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/
Lucky You
The National Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And every time you go to sleep
All those dreams inside your head
Is there sunlight on your bed
And every time you're driving home
Way outside your safety zone
Wherever you will ever be
You're never getting rid of me
You own me
There's nothing you can do
You own me
You coulda made the safer bet
But what you break is what you get
You wake up in the bed you make
I think you made a big mistake
You own me
There's nothing you can do
You own me
You own me
Lucky you
You own me
There's nothing you can do
You clean yourself to meet
The man who isn't me
You're putting on a shirt
A shirt I'll never see
The letter's in your coat
But no one's in your head
'Cause you're too smart to remember
You're too smart
Lucky you
Lucky you
Lucky you
The lyrics to The National's song "Lucky You" explore themes of obsession and possessiveness. The singer is addressing someone who they feel has a hold over them and cannot be rid of them. The lyrics suggest that this is not a healthy or desired situation but something that is beyond control. Every time the subject goes to sleep or has a drink, the singer is there in their mind, consuming their thoughts. The repetition of "you own me" throughout the song emphasizes this possession and the sense of loss of control.
The lyrics hint at a romantic relationship between the two, with the subject cleaning themselves to meet another man and putting on a shirt that the singer will never see. However, the relationship seems to be one-sided, with the singer being obsessed with the subject, while the subject may not even be aware. The line "wherever you will ever be, you're never getting rid of me" reveals the extent that the singer is willing to go to remain in control of the situation. The haunting melody and slow tempo of the song further emphasize the sense of unease and obsession.
Line by Line Meaning
Every time you get a drink
Whenever you indulge yourself with a drink
And every time you go to sleep
Each time you sleep or rest
All those dreams inside your head
The dreams that lurk inside your mind
Is there sunlight on your bed
Are you able to get a ray of hope in your life
And every time you're driving home
Whenever you head back to your comfort zone
Way outside your safety zone
Traveling into unfamiliar or dangerous areas
Wherever you will ever be
No matter where you go or what you do
You're never getting rid of me
I will always be with you, no matter what you do
You own me
You have complete control over me
There's nothing you can do
There is no way to change the situation
You own me
You have complete control over me
You coulda made the safer bet
You could have chosen a more secure path
But what you break is what you get
The consequences of your actions are what you receive
You wake up in the bed you make
The outcomes of your choices are reflected in your life
I think you made a big mistake
I believe that you have made a significant error in judgment
You clean yourself to meet
You get ready to meet someone
The man who isn't me
The person you are about to meet is not me
You're putting on a shirt
You are getting dressed
A shirt I'll never see
I will never know what you are wearing
The letter's in your coat
You have a letter in your coat
But no one's in your head
No one knows what you are thinking
'Cause you're too smart to remember
You are intentionally forgetting things to appear smarter
You're too smart
You are intelligent and cunning
Lucky you
You have luck on your side
Lucky you
How fortunate you are to have luck on your side
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Matthew Donald Berninger, Aaron Brooking Dessner
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind