This is the first single from American folk rock band The Decemberists' sixth album, The King Is Dead. The song features R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, who contributes 12-string guitar and singer-songwriter Gillian Welch, who provides vocal harmonies. Frontman Colin Meloy said to Rolling Stone of Buck's participation: "It was really cool. Even playing those simple parts, he's a master."
Even before Buck's contribution, the song was heavily influenced by R.E.M. Frontman Colin Meloy told Rolling Stone it, "started out as more of a paean to R.E.M. than I think any of us really wanted it to be. "The band played around with the song to make it sound a bit less like the Athens' band's 1984 album Reckoning before Buck joined the party.
The song features a harmonica intro played by Meloy. It was the first time the Decemberists frontman had picked up the instrument in years. "I thought it'd be fun to try again," he told Spin magazine. "Adding a harmonica — it has a rank-and-file sort of 80's cow-punk thing to it. That was a nice color to add."
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