You're listening to Song Exploder,
where musicians take apart their songs and piece by piece tell the story of how they were made.
I'm Rishikesh Hirway.
The Decembrists are a Grammy-nominated five-piece band from Portland, Oregon.
They released their first album in 2001, and since then,
they've put out seven more, including the 2018 album I'll Be Your Girl.
In this episode,
singer and guitarist Colin Malloy breaks down the Decembrists' song Once in My Life from his first demo,
to the final tracks they recorded in the studio.
I've been waiting all my life My name is Colin Malloy, and I play in the band The Decembrists.
I was, you know, in one of those moments between songs,
not really feeling great about stuff I was working on.
I felt blocked, frustrated, not really feeling like anything was coming.
You know, you get to those moments like I'll never write another song again,
like I've tapped out, that's all I have in me.
And often I'll find if I'm stuck, you remind yourself that you just need an in-breath.
And an in-breath can be watching a movie, reading a book,
going for a walk, you know, just somehow taking in rather than putting out.
So I decided I'd try to learn a Richard Thompson song to try to receive something and see what it creates.
It was Vincent Black Lightning.