If you’ve spent any time scouring the internet for down by the river decemberists, you’ve likely run into a bit of a digital ghost hunt. It’s one of those musical mandela effects that keeps indie folk fans up at night. You search for the song, and Google immediately tries to hand you "Down by the Water" from their 2011 chart-topper The King is Dead.
And honestly? That makes sense.
"Down by the Water" is a massive track. It’s got that driving harmonica, the 12-string chime of R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, and those gorgeous, dusty harmonies from Gillian Welch. But it isn't "Down by the River."
The confusion isn't just a typo in your search bar. It exists because the Decemberists, and specifically their frontman Colin Meloy, have spent the better part of two decades obsessed with the man who actually wrote "Down by the River": Neil Young.
The Neil Young Shadow Over Portland
To understand the down by the river decemberists phenomenon, you have to look at the "barn sessions." Back in 2010, the band decamped to a converted barn on a farm outside Portland, Oregon. They wanted to strip away the prog-rock bloat of The Hazards of Love—an album that, let’s be real, involved a lot of shape-shifting forest queens and complicated plot points.
They wanted something raw. Something that felt like the 1970s.
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Meloy has been vocal about how Neil Young’s Harvest and Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere were the spiritual blueprints for this era of the band. Even though Harvest wasn't actually recorded in a barn (a fact Meloy likes to point out), the "vibe" of a rustic, loose recording session is what they were chasing.
When "Down by the Water" dropped, critics didn't just mention Neil Young; they basically accused the song of being a long-lost cousin to "Heart of Gold." The harmonica key, the tempo, the rural melancholy—it’s all there.
Did They Actually Cover It?
Here is the twist. While "Down by the Water" is their famous original, the Decemberists have actually performed Neil Young’s "Down by the River" live.
It’s a rarity. You won’t find it on a standard studio LP, but it exists in the wild world of bootlegs and benefit shows. For a band that built its brand on 18th-century sea shanties and hyper-literate revenge tales, tackling a gritty, nine-minute jam about shooting your baby down by the river is a hell of a stylistic pivot.
But it works because Meloy’s voice has that same brittle, high-register vulnerability that Young pioneered.
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Why the Confusion Persists
Basically, people get the titles mixed up because the "River" and the "Water" occupy the same mental space in the Decemberists' catalog. "Down by the Water" features:
- Peter Buck (R.E.M.) on the 12-string electric guitar.
- Gillian Welch providing those "toast-dry" backing vocals.
- A heavy, central harmonica riff that sounds more like Neil Young than Neil Young does these days.
If you’re listening to that track, your brain is already primed for the 1969 classic. You hear the water, you hear the folk-rock crunch, and you think, "Wait, is this the Neil Young song?"
It’s a testament to how well they captured that specific Americana aesthetic. They didn't just copy it; they inhabited it.
The Lyrical Divergence
"Down by the River" by Neil Young is a dark, surreal narrative. It’s a murder ballad, though Neil has famously backtracked in interviews, claiming it’s more about "blowing your thing with a chick" than an actual homicide.
The Decemberists' "Down by the Water," on the other hand, feels more like a nostalgic, slightly sinister memory of a seaport town. Meloy sings about "tow-head teens" and "ancient riverbeds." It’s less about a smoking gun and more about the weight of time.
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How to Find the Rare Versions
If you are strictly looking for the Decemberists' take on the actual Neil Young composition, you have to dig into the Bridging the Distance era or specific live recordings from their more acoustic-leaning tours.
The band is known for "The Neil Young Set" at certain festivals, where they’ve been known to bust out "Cinnamon Girl," "Mr. Soul," and yes, "Down by the River."
Most of these are available through:
- YouTube Archive Channels: Fan-recorded sets from the early 2010s.
- Live Music Archive (Archive.org): A goldmine for Decemberists taper sets.
- Setlist.fm: Where "Down by the River" appears as a covered song in at least 170 instances of Neil Young's influence appearing in various artists' sets, though the Decemberists specifically favor "Cinnamon Girl" for their more frequent Young-tributes.
Actionable Steps for Fans
If you want to experience the full crossover between these two musical worlds, stop looking for a studio version that doesn't exist and do this instead:
- Listen to "Down by the Water" followed immediately by Neil Young’s "Down by the River" (2009 Remaster). The sonic DNA is undeniable, especially in the way the drums sit in the mix.
- Check out the "Conan" 2011 performance. You can see the band playing "Down by the Water" with Gillian Welch live. It’s the closest you’ll get to the raw energy of a 70s Crazy Horse jam from this specific lineup.
- Explore "The King is Dead" liner notes. You’ll see the explicit credits for the gear used to mimic that vintage sound.
Don't let the similar titles throw you. Whether you're at the river or in the water, the Decemberists' nod to Neil Young is one of the most successful "vibe shifts" in modern indie rock. It moved them from the library to the barn, and they never really looked back.