Hudson

This sombre song concerns English sea explorer Henry Hudson, who in 1611 was cast adrift by his crew, while searching for the Northwest Passage. Vocalist Ezra Koenig told NME: "I had this little poem I'd written once, imagining Henry Hudson when he was first exploring over here. There was something that always struck me as dark and funny that Hudson Bay, which obviously was named after him, was the place that he was set adrift by his mutinous crew and left to die."

The song has a different vibe to anything Vampire Weekend had done before and is their first true minor key tune.

Here are three more songs on our database about explorers:
"Mr. Powell" by Ozark Mountain Daredevils.
"Amerigo" by Patti Smith Songfacts.
"Antarctica" by Al Stewart.