'' is a 2003 album by
The Weakerthans .
A song cycle about grief, regret and loss, the album is thematically framed by three tracks, "(Manifest)", "(Hospital Vespers)" and "(Past-Due)", which set three different
Sonnet s about a terminally ill hospital patient to the same melody.
Other songs examine the album's themes from different angles: "Plea from a Cat Named Virtute" is written from the perspective of a
Depressed person's
Cat , "One Great City!" is about Samson's love-hate relationship with his hometown of
Winnipeg , and "Our Retired Explorer" imagines a dinner date between
Michel Foucault and a hopelessly nostalgic member of
Ernest Shackleton 's expedition to
Antarctica .
Guest musicians on the album include
Sarah Harmer and
Christine Fellows . The album's cover art was designed by Canadian artist and fellow Winnipegger
Marcel Dzama .
All songs by The Weakerthans and all lyrics by
John K. Samson .
#"(Manifest)" – 1:45
#"The Reasons" – 2:50
#"Reconstruction Site" – 2:45
#"Psalm for the
Elks Lodge Last Call" – 2:45
#"Plea from a Cat Named Virtute" – 3:49
1
#"Our Retired Explorer (Dines with
Michel Foucault in Paris, 1961)" – 2:23
#"Time's Arrow" – 2:53
#"(Hospital Vespers)" – 1:41
#"Uncorrected Proofs" – 2:42
#"A New Name for Everything" – 4:04
#"One Great City!" – 2:55
#"Benediction" – 3:28
#"The Prescience of Dawn" – 4:37
#"(Past-Due)" – 2:10
1 Although some sources give the title as "Virtue" rather than "Virtute", the title is spelled as "Virtute" on all official sources, including the album cover, the lyrics on the band's website, and the cover of the band's followup album ''
Reunion Tour '', which includes a sequel song.
