From the great 03/09 Paste Magazine article about the Decemberists:
Leading Cause of Death in Songs by the Decemberists:
1. Cannibalism (31)
2. Drowned (6), unspecified (6)
3. War, unspecified (6)
4. Shot (5)
5. Childbirth (3), suicide (3)
6. Abandoned (1), beaten (1), beaten then burned (1), consumption (1), hanged (1), killed by ghosty kids (1), mining accident (1), poisoned (1), premature birth (1), stuck in chimney (1)
