Their self-titled debut album"The National" (Brassland 2001) was recorded and released before they had played even a single show. They cut the album with engineer Nick Lloyd and formed a label with writer Alec Bemis, so those recordings could be released. Kerrang! magazine gave it four Ks, calling it "the stuff underground legends are made of."
The National made a second album, "Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers" (Brassland/Talitres 2003). The staff was the same, though Peter Katis, who produced "Turn on The Bright Lights" and "Antics" by Interpol, helped produce and mix, and Australian composer Padma Newsome from Clogs collaborated on arrangements and strings.
Following the first session of several for Bernard Lenoir on France's Radio Inter, an in-between EP was released, Cherry Tree, containing what would become the blueprint for the sound on their next record and the session of Sad Song's standout Murder Me Rachael. After these accolades and being impressed by their live show, Roger Trust signed them to Beggars Banquet.
A show at their favorite bar became a van ride to neighboring cities, became a plane ride to Europe, became two summers overseas. Their ties to those good jobs slackened. And they continue on their own path, moving out even further out in Brooklyn to Ditmas Park, where there is space and familiar suburban streets and even Geese on Beverly Road. Their album, "Alligator", much of which was recorded at their homes in Ditmas Park, was engineered by Paul Mahajan, who has worked with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and TV on the Radio. Padma Newsome camped out for a month with the band, and Peter Katis added more production and mixed the record at his house in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Berninger's potent baritone still intones about matters fraught and funny and sad; about record collections, missing persons and medium-sized American hearts. But the record's not simply gothic or miserablist -- more like the plays of Tennessee Williams, it's full of peculiar intimacies and awkward grace. Alligator's heroes are reckless and possessed seducers, but they are apologetic ones. In The National's imaginings, in songs alternately lush and spare, there is something twighlit and dreamy worked out in the basement of our brains.
"Abel," "Secret Meeting," and "Lit Up" were released as singles.
On May 22, 2007, The National released their follow-up to Alligator, Boxer, on Beggars Banquet. Taking advantage of the fact that nobody had heard their first album and earliest demos, Matt proceeded to steal lyrics and melodies from them and give them the attention they deserved while keeping the intimacy that made them special. They even managed to convince new friend Sufjan Stevens to lay down some piano tracks for them, and recorded the album in a scant 6 months after coming off the long post-Alligator road.
"Mistaken for Strangers", "Fake Empire" and "Apartment Story" have been released as singles. The band have just finished touring North America and are on a large European autumn/winter tour after playing high slots at several large festivals. In their Dec. 07/Jan. 08 issue, Paste magazine named Boxer best record of 2007.
The band's fifth album, High Violet, was released on May 10, 2010 by 4AD Records. "Bloodbuzz Ohio", "Anyone's Ghost" and "Terrible Love" were released as singles.
In 2013 their sixth studio record Trouble Will Find Me was released and named "Best New Music" by Pitchfork. The album contained the single "I Need My Girl". In 2015, the album outtake "Sunshine On My Back" was released.
Four years after Trouble Will Find Me, marking the longest timespan between albums in their career so far, they released their seventh album Sleep Well Beast on September 8th, 2017 and were yet again met with great critical success.
The National homepage: http://www.americanmary.com/
The National blog http://tntl.tumblr.com
The National on Twitter http://twitter.com/TheNational
The National on Instagram http://instagram.com/TheNational
Brassland homepage: http://brassland.org/
Beggars Banquet homepage: http://www.beggars.com/
Anyone‚S Ghost
The National Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Alone with the flu
Find out from friends
That wasn't true
Go out at night with your headphones on, again
And walk through the Manhattan valleys of, the dead
Didn't want to be your ghost
Didn't want to be your ghost
Didn't want to be anyone's ghost
But I don't want anybody else
I don't want anybody else
You said I came close
As anyone has come
To live underwater
For more than a month
You said it was not inside my heart, it was
You said it should tear a kid apart, it does
Didn't want to be your ghost
Didn't want to be anyone's ghost
Didn't want to be your ghost
Didn't want to be anyone's ghost
But I don't want anybody else
I don't want anybody else
I don't want anybody else
I don't want anybody else
I had a hole in the middle where the lightning went through it
Told my friends not to worry
I had a hole in the middle someone's sideshow to do
I told my friends not to worry
Didn't want to be your ghost
Didn't want to be anyone's ghost
Didn't want to be your ghost
Didn't want to be anyone's ghost
The National's song "Anyone's Ghost" tells the story of someone who is struggling with their sense of identity and their place in the world. The lyrics are filled with powerful metaphors that capture the feeling of being lost and disconnected from the people and things around you. In the first verse, the singer is alone at home with the flu, but finds out from their friends that they weren't really sick. This sense of being lied to and left out of the loop highlights the distance between the singer and the people around them. The singer then puts on their headphones and walks through the "Manhattan valleys of the dead," suggesting a feeling of isolation and despair.
The chorus repeats the refrain "Didn't want to be your ghost, didn't want to be anyone's ghost," indicating the singer's desire to be seen and recognized as a living, breathing person, rather than just a shadow or a memory. The repetition of this line underscores the deep sense of longing and alienation that the singer feels.
In the second verse, the singer is praised for their ability to survive underwater for more than a month, but the singer brushes off this compliment, suggesting that they are still struggling to keep their head above water in their everyday life. The line "It should tear a kid apart, it does" reinforces the idea that the singer is still a vulnerable and confused person, despite any external accomplishments or accolades.
Overall, "Anyone's Ghost" is a deeply emotional and introspective song that captures the feelings of loneliness and disconnection that many of us experience at some point in our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Say you stay at home
You were told to stay home with the flu
Alone with the flu
You were alone while sick with flu
Find out from friends
You learned from your friends
That wasn't true
What your friends told you was false
Go out at night with your headphones on, again
You're going out at night with your headphones on, like you've done before
And walk through the Manhattan valleys of, the dead
You're walking through the desolate parts of Manhattan
Didn't want to be your ghost
You didn't want to be a memory or a haunting presence in someone's life
Didn't want to be anyone's ghost
You didn't want to be a forgotten figure in anyone's life
But I don't want anybody else
You don't want anyone else but the person you're addressing
You said I came close
You were told that you almost achieved something
As anyone has come
As close as anyone else has come
To live underwater
To survive being underwater
For more than a month
For over 30 days
You said it was not inside my heart, it was
You were told that it wasn't a matter of desire, but ability
You said it should tear a kid apart, it does
You were told that the experience is traumatizing, and it is
I had a hole in the middle where the lightning went through it
You had a wound shaped like a lightning bolt
Told my friends not to worry
You reassured your friends not to be concerned
I had a hole in the middle someone's sideshow to do
Your wound was a spectacle for others to see
Didn't want to be your ghost
You didn't want to be a reminder of the person you're addressing
Didn't want to be anyone's ghost
You didn't want to be forgotten by anyone
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Matthew Donald Berninger, Bryce David Dessner
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Didya51
6 years later and everything about this performance video is pure perfection
@keithbate9405
10 years later one of their greatest performances, and there have been many since !!
saw them live in Manchester (UK) in August (2022). Brilliant gig. My favourite since 1989 and in my all-time top 10 gigs
.
@jjhofstra5956
ditto for 10 years later....
@kates6503
Still in love with this one, loved it back then and can't forget about it
@Isitlovesaidshe
I find this song incredibly haunting, and something always draws me to it.
@DrMorrisOnline
Amazing! The subtle power of the drums and electric guitars is simply mesmerizing.
@brittdecker5137
Video goes great with the song. Such melancholy
@michaelp.4890
Right as rain.
@VIMrussia
plus
@philharrison5242
A rhythm section to die for..