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/
Cardinal Song
The National Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Never tell the truth
If she knows your paper
You know she'll have to burn you
Never tell the one you want that you do
Save it for the deathbed
When you know you kept her wanting you
And do everything she'd never do
Fall asleep with stranger's wives
The wild wives of unknown men
Good for you, you've just become
Just another one of them
Never say you miss her
Never say a word
And do everything she'd never do
Don't let her see your cardinal eyes
Let her treat you like a criminal
So you can treat her like a priest
Girls forgive my human mind
Girls forgive me one more time
Never tell the one you love that you do
Save it for the deathbed
And do everything she'd never do
Don't let her see your cardinal eyes
Don't let her see your cardinal eyes
Jesus Christ you have confused me
Cornered, wasted, blessed and used me
Forgive me girls I am confused
Stiff and pissed and lost and loose
Jesus Christ you have confused me
Cornered, wasted, blessed and used me
Forgive me girls I am confused
Stiff and pissed and lost and loose
The National's song "Cardinal Song" seems to center around a man who is struggling with the complexity of relationships and the idea of keeping secrets. The lyrics suggest that he is in love with someone but knows that he can never reveal his true feelings, and instead he chooses to keep everything hidden until his deathbed. The repetition of "never tell the one you want that you do" emphasizes his fear of being vulnerable and potentially getting hurt.
The choice to not look his love interest in the eyes, never tell her the truth, and let her treat him like a criminal suggest a lack of trust and a desire for secrecy. Similarly, the lines "fall asleep with stranger's wives" and "do everything she'd never do" hint at a perhaps self-destructive behavior that the singer engages in as a way to cope with his complicated emotions.
The final lines of the song, "Jesus Christ you have confused me/Cornered, wasted, blessed and used me/Forgive me girls I am confused/Stiff and pissed and lost and loose," further reinforce the sense of confusion and uncertainty that this man is feeling.
Line by Line Meaning
Never look her in the eyes
Avoid eye contact with her
Never tell the truth
Don't be honest with her
If she knows your paper
You know she'll have to burn you
If she knows your secrets, she'll betray you
Never tell the one you want that you do
Save it for the deathbed
When you know you kept her wanting you
Don't confess your love until your last moments, so she'll always desire you
And do everything she'd never do
Behave recklessly and irresponsibly
Fall asleep with stranger's wives
The wild wives of unknown men
Good for you, you've just become
Just another one of them
Have affairs with married women and become like any other unfaithful man
Never say you miss her
Never say a word
Keep your feelings of longing to yourself
Don't let her see your cardinal eyes
Avoid revealing your true thoughts and emotions
Let her treat you like a criminal
So you can treat her like a priest
Let her blame you for everything, so you can forgive her like a saint
Girls forgive my human mind
Girls forgive me one more time
The artist apologizes for his flawed nature and asks for forgiveness
Jesus Christ you have confused me
Cornered, wasted, blessed and used me
Forgive me girls I am confused
Stiff and pissed and lost and loose
The singer is conflicted by his contradicting desires and emotions and seeks forgiveness for his confusion
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Aaron Dessner, Bryan Devendorf, Bryce Dessner, Matthew D. Berninger, Scott D. Devendorf
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind