| Phantom Limb | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | The Shins |
| Album: | Wincing the Night Away |
| B-Side: | Nothing at All |
| Released: | 14 November 2006 |
| Genre: | Indie rock |
| Length: | 4:49 |
| Label: | Sub Pop |
| Producer: | James Mercer, Joe Chiccarelli |
| Prev Title: | Fighting in a Sack |
| Prev Year: | 2004 |
| Next Title: | Australia |
| Next Year: | 2007 |
"Phantom Limb" is a song by American indie rock band The Shins, and is the fourth track on their third album Wincing the Night Away. The song was also released as the first single 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 Stones list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.[1]
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."[2]
The accompanying music video, directed by Patrick Daughters, 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.
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.
Upon release, the song reached #42 on the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, the song debuted at #86 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, becoming the first song by the band to chart in the Hot 100.[3] It was also their first song to appear on Billboards Alternative Songs chart, peaking there at #16.
The chorus of the song has been used repeatedly as background music to episodes of Australian soap opera Home and Away.
| Chart (2007) | Peakposition | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Singles (AMR)[4] | 100 | |
| US Pop 100 (Billboard)[5] | 87 |