this songs story literally makes me go so insane I could spend hours just analyzing allllll these lyrics. these little guys... I'm like rattling them around in my brain ugh

The fragility, then the strength, then the fragility, and so on... This must be what spying truly feels like.

One of my favourite Decemberists songs, a real beauty.

"The Bagman's Gambit" On the lam from the law On the steps of the capitol You shot a plainclothes cop on the ten o'clock And I saw momentarily They flashed a photograph, it couldn't be you You'd been abused so horribly But you were there in some anonymous room And I recall that fall I was working for the government And in a bathroom stall off the National Mall How we kissed so sweetly How could I refuse a favor or two For a trist in the greenery I gave you documents and microfilm, too And from my ten floor tenement Where once our bodies lay How I long to hear you say No, they'll never catch me now No, they'll never catch me No, they cannot catch me now We will escape somehow Somehow It was late one night I was awoken by the telephone I heard a strangled cry on the end of the line Purloined in Petrograd They were suspicious of where your loyalties lay So I paid off a bureaucrat To convince your captors they're to secret you away And at the gate of the embassy Our hands met through the bars As your whisper stilled my heart No, they'll never catch me now No, they'll never catch me No, they cannot catch me now We will escape somehow Somehow And I dreamt one night You were there in fours Head held high In uniform It was ten years on When you resurfaced in a motorcar With the wave of an arm You were there and gone

Being in love with someone who is in an unwinnable situation and being willing to risk all just to be with them. We will escape, somehow.. Yeah, right..

I've always wondered who's arm was doing the waving. It's either her waving briefly to man she rolled as an intelligence asset. Or its his arm, because he's still an operative and he's giving the order to have a spy eliminated. "With a wave of an arm, you were there and gone..."

That last line gets me

And I dreamt that night, you were there in court, hands held high, in unifoooorm --- coolest part

"with a wave of an arm you were there and gone" thinking about her...

I love these songs so much.

i want this played at my funeral

amazing song

this really reminds me of season 5 ep 3 of x files. almost everything they describe in this song, happens in that episode

wait, is there no music video for this?? thats weird, i remember there being one haha

thanks foone

How I long to hear you say...

God! You guys were fucking great!

EL AMIGO DEL CARTEL EL AMIGO DEL CARTEL NOOO

Reminds me of the americans

This song is about two dudes, change my mind

what if we were spies and we kissed in a bathroom stall off the national mall and we were both boys

What a wonderful group! What unconventional music! Is this a new version of R.A.M.?

spy

They never caught her...

The Americans...

I love my girlfriend.

fallout 3

Anyone here from There and Gone? No? Okay...

Nice way to rip off Elliott Smith's album cover

ChatGPT writes better music. By far.