Top 10 Death Cab For Cutie Songs

#10: “A Movie Script Ending” The Photo Album (2001)

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One of their earliest hits, “A Movie Script Ending” is also one of the most intriguing ones the band has released thus far, and features a number of references in the lyrics to the band’s hometown of Bellingham, WA, as well as nearby Seattle. It might be a song they made before getting huge, but it’s one they still play often in their live shows. It’s also one of several Death Cab songs to be featured on the O.C., which arguably helped raise their profile to the mainstream.

#9: “You Are a Tourist” Codes and Keys (2011)

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While the album that this single falls on is certainly not the band’s most popular, there is no denying that this song is catchy as hell. With very happy-sounding lyrics that were most likely inspired by frontman Ben Gibbard’s marriage to Zooey Deschanel at the time, this song saw quite a bit of success commercially, becoming the group’s only number one single to date on the Billboard alternative charts. Not bad for a song that almost didn’t make the album.

#8: “Brothers on a Hotel Bed” Plans (2005)

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Acting as the second-last song off of Plans, this is one of the more emotionally stirring songs Death Cab have made in their career, with a long instrumental intro of about a minute and a half followed by somewhat depressing lyrics about a couple that grows apart as they grow older. This song may start off slow, but once all the parts come together, it stops you in its tracks. Although not a single for the band, it is a fan favorite, and a favorite of anyone who is in need of a good cry.

#7: “I Will Possess Your Heart” Narrow Stairs (2008)

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It’s a classic example of Death Cab’s penchant for releasing catchy songs that are also quite long, but it’s still a good one. At a length of eight and a half minutes including an instrumental intro lasting around four minutes, this track nonetheless served as this album’s first single. Although it’s sonically quite melancholy, and the lyrics are a little bit creepy seeing as they’re about a stalker, it’s one of only two of their songs to make the Billboard Hot 100. And if that bassline doesn’t have you bobbing your head, we don’t know what will.

#6: “The Sound of Settling” Transatlanticism (2003)

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This song almost didn’t make the album due to the somewhat poppy nature of its sound, but found its way thanks to former Death Cab member Chris Walla insisting that it be included. And many of us are glad it was. It’s short, sweet and certainly catchy, with upbeat instrumentals pitted against its depressing lyrics about being too nervous to tell someone about their feelings for them. A true testament to how good of a songwriter Ben Gibbard really is, “The Sound of Settling” proves that even the band’s throwaway tracks are winners.

#5: “What Sarah Said" Plans (2005)

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Named after a real-life acquaintance of Ben Gibbard’s, this song is a highlight of Plans mainly because of the emotional pull of both the music and its lyrics. Having stayed on the cutting room floor for a year and a half before finally making it onto the album, this piano-heavy number focuses on coping with the tragedy of death – another example of the band’s ability to tug at the listener’s heartstrings. Just try to listen to this 6 minute epic without shedding a tear.

#4: “Soul Meets Body” Plans (2005)

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It’s probably one of the catchiest song they’ve made so far, with the upbeat tempo and “bop bop bah” lyrics, and you can tell that it was probably an attempt at truly crossing over to mainstream audiences. This indie pop number is also their second-highest charting single in the States, and has been certified gold. What’s more is that this track’s instrumental was based around a demo that Ben Gibbard recorded.

#3: “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” Plans (2005)

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Aside from the fact that it randomly name-drops the Canadian city of Calgary, another interesting thing about this song is that it apparently only took Ben Gibbard 15 minutes to write the song while eating lunch. Although it wasn’t successful on the charts, it ended up ironically becoming the band’s highest-selling single, and has become a fan favorite. An acoustic masterpiece, the song examines the concept of death and questions what really happens in the afterlife.

#2: “A Lack of Color” Transatlanticism (2003)

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Another classic acoustic ballad, “A Lack of Color” is the last track off the band’s 2003 masterpiece Transatlanticism, and its placement on the tracklist is fitting. It’s a minimal-sounding and emotional song with depressing lyrics about Ben Gibbard looking back on his significant other leaving him. Although they don’t play it live very often, it may be one of the band’s most well-known songs thanks in part to it making the second soundtrack for The O.C., expanding the group’s popularity. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. “Title and Registration” Transatlanticism (2003) “Cath…” Narrow Stairs (2008) “Black Sun” Kintsugi (2015) “We Looked Like Giants” Transatlanticism (2003) “Marching Bands of Manhattan” Plans (2005)

It’s just under eight minutes long, but they’re eight minutes you’ll be glad to have spent on this song, over and over again. It’s a moving, heartbreaking song about being separated from the person you love both literally and figuratively by distance, as the two characters are on two different sides of the Atlantic. It’s arguably the band’s biggest anthem as the song builds and builds, making it perfect to close out live shows and have fans singing along.