Mourning Sound

Album: Painted Ruins (2017)
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Songfacts®:

  • Here, Ed Droste croons the verses singing plaintively of lost love. Daniel Rossen takes the chorus in which he talks about walking to the "mourning sound" of "distant shots and passing trucks." Droste recalled to NPR:

    "This song happened late at night with Chris Taylor and I in Crestline, Calif. We thought we were calling it a night, but [Chris] came up with a great riff and the melody followed. We weren't sure it would see the light of day until Dan [Rossen] came in with his gorgeous chorus.

    There's definitely a sense of regret, which is quite apparent with the first line, 'I made a mistake,' but there's also a sense of owning your mistake and taking responsibility for it. I don't want to blame one party in the conflict and know full well much of the strife and turmoil being referenced lays on my back as much as anyone else's."
  • Daniel Rossen told Pitchfork the chorus was inspired by "morning walks upstate." This is the same location that the Grizzly Bear co-frontman sung of on "Wasted Acres" where he croons about driving a Honda four-wheeler and hauling firewood with his dog.
  • Directed by Beatrice Pegard and filmed in Paris, the video is an avant-garde look at women's liberation. The clip stars Clémence Poésy, the French actress who played Fleur Delacour in the Harry Potter movie series.

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