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/
Light Years
The National Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Laying down to soak it all in before we had to run
I was always ten feet behind you from the start
Didn't know you were gone 'til we were in the car
Oh, the glory of it all was lost on me
'Til I saw how hard it'd be to reach you
And I would always be light years, light years away from you
I thought I saw your mother last weekend in the park
It could've been anybody, it was after dark
Everyone was lighting up in the shadows alone
You could've been right there next to me, and I'd have never known
Oh, the glory of it all was lost on me
'Til I saw how hard it'd be to reach you
And I would always be light years, light years away from you
Light years, light years away from you
Light years, light years away from you
Light years, light years away from you
The National’s song "Light Years" is a melancholy reflection on the distance that can grow between two people who were once close. The lyrics describe a scenario where the singer and a loved one are together but not truly present with each other. The first verse describes a moment where the singer finds their loved one soaking up the sun, while they are ten feet behind. The distance between them is both a physical and emotional one that sets the stage for the rest of the song. The singer then reflects on how they didn’t fully appreciate the time they had together until it was too late.
The chorus repeats the phrase “light years away from you,” emphasizing the disconnect the singer feels from their loved one. The second verse introduces the idea of missed opportunities, as the singer wonders if they saw their loved one’s mother in the park but didn’t recognize them. The stanza ends with the haunting line “You could've been right there next to me, and I'd have never known,” which encapsulates the central theme of the song: the disconnect that can arise despite physical proximity.
Overall, "Light Years" is a poignant exploration of the impact of emotional distance on a relationship. Through vivid imagery and clever wordplay, the song masterfully conveys the sense of longing and regret that can arise when two people grow apart.
Line by Line Meaning
You were waiting outside for me in the sun
You patiently waited for me to arrive, basking in the sunshine
Laying down to soak it all in before we had to run
You relaxed and enjoyed the moment before we had to leave
I was always ten feet behind you from the start
I never quite caught up to your pace, even from the beginning
Didn't know you were gone 'til we were in the car
I didn't realize you had left until we were already on the road
Oh, the glory of it all was lost on me
I failed to appreciate the greatness of the situation
'Til I saw how hard it'd be to reach you
Only after realizing how difficult it would be to connect with you
And I would always be light years, light years away from you
I knew I could never get close enough to you, metaphorically light years away
I thought I saw your mother last weekend in the park
I saw someone who resembled your mother recently at the park
It could've been anybody, it was after dark
It was hard to distinguish the person's identity since it was nighttime
Everyone was lighting up in the shadows alone
People around were staying concealed and enjoying their time solo
You could've been right there next to me, and I'd have never known
You could have been standing next to me in the dark, without me ever knowing
Light years, light years away from you
Once again, emphasizing the distance between them
Light years, light years away from you
Continuing to stress the vast distance between the two
Light years, light years away from you
Repeating the same sentiment of unreachable distance
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Aaron Dessner, Matthew D. Berninger
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
PAUL SANDOR
Nothing expresses the glory and pain of being human better than a National song. This one hits every chord...
Nipuna Weerasekara
Amen
Whitney *
Couldn’t of said it better myself
John Williams
Exquisitely phrased, my good man. 🙏
Mark Perfeo
I feel the same...
MINNESOTA
You think!!!!💓
Liam Waldner
When a three minute song takes you on a journey Rollercoaster of emotions, takes you from reality living the lyrics in your own unique way you know it's truely a masterpiece😊
Suzanne Wescombe
Heard this on This Is Us and looked it up before the song even finished, it's absolutely beautiful
MrGee11
The beauty of this song. One of those songs that just stops you in your tracks. One of their finest albums also!
Orely@SOULNATIONS
My fiancé passed away and I miss him so much, this is the song I want him to hear because I am light years away from him and him from me. Life after his passing just hasn’t been the same. Thank you for this touching song!