This Is Why We Fight by The Decemberists

Album: The King Is Dead (2011)

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The title of this mid-tempo rocker suggests a critique of American policy abroad, however frontman Colin Meloy told Spin magazine that it isn't specifically about the War in Iraq. "In some ways, it's political but I have not attributed it to anything," he said. "I think of it more as a song for somebody who's up against great odds, whether political or social."
The track closes with a raw recording of a woman singing about her dog running through a field, accompanied by banjo and harmonica. The female voice belongs to studio owner, Sherry Pendarvis, and she is accompanied by Chris Funk and Jenny Conlee of the Portland troubadours jamming on a porch. "She was sitting out front with her dog," Meloy told Spin. "She had just been to the vet and she was soaking the dog's paw and started making up this song."

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