Book lovers may also recognize Meloy as the author of the children's series "The Wildwood Chronicles."
When the A.V. Club asked the band about their literary roots, Meloy said, "Yeah, we get described often as a 'literate rock band.' Which I guess is better than being called an illiterate rock band, because in fact we can all read. But yeah, I'll take that. That's fine. It's English-major rock. I'll wear that on my sleeve."
Something else that sets the band apart is their ability to ace the vocabulary section of the SATs. Their songs are packed with more ten-dollar words than a cutthroat spelling bee. Dirigible, parapet, moribund...
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Can you pass our Decemberists vocab quiz?