The Sunset Tree

While We Shall All Be Healed focused on Darnielle's years as a teenager involved with other methamphetamine users,[2] The Sunset Tree focuses on his childhood, and a recurring theme is domestic violence.[3] The album title refers to a scene in Samuel Butler's The Way of All Flesh[4] in which the character Theobald beats his son Ernest for being unable to pronounce a hard C when singing a hymn. The hymn, "The Tyrolese Evening Hymn," begins with the lines "Come, come, come, Come to the sunset tree."[5]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: 'Evening Song of the Tyrolese Peasants' by Felicia Hemans

In the album's liner notes, Darnielle writes:

"Made possible by my stepfather, Mike Noonan (1940–2004): may the peace which eluded you in life be yours now

Dedicated to any young men and women anywhere who live with people who abuse them, with the following good news:

you are going to make it out of there alive

you will live to tell your story

never lose hope"[6]

Many lyrics refer to Darnielle's abuse-riddled childhood – especially in the songs "This Year," "Dance Music," and "Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod." The tone of the album is somber, dealing with Darnielle's longing for escape and his feelings of powerlessness, building up to the song "Lion's Teeth," which Darnielle has described as a "revenge fantasy" in an introduction to a live performance of the song.[7]

The album concludes with the two final songs "Love, Love, Love," in which Darnielle notes the virtue and folly of doing things for reasons of love, and "Pale Green Things," in which he recalls a time his stepfather took him out to watch horses at a racetrack. Darnielle closes the song and the album with a lyric about his sister calling him to inform him of his stepfather's death.

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	83/100[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
Blender	[10]
Entertainment Weekly	B[11]
The Irish Times	[12]
Mojo	[13]
NME	6/10[14]
Pitchfork	7.2/10[4]
Rolling Stone	[15]
Spin	B+[16]
Uncut	[17]

The Sunset Tree has a metascore of 83 on Metacritic based on 28 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim."[8] Pitchfork placed The Sunset Tree at number 102 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.[18]

In 2010, the Art Of Time Ensemble featuring (former Barenaked Ladies singer) Steven Page covered "Lion's Teeth" for their record A Singer Must Die.

All tracks are written by John Darnielle.

• John Darnielle – vocals, guitar
• Peter Hughes – bass, backing vocals
• Erik Friedlander – cello
• Alex Decarville – drums
• Franklin Bruno – piano
• John Vanderslice – production
• Scott Solter – engineering
• Aaron Prellwitz – engineering
• Timin Murray – engineering

• "Listening Party" - interview with John Darnielle about the release of The Sunset Tree
• The Sunset Tree at MusicBrainz
• Come, Come to the Sunset Tree at MusicBrainz