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/
Mansion On The Hill
The National Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Risin' above the factories and the fields
Now, ever since I was a child, I can remember
That mansion on the hill
In the day you can see the children playing
On the road that leads to those gates of hardened steel
Steel gates that completely surround, sir,
At night my daddy'd take me and we'd ride
Through the streets of a town so silent and still
Park on a back road along the highway side
Look up at that mansion on the hill
In the summer all the lights would shine
There'd be music playin', people laughin' all the time
Me and my sister, we'd hide out in the tall cornfields
Sit and listen to the mansion on the hill
Tonight down here in linden town
I watch the cars rushin' by, home from the mill
There's a beautiful full moon rising
Above the mansion on the hill
The National's "Mansion On The Hill" is a song about nostalgia and longing for the past. The singer describes a mansion on the edge of town that he has been fascinated with since childhood. During the day, he sees children playing on the road that leads to the mansion's steel gates, which completely surround the property. At night, the singer and his father would drive past the mansion, park on a back road, and look up at it. They would sit silently and admire the grandeur of the mansion. The singer recalls that during the summer, the mansion would be lit up with music playing and people laughing all around. He and his sister would hide in the cornfields and listen to the sounds coming from the mansion.
The song evokes a sense of longing and nostalgia for a time long gone. It speaks to the sense of awe that we feel for grand, mysterious places that are just out of reach. For the singer, the mansion represents a world of possibility and wonder, a place where anything is possible.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a place out on the edge of town, sir,
The song starts by describing an area on the outskirts of town where a mansion stands.
Risin' above the factories and the fields
This mansion stands out, even from a distance.
Now, ever since I was a child, I can remember
The singer has memories of this mansion since childhood.
That mansion on the hill
The song's title repeated as a refrain.
In the day you can see the children playing
During the day, the artist can see children playing on the road leading up to the steel gates of the mansion.
On the road that leads to those gates of hardened steel
The road leading up to the mansion is marked by steel gates.
Steel gates that completely surround, sir,
The steel gates form a complete enclosure around the mansion.
The mansion on the hill
Repetition of the song's title.
At night my daddy'd take me and we'd ride
The artist's father used to take him for rides around town at night.
Through the streets of a town so silent and still
The town is very quiet and peaceful at night.
Park on a back road along the highway side
They would park on a side road near the highway.
Look up at that mansion on the hill
They would admire the mansion from a distance.
In the summer all the lights would shine
During the summer, the mansion is lit up at night.
There'd be music playin', people laughin' all the time
There is always activity and parties going on at the mansion.
Me and my sister, we'd hide out in the tall cornfields
The singer and his sister would hide in the cornfields to secretly observe the mansion.
Sit and listen to the mansion on the hill
They would listen to the sounds coming from the mansion.
Tonight down here in linden town
The artist is currently in Linden town.
I watch the cars rushin' by, home from the mill
He observes the cars of workers returning home from the mill.
There's a beautiful full moon rising
There is a gorgeous full moon rising in the sky.
Above the mansion on the hill
The moon is shining above the mansion, emphasizing its grandeur.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Harry
this songs involves one of my favourite musicians of all time and my favourite band. amazing
Anisa Aurora
Absolutely beautiful!!!!!
TheMPOEye
Dynamite cover! Thanks for posting it!
Radical Liberalist
Eddie Vedder on the fiddle!
Josh Nolan
Wow
ScottAln05
Reverb overdone at approx. 3:35-4:00. Otherwise a simple presentation that perfectly fits this tune. Springsteen, despite the rocker image he cultivates, is actually a sensitive writer but also overly dramatic (sorry, but I find it "whiny") in much of his singing. The National's version of this tune is superior because it lets it speak for itself.
Kevin red badger Walls
I love both versions
Oliver Barden
ScottAln05 I don’t think Bruce sings this song in a particularly dramatic way at all.