Phantom Limb (song)

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"Phantom Limb"
Single by The Shins
from the album Wincing the Night Away
B-side(s)	"Nothing at All"
Released	14 November 2006
Format	download, CD
Genre	Indie rock
Length	4:47
Label	Sub Pop
Writer(s)	James Mercer
Producer(s)	James Mercer, Joe Chiccarelli
Chart positions
#42 (UK Singles Chart) #86 (U.S. Billboard Hot 100) #16 (U.S. Modern Rock Tracks)
The Shins singles chronology
"Fighting in a Sack" (2004)	"Phantom Limb" (2007)	"Australia" (2007)
Wincing the Night Away track listing
"Pam Berry" (3)	"Phantom Limb" (4)	"Sea Legs" (5)

"Phantom Limb" is a song by American indie rock band The Shins, and is the fourth track on their third album Wincing the Night Away. The song was also released as the first single from that album in the United States on November 14, 2006 as a digital download and a week later on CD. On January 22, 2007, "Phantom Limb" was released as a single in the United Kingdom.

Songwriter and lead singer James Mercer described it as "a hypothetical, fictional account of a young, lesbian couple in high school dealing with the small town they live in."^[1]

The accompanying music video, directed by Patrick Daughters, includes dramatizations of the stories of Joan of Arc, the Spanish Conquest of Mexico and the Donner Party.

The song, especially the coda, closely resembles the style of The Jesus and Mary Chain's influential debut album Psychocandy.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Phantom Limb"
2. "Nothing At All"
3. "Spilt Needles" (alternate version)
4. "Phantom Limb" (video)

[edit] Charts

Upon release, the song failed to chart in the top 40 in the UK, only reaching #42 in the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, the song debuted at #86 in Billboard's Hot 100 chart, becoming the first song by the band to chart in the Hot 100.^[2]

[edit] References