The Decemberists are a rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, fronted by singer/songwriter Colin Meloy. The other members of the band are Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (hammond organ, accordion, melodica, piano, keyboards), Nate Query (bass guitar, string bass), and John Moen (drums, backing vocals, melodica). The band's debut EP, 5 Songs, was self-released in 2001. Its fourth full-length album, The Crane Wife, was released on October 3, 2006 by Capitol Records, and is the band's first appearance on a major label.

The band's songs range from upbeat pop to instrumentally lush ballads, and often employ instruments like the accordion, Hammond organ, Wurlitzer organ, and upright bass. In its lyrics, the band eschews the angst and introspection common to modern rock, instead favoring a storytelling approach, as evidenced in songs such as "My Mother Was A Chinese Trapeze Artist" from the 5 Songs EP and "The Mariner's Revenge Song" on Picaresque. The band's songs convey tales ranging from whimsical ("The Sporting Life") to epic ("The Tain") to a little dark ("Odalisque"), and often invoke historical events and themes from around the world. Early in their career, The Decemberists' musical and lyrical aesthetics frequently prompted critics to compare them to Neutral Milk Hotel.

The Decemberists formed in 2000 when Colin Meloy left his band Tarkio in Montana and moved to Portland, Oregon. There, he met Nate Query through friends. Query introduced Meloy to Jenny Conlee (they had played together in a band previously) and the three scored a silent film together. Upon playing a solo show previous to meeting Query, Meloy met Chris Funk. Funk was a fan of Tarkio and played pedal steel on the first two Decemberists releases, not "officially" becoming a member until the third effort. The band's first drummer, Ezra Holbrook, was replaced by Rachel Blumberg sometime after Castaways and Cutouts. The band's name refers to the Decembrist revolt, an 1825 revolt over the Imperial Russian succession that Meloy views as an attempted communist revolution, with another e added for clarity. 5 Songs, the band's first album, was self-released by The Decemberists in 2001. The members of the band at that time played for several hours in a McMenamins Hotel the night before to raise the money needed to record in the studio the next day. This originally served as a demo tape and the five songs on it (minus "The Apology Song") were recorded in under two hours.

After releasing its first full record Castaways and Cutouts on Hush Records, the band moved onto the Kill Rock Stars recording label. After the re-release of Castaways, Her Majesty The Decemberists was released in 2003. In 2004, the band released "The Tain", an eighteen-and-a-half minute single track based on the Irish mythological epic Táin Bó Cúailnge. The band's final album with Kill Rock Stars was Picaresque, which was recorded in an old church.

In March 2005, the band was the first to distribute a music video via BitTorrent, the self-produced "16 Military Wives" (from Picaresque).  In the same month, the band's equipment trailer was stolen; fans contributed to a replacement fund, and another fundraiser was organized via an eBay auction, with buyers bidding for copies of Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey and original artwork by Carson Ellis. The band also received help from Lee Kruger, the Shins, the Dandy Warhols, and other musicians. The Martin Guitar Company offered 6- and 12-string guitars on permanent loan. In early April, police discovered the trailer (and a fair amount of the band's merchandise) in Clackamas, Oregon, but the instruments and equipment were not recovered.

On December 12, 2005, Meloy revealed to Pitchfork Media that the band had signed to Capitol Records, and planned to begin recording their major label debut with producers Tucker Martine and Chris Walla (of Death Cab for Cutie fame) in April 2006.  The band's first album on Capitol, The Crane Wife, was released on October 3, 2006. The release was accompanied by an appearance the same day on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, during which the band performed "O Valencia!". The supporting tour (called "The Rout of the Patagons Tour") began on October 17, 2006, at Portland, Oregon's Crystal Ballroom. The opening act was Lavender Diamond. Later in the tour, Alasdair Roberts opened for the band. NPR listeners voted The Crane Wife their favorite album of 2006, as announced on the December 5 episode of All Songs Considered.

In July 2007, the band embarked on a five-date tour with a full orchestral accompaniment. On July 7, the tour put the band on the stage of the historic Hollywood Bowl for the first time, pairing them with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  On July 15, the band performed with The Mann Festival Orchestra at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where they debuted a new song.  The band then played a free concert in Chicago at the Millennium Park with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra. On October 6, 2007, the band announced the cancellation of the remainder of their European tour, citing the ill health of a band member. On November 1, 2007, the band further canceled the remaining 28 shows of their "Long and Short of It" tour.