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/
Pink Rabbits
The National Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I went out in the rain
I was just soaking my head to unrattle my brain
Somebody said you disappeared in a crowd
I didn't understand then
I don't understand now
Am I the one you think about
Am I the one you think about
When you're sitting in your fainting chair, drinking pink rabbits?
And everybody was gone
You were staring down the street 'cause you were trying not to crack up
It wasn't like a rain it was more like a sea
I didn't ask for this pain, it just came over me
Well, I love a storm, but I don't love lightning
All the waters coming up so fast, it's frightening
Am I the one you think about
When you're sitting in your fainting chair, drinking pink rabbits?
Am I the one you think about
When you're sitting in your fainting chair, drinking pink rabbits?
And everybody was gone
I was staring down the street 'cause I was trying not to crack
I was solid gold
I was in the fight
I was coming back from what seemed like a ruin
I couldn't see you coming so far
I just turn around and there you are
I'm so surprised you want to dance with me now
I was just getting used to living life without you around
I'm so surprised you want to dance with me now
You always said I held you way too high off the ground
You didn't see me, I was falling apart
I was a white girl in a crowd of white girls in the park
You didn't see me, I was falling apart
I was a television version of a person with a broken heart
You didn't see me, I was falling apart
I was a white girl in a crowd of white girls in a park
You didn't see me, I was falling apart
I was a television version of a person with a broken heart
And everybody was gone
You were staring down the street 'cause you were trying not to crack up
And Bona Drag was still on
Now I only think about Los Angeles when the sound kicks out
Now I only think about Los Angeles when the sound kicks out
You said it would be painless
A needle in a doll
You said it would be painless
It wasn't that at all
You said it would be painless
A needle in a doll
You said it would be painless
It wasn't that at all (when the sound kicks out)
Said it would be painless
A needle in a doll (when the sound kicks out)
Said it would be painless
It wasn't that at all
The National's "Pink Rabbits" is an enigmatic song that depicts the pain and confusion that come with a breakup. The lyrics are full of metaphorical language that creates vivid images of the singer's emotional state. In the first stanza, the singer tries to distract themselves by going out in the rain, but they cannot escape the memory of their lost love. They wonder if they are still on their former partner's mind, even as they drink themselves into oblivion ("drinking pink rabbits"). Despite their attempts to move on, the pain of the breakup still lingers.
The second stanza provides more detail about the singer's emotional turmoil. They express their love of storms but not lightning, which could be interpreted as a metaphor for their love of intensity but fear of the pain that comes with it. They also mention feeling like they are falling apart, and being unable to escape the memory of their lost love even when surrounded by others ("a white girl in a crowd of white girls in a park"). The final lines of the song are particularly poignant, as the singer thinks about their former partner only when the sun goes down, indicating that the memory of them still haunts them in the dark, lonely hours of the night.
Line by Line Meaning
I couldn't find quiet
I was unable to find peace and calmness within myself
I went out in the rain
I stepped out into the pouring rain
I was just soakin' my head to unrattle my brain
I was trying to clear my mind and shake off my anxiety by getting drenched in the rain
Somebody said you disappeared in a crowd
Someone mentioned that you vanished in a sea of people
I didn't understand then
At that time, I couldn't comprehend or grasp the significance of this information
I don't understand now
I still cannot fully comprehend, even now
Am I the one you think about when you're
Sitting in your faintin' chair drinking pink rabbits?
Do you ever reminisce about me when you're relaxing in your comfortable chair, sipping on pink-colored alcoholic drinks that can cause fainting?
And everybody was gone
You were standin' in the street 'cause you were tryin' not to crack up
Everyone else had left and gone their own way, but you were left standing in the middle of the road, trying not to break down and losing your mind.
It wasn't like a rain it was more like a sea
Rather than being a light, gentle rain, it was as though the water pouring down from the sky had turned everything into an overwhelming, seemingly infinite sea.
I didn't ask for this pain it just came over me
I did not invite or welcome this unbearable sense of agony; it just swept over me unexpectedly.
I love a storm, but I don't love lightning
I revel in the power and excitement of a good storm, but I fear its negative consequences and the damage it can bring.
All the water's coming up so fast, that's right
The water level is rising quickly, and that is indeed happening.
I was solid gold
I was in the fight
I was coming back from what seemed like a ruin
I was once strong and invincible, courageously fighting my way back after experiencing what seemed like utter destruction and devastation.
I couldn't see you coming so far
I just turn around and there you are
I had no idea you were going to show up, but when I finally turned to look, there you were, standing right in front of me.
I'm so surprised you want to dance with me now
I was just getting used to living life without you around
I am utterly astounded that you would even consider dancing with me after all this time passed, as I had just started getting accustomed to living my life without you.
You always said I held you way too high off the ground
You always thought I kept you high above the earth and away from reality, unreachable and detached from everything else.
You didn't see me I was falling apart
I was a white girl in a crowd of white girls in the park
You didn't see me I was falling apart
I was a television version of a person with a broken heart
You failed to notice I was breaking down on the inside, as I was just another ordinary person in a sea of similar individuals. You didn't see my agony, even though I was like a character on TV whose heart was shattered into pieces.
Now I only think about los angeles when the sun kicks out
I only recall Los Angeles when the sun has gone down and darkness has arrived.
You said it would be painless
The needle in the dark
You said it would be painless
It wasn't that at all
You claimed the injection would be completely pain-free, even in a pitch-black room. However, in truth, it was far from being painless.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Aaron Dessner, Matthew Berninger, Zoe Randell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind