O Valencia!
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| "O Valencia!" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Single by The Decemberists | ||
| From the album The Crane Wife | ||
| Released | September 19, 2006 | |
| Format | Digital download CD single |
|
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 3:47 | |
| Label | Capitol | |
| Writers | The Decemberists Colin Meloy |
|
| Certification | ||
| The Decemberists singles chronology | ||
| "O Valencia!" 2006 |
"Picaresqueities EP" 2005 |
"16 Military Wives" 2006 |
| The Crane Wife track listing | ||
| "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)" 3 |
"O Valencia!" 4 |
"The Perfect Crime #2" 5 |
"O Valencia!" is The Decemberists' fifth single, and the first released off of their fourth studio album, The Crane Wife.
[edit] Song information
The song was written by The Decemberists, with Colin Meloy responsible for the lyrics. It tells a story of two star-crossed lovers, similar to that of Romeo and Juliet (or a modern urban retelling of Romeo and Juliet, the famous musical West Side Story). A man falls in love with a woman named Valencia who belongs to a gang which is opposed to one he is in. At the end of the song, Valencia jumps in to defend the singer, who is confronting her brother (the singer's "sworn enemy") and her brother, aiming for the singer, accidentally shoots her. Afterwards, the singer vows to "burn this whole city down."
An alternate interpretation of the song supports the star-crossed lovers theme, but focuses on Colin Meloy's refusal to identify the sex of the lovers. The name Valencia, used in both the song and title, has been used both as a woman's name and the name of several cities. If the term Valencia is taken to be a reference to the town, the ambiguities of the song become clear. Meloy has stated that the song takes place in the city of San Francisco which has a street named "Valencia".
