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/
Patterns of Fairytales
The National Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I guess you must be somewhere breathing
where skin and everything still know what they are for
and blood remembers where to go
I fell in love with you no matter what you say
but you were right about the reasons
to turn a magdeline into the month of May
so I'm turning on the stereo
and I'm lining up the names
on the mixes I made before you
and I'm turning into fairytales
with glitter and some glue
everything we ever planned to ever do
tonight there isn't any light under your door
I guess you must be somewhere breathing
in patterns unfamiliar to the one you're underneath
I pinned those patterns in my coat
so I'm turning on the stereo
and I'm turning into fairytales
yes I'm turning on the stereo
and I'm turning into you
The National's song Patterns of Fairytales is a melancholic reflection on love and loss. The lyrics are poignant and introspective, dealing with the themes of unrequited love, the power of memory and the desire to hold onto the past.
The opening lines set a somber tone, describing a dark and empty room with no light under the door. The singer assumes that the person whom he/she loves is away, breathing somewhere else. In the next line, the singer describes the primal and essential aspects of being human, where skin and everything still knows what they are for, and blood remembers where to go, indicating a sense of physical longing.
The second verse begins with a confession of falling in love with someone, irrespective of what they say. The person was right about the reasons perhaps for not reciprocating his/her love, and instead converting the singer into a "magdeline into the month of May." Magdalene has biblical allusions to a woman who was a close follower of Jesus and witnessed his crucifixion and resurrection, and May is the month of spring representing renewal and rebirth. The singer regrets not knowing that he/she was the magdeline, perhaps indicating a sense of self-discovery and self-awareness. The singer then turns on the stereo, lining up the mixtapes from the past, and immerses himself/herself in fairytales, with glitter and some glue, perhaps seeking solace in an imaginary world of possibilities and optimism.
The lyrics in the final verse continue to reflect the same sense of longing and desire to hold onto the past. The singer imagines patterns unfamiliar to the one he/she is underneath and pins them in his/her coat, indicating a sense of cherishing the memories. The song ends with the declaration of turning into the person he/she loves, perhaps symbolizing a sense of acceptance and moving on.
Line by Line Meaning
tonight there isn't any light under your door
I can see that your room is dark, suggesting that you are not there.
I guess you must be somewhere breathing
I imagine that you are somewhere alive and well, simply not here.
where skin and everything still know what they are for
Wherever you are, I imagine that the people there have a clear sense of their identity and purpose.
and blood remembers where to go
I also imagine that they are in touch with their instincts and able to follow them without question.
I fell in love with you no matter what you say
Despite any objections or reservations you may have expressed, I have fallen deeply in love with you.
but you were right about the reasons
I acknowledge that you had valid concerns about our relationship.
to turn a magdeline into the month of May
You suggested that I should not idealize our relationship, comparing it to the transition from a difficult time to a more pleasant one.
I shoulda known the magdeline was me
In hindsight, I see that you were suggesting that I was the one who needed to change, rather than projecting my feelings onto the relationship itself.
so I'm turning on the stereo
Feeling nostalgic, I am choosing to listen to music as a way of coping with our separation.
and I'm lining up the names
I am organizing my music collection, perhaps as a way of trying to regain a sense of order and control.
on the mixes I made before you
I am focused on the music that I loved before you came into my life.
and I'm turning into fairytales
I am using the power of imagination to escape from the pain of reality.
with glitter and some glue
In my mind's eye, I am creating a flawless, idealized vision of our relationship.
everything we ever planned to ever do
In my fairy tale, nothing went wrong, and our plans for the future came to fruition.
in patterns unfamiliar to the one you're underneath
I am aware that the reality of your life and experiences may be vastly different from how I am imagining them, and that I may not truly understand your perspective.
I pinned those patterns in my coat
Nevertheless, I am determined to cling to my idealized vision of you and our relationship, even if it means ignoring reality.
yes I'm turning on the stereo
Once again, I am seeking solace in music as a way of coping with the pain of our separation.
and I'm turning into you
In my mind, I am embodying your spirit, trying to imagine what it would be like to be you and to understand you fully.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: AARON DESSNER, MATTHEW BERNINGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind