Phantom Limb (song)

"Phantom Limb"
Single by The Shins
from the album
Wincing the Night Away
B-side "Nothing at All"
Released 14 November 2006
Format download, CD
Genre Indie rock
Length 4:49
Label Sub Pop
Writer(s) James Mercer
Producer James Mercer,
Joe Chiccarelli
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. This song was #75 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.[1]

Songwriter and lead singer James Mercer described it as "a hypothetical, fictional account of a young, lesbian couple in high school dealing with the shitty small town they live in."[2]

Contents

Music video

The accompanying music video, directed by Patrick Daughters, includes dramatizations of the stories of Joan of Arc, the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and the Donner Party, all played by children and the band themselves.

Track listing

  1. "Phantom Limb" - 4:49
  2. "Nothing at All" - 4:07
  3. "Spilt Needles" (alternate version) - 2:27
  4. "Phantom Limb" (video)

Charts

Upon release, the song reached #42 on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, the song debuted at #86 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, becoming the first song by the band to chart in the Hot 100.[3] It was also their only song to date to appear on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, peaking there at #16.

References