We report on the abundances of 13 elements in the planetary host HD 13189, a massive giant star. Abundances are found to be subsolar, with [Fe/H] = -0.58 ± 0.04; HD 13189 is one of the most metal-poor planetary hosts yet discovered. Abundance ratios relative to Fe show no peculiarities with respect to random field stars. A census of metallicities of the seven currently known planet-harboring giants results in a distribution that is more metal-poor than the well-known metal-rich distribution of main-sequence (MS) planetary hosts. This finding is discussed in terms of accretion of H-depleted material, one of the possible mechanisms responsible for the high-metallicity distribution of MS stars with planets. We estimate the mass of the HD 13189 progenitor to be 3.5 M but cannot constrain this value to better than 26 M. A stellar mass of 3.5 M implies a planetary mass of m sin i = 14.0MJ ± 0.8MJ, placing the companion at the planet/brown dwarf boundary. Given its physical characteristics, the HD 13189 system is potentially unique among planetary systems, and its continued investigation should provide invaluable data to extrasolar planetary research.