While Bright Eyes and I have certainly had a sketchy history, there were two songs that won me over. One was At the Bottom of Everything (which I'm sure I'll write about at a later date) and the other was this.
Initially, I was put off by the fact that he was using Beethoven. It just seemed too damn hip for its own good. But the thing with Conor Oberst is that you really have to listen. As someone who fancies himself a writer, my favorite part of music has pretty much always been the lyrics. Plays on words, puns, homages, clever rhymes, etc. This song has most of that. The initial few puns are fun... though the cemetary line took a long time for me to catch on.
But what really sells this song for me is when I finally realized that this is an angry song. I'm a total sucker for the interplay between bitter poetry and joyous (yeah) melody.
Another reason I fell in love with this song is one of the final lines. I had trouble enjoying Bright Eyes mostly because of Conor's vocals. They are rough, tired, and warbly. But this is fucking folk music. He knows that. And to segue into the cacophonous climax of the album by calling attention to it makes me smile.
Favorite Moment: "When you're asked to fight a war that's over nothing, it's best to join the side that's gonna win."
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