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Odalisque Lyrics Artist(Band):The Decemberists
as the light dies horribly on a fire escape you walk all rare and resolved to drop and when they find you odalisque they will rend you terribly stitch from stitch til all your linen and limbs will fall lazy lady had a baby girl and a sweet sound it made raised on pradies, peanut shells and dirt in the railroad culdesac and what do we with 10 baby shoes a kit bag full of marbles and a broken billiard cue? what do we do? what do we do? fifteen stitches will mend those britches right and then rip them down again sapling switches will rend those rags alright what a sweet sound it makes and what do we do with 10 dirty jews a thirty-ought full of rock salt and a warm afternoon? what do we do? what do we do? lay your belly under mine you're naked under me, under me such a filthy dimming shine the way you kick and scream, kick and scream and what do we do with ten baby shoes a kit bag full of marbles and a broken billiard cue? what do we do? what do we do? lazy lady had a baby girl, and a sweet sound it made If you find some error in Odalisque Lyrics, would you please submit your corrections to me? Thank You. Review about Odalisque 30-ought full of rock salt? | Reviewer: Artifex | 2/4/2008 Now, I've never heard of a "30-ought" shotgun, but The Decembrists probably just thought it sounded good that way, or they were making a reference to fellow Portland band Thirty-Ought-Six. anti-semitism | Reviewer: DJC | 1/14/2008 The first part of the song is written from the perspective of a third person who sympathizes with the song's heroine. The last part of that section is "what will we do with ten baby shoes." After that verse's "what will we do" starts the part from the point of view of her abusers, delighting in mistreating her. I mean, he's clearly raping her in the second to last verse. These lines aren't from Melroy's POV, but the attacker's, and "ten dirty jews" is from that scumbag's perspective, not the original narrators. one interpretation | Reviewer: Anonymous | 12/23/2007 The Decemberists are painting a very bleak story with this song. It appears to be about a girl, an social outsider of some sort, who is harassed, abused, and raped by a group of sadistic men or boys, and becomes pregnant and has to raise the child in abject poverty and shame. This fits with the title Odalisque, which often referred to female slaves of low social status that were bought to be used as sexual partners for one night, and then discarded. The song appears to be sung in the third person, but a few of the lines, such as the one about a "thirty-ought of rock salt, a warm afternoon, and ten dirty jews" appear to be sung from the rapists' point of view, expressing how their hatred and cruelty is not limited to just Odalisque, but perhaps anyone he finds vulnerable or different. Historically, the Jewish people have often been treated as outsiders and were the victims of hate crimes, and the Decemberists often use bits of history in their songs to evoke another time period. So in the time period that they set "Odalisque", Jews may have been an easy target for the attacker/rapist's acts of cruelty. The sympathy of the listener is obviously supposed to with the girl, the "Odalisque", and not the attackers, so I highly doubt that any anti-semitic sentiment was intended by the band. Research | Reviewer: chaim | 10/22/2007 After looking up the word Odalisque, I found this: "The French term odalisque derives from the Turkish-Ottoman word odalik, which refers to a female slave owned by a Muslim male as his legal concubine," but I've also seen that an odalisque had a status even lower than a concubine, and could only rise to the concubine status by being skilled in a number of "arts." Apparently, this position still exists and women are frequently trafficked to the Middle East and North Africa from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal, where they are drugged and abused and have a life span of about two years after being sold. Although I can't find any mention as to whether Jews have been used in this position in the past, I very much doubt that Colin Meloy just put that reference into the song for kicks, especially knowing his knowledge of obscure history. My best guess is that he heard of a specific case in history when Jewish women were enslaved and abused and decided to write a song about it, which is not at all unlike him. I'm going to have to say this is not anti-Semitism. Simply storytelling. My two cents | Reviewer: Anonymous | 10/17/2007 I doubt Colin Meloy is anti-Semitic; I think that Max N Molly were probably right and that the song is making an obscure historical or literary reference. That *is* what the Decemberists do, after all, as anyone who's a fan could tell you. I don't know what they're referencing, though. If anyone out there really feels like putting in the effort and researching it, more power to you. I still love them, this song included. I say not offensive | Reviewer: Anonymous | 10/17/2007 I doubt Colin Meloy is anti-Semitic; I think that Max N Molly were probably right and that the song is making an obscure historical or literary reference. That *is* what the Decemberists do, after all, as anyone who's a fan could tell you. I don't know what they're referencing, though. If anyone out there really feels like putting in the effort and researching it, more power to you. I still love them, this song included. doubtful that it's anti-Semitic | Reviewer: Anonymous | 10/17/2007 I doubt Colin Meloy is anti-Semitic; I think that Max N Molly are probably right and that the song is making an obscure historical or literary reference. That *is* what the Decemberists do, after all, as anyone who's a fan could tell you. I don't know what they're referencing, though. If anyone out there really feels like putting in the effort and researching it, more power to you. I still love them, this song included. Odalisque - Offensive or Not? | Reviewer: Max N Molly | 10/14/2007 I appreciate your response, which is in the form of an opinion. However, comparing a story about a vengeful killer to a story with obvious anti-semitic overtones does not make sense. Therefore, the question still stands, is Colin Meloy AntiSemitic? Not anti semitic | Reviewer: Brian | 8/18/2007 the man is telling as story. Just as The Mariner's Revenge doesn't make collin a vengeful killer, Odalisque doesn't make him an anti-semite. Odalisque - AntiSemitic or not | Reviewer: Max N Molly | 7/28/2007 In response to reviewer Danny, we also find the lyrics "ten dirty Jews" in the song Odalisque by the Decemberists offensive. Is Colin Meloy AntiSemitic or is he referencing something we are unaware of? If anyone can give legitimate insight, we are interested. 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