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/
Looking for Astronauts
The National Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We're out looking for astronauts, looking for astronauts
It's a little too late, too late, too late for this
Isn't it a little too late for this
Little too late, too late for this
Isn't it a little too late for this
You know you have a permanent piece
We're out looking for astronauts, looking for astronauts
We're out looking for astronauts, looking for astronauts
Are we gone
Come on yeah, we know we're gone
Bye bye bye
Bye bye bye we know we're gone
Take all your reasons and take them away
To the middle of nowhere, and on your way home
Throw from your window your record collection
They all run together and never make sense
But that's how we like it, and that's all we want
Something to cry for, and something to hunt
Are we gone
Come on yeah, we know we're gone
Bye bye bye
Bye bye bye we know we're gone
We're out looking for astronauts, looking for astronauts
We're out looking for astronauts, looking for astronauts
It's a little too late, too late, too late for this
Isn't it a little too late for this
Little too late, too late for this
Isn't it a little too late for this
You know you have a permanent piece
Of my medium-sized American heart
So don't wear the watch
When you're out with the cunts
You can break what you have, but the rest of it's mine
Take all your reasons and take them away
To the middle of nowhere, and on your way home
Throw from your window your record collection
They all run together and never make sense
But that's how we like it, and that's all we want
Something to cry for, and something to hunt
The National's song "Looking for Astronauts" is a melancholic piece that talks about the desire to find something bigger than ourselves, whether that is through a shared experience or a sense of belonging. The lyrics suggest that the search for meaning and purpose can often feel futile and misguided, as if it is too late to make any real impact on the world. The repeated refrain of "looking for astronauts" can be interpreted as a metaphor for searching for people who share our ambitions and ideals, as well as a yearning for a greater connection to the universe.
The song's lines "Take all your reasons and take them away to the middle of nowhere, and on your way home throw from your window your record collection, they all run together and never make sense" are particularly poignant, as they suggest that we may cling to our own ideas and beliefs as a way of creating meaning in our lives, even if they ultimately prove futile or meaningless. The final lines "So don't wear the watch when you're out with the cunts, you can break what you have, but the rest of it's mine" can be interpreted as a statement of independence and individuality in the face of a world that often feels chaotic and overwhelming.
Line by Line Meaning
We're out looking for astronauts, looking for astronauts
We are searching for people who are beyond the limits of the earth; seeking companions who are not confined to our planet.
It's a little too late, too late, too late for this
The moment to act has passed; the opportunity is lost and the consequence is irreversible.
You know you have a permanent piece
Of my medium-sized American heart
You possess a place in my heart that will remain forever; it is a part of my being, and it is not too big nor too small.
Are we gone
Come on yeah, we know we're gone
Bye bye bye
Bye bye bye we know we're gone
We have resigned to the inevitable; we are leaving and bid farewell to what we know.
Take all your reasons and take them away
To the middle of nowhere, and on your way home
Throw from your window your record collection
Let go of your justifications and explanations, discard them away in emptiness and while you retreat, dispose of your entire social representation.
They all run together and never make sense
But that's how we like it, and that's all we want
Something to cry for, and something to hunt
All of those things blend into one and lose their meaning, but it suits us; we crave things that invoke sadness and things to pursue relentlessly and excite our souls.
So don't wear the watch
When you're out with the cunts
You can break what you have, but the rest of it's mine
Don't keep track of time when you're with those people who are unpleasant; you may damage what is yours, yet everything else is mine.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: AARON B. DESSNER, MATTHEW D. BERNINGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind