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The Decemberists – Eli, the Barrow Boy (2005) | Track profile | Dork

Tracks
The Decemberists
Picaresque
Eli, the Barrow Boy

TRACK

The Decemberists

Eli, the Barrow Boy

Release date: 22nd March 2005

From Picaresque

Spotify More on The Decemberists

About This Track

"Eli, the Barrow Boy" is a track by The Decemberists, from the album Picaresque, released 22nd March 2005. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 1 article about The Decemberists.

About the Artist

The Decemberists

The Decemberists

Lyrics

Eli, the Barrow Boy

[Verse 1]

Eli, the barrow boy, of the old town

Sells coal and marigolds and he cries out all down the day

Below the tamaracks he is crying

Corn cobs and candlewax for the buying, all down the day

[Chorus]

Would I could afford to buy my love a fine robe

Made of gold and silk Arabian thread

She is dead and gone and lying in a pine grove

And I must push my barrow all the day

And I must push my barrow all the day

[Verse 2]

Eli, the barrow boy, when they found him

Dressed all in corduroy, he had drowned in the river down the way

They laid his body down in a churchyard

But still when the moon is out, with his pushcart, he calls down the day

[Chorus]

Would I could afford to buy my love a fine gown

Made of gold and silk Arabian thread

But I am dead and gone and lying in a church ground

But still I push my barrow all the day

Still I push my barrow all the day

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From Picaresque

2005

Listen

Album

The Decemberists

Release year

2005

—Eli, the Barrow Boy
—We Both Go Down Together
—From My Own True Love (Lost at Sea)
—The Mariner's Revenge Song
—Of Angels and Angles
—The Sporting Life
—The Bagman's Gambit
—The Infanta
—16 Military Wives
—On the Bus Mall
—The Engine Driver

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The Decemberists: "Everything actually is awful, and it's not that funny"

The Decemberists: "Everything actually is awful, and it's not that funny"

Colin Meloy chats with Dork about getting out of old habits, branching out into literature and what’s next for The Decemberists.

7 Nov 2018 • 3:30 pm

Credits

Production & Engineering

Writer: Colin Meloy
Producer: Chris Walla, The Decemberists
Mixing Engineer: Chris Walla, Troy Tietjen