"Phantom Limb" is a song by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

indie

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

The Shins, and is the fourth track on their third album ''

Wincing the Night Away ''Wincing the Night Away'' is the third studio album by the indie rock group The Shins. It was released by Sub Pop Records on January 23, 2007. It is the band's third album, and the last under their contract with Sub Pop. The album was recorded in ...

''. The song was also released as the first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from that album in the United States on November 14, 2006 as a digital download and a week later on CD. On January 22, 2007, "Phantom Limb" was released as a single in the United Kingdom. This song was #75 on '' Rolling Stone''s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.The 100 Best Songs of 2007
(December 11, 2007). ''Rolling Stone''. Retrieved 2007-12-21. Songwriter and lead singer James Mercer described it as "a hypothetical, fictional account of a young, lesbian couple in high school dealing with the shitty small town they live in."

Music video

The accompanying music video, directed by

Patrick Daughters Patrick Daughters (born 1976 in Berkeley, California) is an American music videomaker and commercial director currently signed to Anonymous Content. Daughters is a graduate of Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland. While still in colleg ...

, includes dramatizations of the stories of Joan of Arc, the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and the Donner Party, all played by children and the band themselves.

Track listing

# "Phantom Limb" - 4:49 # "Nothing at All" - 4:07 # "Spilt Needles" (alternate version) - 2:27 # "Phantom Limb" (video) The vinyl version of this single features "Nothing at All" and "Spilt Needles" on the flipside as two separate grooves, similar to that of Monty Python's ''

Matching Tie and Handkerchief ''The Monty Python Matching Tie and Handkerchief'' is the fourth album by the comedy group Monty Python, released in 1973. Most of the material was newly written for the album along with a handful of sketches from the third series of ''Flying Ci ...

''.

Charts

Upon release, the song reached #42 on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, the song debuted at #86 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

's''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart, becoming the first song by the band to chart in the Hot 100. It was also their first song to appear on ''Billboards

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart, peaking there at #16.

In media

The chorus of the song has been used repeatedly as background music to episodes of Australian soap opera

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control The Shins songs 2007 singles Songs written by James Mercer (musician) Lesbian-related songs 2007 songs Sub Pop singles