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/
I Should Live in Salt
The National Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You should know me better than that
It takes me too much time
You should know me better than that
You're not that much like me
You should know me better than that
We have different enemies
You should know me better than that
I should leave it alone but you're not right
I should leave it alone but you're not right
Can't you write it on the wall?
You should know me better than that
There's no room to write it all
You should know me better than that
Can you turn the TV down?
You should know me better than that
There's too much crying in the sound
I should know you better than that
I should leave it alone but you're not right
I should leave it alone but you're not right
I should live in salt for leaving you behind
Behind
Think about something so much
You should know me better than that
Start to slide out of touch
You should know me better than that
Tell yourself it's only noise
You should know me better than that
Learn to appreciate the void
You should know me better than that
I should live in salt for leaving you behind
Behind
I should live in salt for leaving you behind
Behind
I should live in salt for leaving you behind
Behind
The National's song "I Should Live in Salt" is a poignant and introspective reflection on a strained and complex relationship. The first few lines reveal a sense of frustration and unspoken tension as the singer pleads with their partner not to force them to "read [their] mind." The repetition of "You should know me better than that" highlights a growing divide between the two individuals, as if they have grown apart and are no longer able to communicate effectively. This feeling is compounded by the admission that they have "different enemies," suggesting differing priorities and beliefs.
The chorus is a bittersweet acknowledgement that leaving may not be the right choice, but staying is equally untenable. The singer declares that they "should leave it alone" but cannot because their partner is "not right." There is a sense of helplessness and resignation, as if there is nothing more they can do but "live in salt" and suffer the consequences of their decision to leave.
The second verse delves deeper into the emotional turmoil of the singer, as they try to come to terms with their feelings of isolation and disconnection. They urge themselves to "learn to appreciate the void," as if seeking solace in the emptiness instead of the pain of the relationship. The repeated line "I should live in salt for leaving you behind" becomes a sort of mantra, a reminder of the price they must pay for their decision to end things.
Overall, "I Should Live in Salt" is a moving and evocative portrayal of the complexities of human relationships, particularly when they are strained and fraught with tension.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't make me read your mind
Don't expect me to understand what you're thinking without you telling me
You should know me better than that
You should understand my personality and characteristics by now
It takes me too much time
It's difficult for me to understand your thoughts or feelings quickly
You're not that much like me
We have different personalities and ways of thinking
We have different enemies
We may have different people or things that bother us
I should leave it alone but you're not right
I should ignore this situation, but I can't because you're wrong
Can't you write it on the wall?
Can't you make it more obvious or clear for me to understand?
There's no room to write it all
The situation is too complex or difficult to explain fully
Can you turn the TV down?
Please make the noise level lower, so we can have a conversation
There's too much crying in the sound
The noise level is too high, and it's overwhelming
Think about something so much
Obsessing over a thought or idea
Start to slide out of touch
Becoming disconnected or distant from a person or situation
Tell yourself it's only noise
Trying to convince yourself that something is insignificant or unimportant
Learn to appreciate the void
Finding value or meaning in emptiness or absence
I should live in salt for leaving you behind
I feel guilty for abandoning you and regret my decision
Behind
Reinforcing the fact that the artist has left someone behind and feels remorseful about it
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Aaron Dessner, Matthew D. Berninger
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind