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/
Lemon World
The National Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Give me a reason to get out of the city
See you inside watching swarms on TV
Livin' or dyin' in New York it means nothing to me
I gave my heart to the Army
The only sentimental thing I could think of
With cousins and colors and somewhere overseas
But it'll take a better war to kill a college man like me
I'm too tired to drive anyway, anyway right now
Do you care if I stayed?
You can put on your bathing suits
And I'll try to find somethin' on this thing that means nothin' enough
Losin' my breath, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Losin' my breath, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
You and your sister live in a Lemonworld
I want to sit in and die
You and your sister live in a Lemonworld
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
You and your sister live in a Lemonworld
I want to sit in and die
You and your sister live in a Lemonworld
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
This pricey stuff makes me dizzy
I guess I've always been a delicate man
Takes me a day to remember a day
I didn't mean to let it get so far out of hand
I was a comfortable kid
But I don't think about it much anymore
Lay me on the table, put flowers in my mouth
And we can say that we invented a summer lovin' torture party
I'm too tired to drive anyway, anyway right now
Do you care if I stayed?
You can put on your bathing suits
And I'll try to find something on this thing that means nothin' enough
You and your sister live in a Lemonworld
I want to sit in and die
You and your sister live in a Lemonworld
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
You and your sister live in a Lemonworld
I want to sit in and die
You and your sister live in a Lemonworld
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Losin' my breath
Doo doo doo doo doo doo
In "Lemonworld," The National sings about feeling trapped in a fleeting and meaningless existence in New York City, seeking solace in the company of others, but ultimately finding no respite from the sense of despair and disillusionment. The singer reflects on his decision to give his heart to the army, the only sentimental thing he could think of at the moment, and his subsequent realization that nothing can truly kill a college-educated man like himself. He then addresses a friend or lover, asking if he can stay with them, and surrenders to the idea of aimlessness, putting on bathing suits and watching TV.
The repeated refrain of "you and your sister live in a Lemonworld" suggests that the singer perceives the people around him as somehow separate from him, living in a bubble of their own making, shielded from the harshness of reality. He wants to join them but feels unable to, as if he's trapped in a world of his own, a place where everything is sour and bitter, like a lemon.
Overall, "Lemonworld" explores themes of isolation, disillusionment, and ennui, and the sense that life is both fleeting and meaningless. The repeated refrain and the use of imagery (such as flowers in the mouth) suggest a kind of disconnection from the ordinary and everyday, a sense of being outside of time and space, watching the world go by without feeling any connection to it.
Line by Line Meaning
So happy I was invited
I am glad that I received an invitation to this place/event, it has given me a reason to leave the city.
Give me a reason to get out of the city
I need a motive to escape from the city and explore other places.
See you inside watching swarms on TV
I noticed you watching crowds on TV from inside, instead of being present in person.
Livin' or dyin' in New York it means nothing to me
Being alive or dead in New York doesn't hold any significance for me.
I gave my heart to the Army
I dedicated myself to the army, it's the only emotional attachment I could think of.
The only sentimental thing I could think of
Dedicating myself to the army is the lone emotional connection I could come up with.
With cousins and colors and somewhere overseas
I was with my relatives and people from different backgrounds, in a land far away from home.
But it'll take a better war to kill a college man like me
It'll take a more significant conflict to defeat a well-educated person like me who has been conditioned intellectually.
I'm too tired to drive anyway, anyway right now
I am too exhausted to drive at this moment.
Do you care if I stayed?
Do you mind if I stick around for a little while longer?
You can put on your bathing suits
Get ready to go swimming.
And I'll try to find somethin' on this thing that means nothin' enough
I will browse on this app/device to find something irrelevant yet entertaining.
Losin' my breath, doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
I am out of breath and tired, demonstrated through a vocalization.
You and your sister live in a Lemonworld
You and your sibling live in a misleading and unsatisfying world.
I want to sit in and die
I want to stay here until my time is up.
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Vocalization to represent a loss of words or thoughts.
This pricey stuff makes me dizzy
This expensive thing is making me feel lightheaded and overwhelmed.
I guess I've always been a delicate man
I suppose I have always been a soft and fragile person.
Takes me a day to remember a day
It takes a long time for me to recall some events from the past.
I didn't mean to let it get so far out of hand
I didn't intend to let the situation go out of control.
I was a comfortable kid
I was a content child.
But I don't think about it much anymore
I don't reflect on that period anymore.
Lay me on the table, put flowers in my mouth
Put me on the table and place flowers in my mouth after I pass away.
And we can say that we invented a summer lovin' torture party
We can say that we created a gathering that was both enjoyable and strenuous.
You and your sister live in a Lemonworld
You and your sibling reside in a world that is unfulfilling and disconcerting.
Losin' my breath
I am out of breath and exhausted.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: BRYCE DAVID DESSNER, MATTHEW DONALD BERNINGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind