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/
Slipped
The National Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My eyes have fallen
Counting the clicks with the living dead
My eyes are red
I'm in the crush and I hate it
My eyes have fallen
I'm having trouble inside my skin
Is it weird to be back in the south?
And can they even tell
That the city girl was ever there or anywhere?
I'm having trouble inside my skin
I'll try to keep my skeletons in
I'll be a friend and a fuck-up and everything
But I'll never be
Anything you ever want me to be
I keep coming back here where everything slipped, ah-ah-ah
But I will not spill my guts out, ah
I keep coming back here where everything slipped, ah-ah-ah
But I will not spill my guts out, ah, ah
I don't need any help to be breakable, believe me
I know nobody else who can laugh along to any kind of joke
I won't need any help to be lonely when you leave me
It'll be easy to cover
Gather my skeletons far inside
It'll be summer in Dallas
Before I realize, ah
I don't want you to grieve but I want you to sympathize, alright
I can't blame you for losing your mind for a little while, so did I
I don't want you to change but I want you to recognize, that I
It'll be easy to cover
Gather your skeletons far inside
It'll be summer in Dallas before you realize
That I'll never be
Anything you ever want me to be
I keep coming back here where everything slipped, ah-ah-ah
But I will not spill my guts out, ah
I keep coming back here where everything slipped, ah-ah-ah
But I will not spill my guts out, ah, ah
The National's song "Slipped" reflects on a person's struggle with their own emotions and inner demons while being in the midst of an unwelcoming environment that they once escaped. The opening lines "I'm in the city you hated / My eyes have fallen" set the tone of distress and discomfort that the singer is feeling. They feel trapped and suffocated in this place that feels like it rejects them, counting every passing moment with a sense of hopelessness that drains them out.
As the song progresses, the singer questions their own identity and wonder if anyone could ever recognize or understand them for who they are. They claim to have trouble inside their skin, struggling to be comfortable with themselves. The line "I'll be a friend and a fuck-up and everything / But I'll never be / Anything you ever want me to be" reflects the idea that they might comply with others' expectations to some extent but will not compromise their true self.
The chorus of the song, "I keep coming back here where everything slipped, ah-ah-ah / But I will not spill my guts out, ah," talks about a cycle of returning to this place of discomfort over and over again but not giving into the urge of breaking down emotionally. The singer finds a way to "cover", archiving their skeletons inside and hopes to get through it alone.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm in the city you hated
I'm in a place you despised
My eyes have fallen
I'm experiencing exhaustion
Counting the clicks with the living dead
I'm surrounded by individuals who appear to be alive but don't appear to be living life to the fullest
My eyes are red
My eyes are bloodshot, possibly due to crying or lack of sleep
I'm in the crush and I hate it
I'm surrounded by a large group of people, and I'm not enjoying it
I'm having trouble inside my skin
I'm experiencing turmoil and anxiety that's difficult to manage
I'll try to keep my skeletons in
I'll attempt to hide my insecurities and fears
Is it weird to be back in the south?
Is it strange to have returned to the southern region of the United States?
And can they even tell
Will it be immediately apparent to those in the southern region?
That the city girl was ever there or anywhere?
Will they be aware that a person from the city visited the southern region?
I'll be a friend and a fuck-up and everything
I'll be supportive and amenable but flawed and troublesome at times
But I'll never be anything you ever want me to be
But I'll never be the person you desire me to be
I don't need any help to be breakable, believe me
I'm vulnerable enough on my own
I know nobody else who can laugh along to any kind of joke
I'm able to find humor in anything
I won't need any help to be lonely when you leave me
I don't need assistance to feel lonely when you depart
It'll be easy to cover
It will be simple to conceal
Gather my skeletons far inside
To keep my insecurities and fears hidden deep within me
It'll be summer in Dallas
It will be warm in Dallas, Texas
Before I realize, ah
Before I realize time has passed
I don't want you to grieve but I want you to sympathize, alright
I don't want you to be sad, but I would appreciate your understanding
I can't blame you for losing your mind for a little while, so did I
I don't hold you responsible for briefly losing your composure, as I've experienced the same
I don't want you to change but I want you to recognize, that I
I don't want you to alter yourself, but I want you to acknowledge that I
It'll be easy to cover
It will be simple to conceal
Gather your skeletons far inside
Keep your insecurities and fears hidden deep within you
It'll be summer in Dallas before you realize
It will be warm in Dallas before you perceive the passage of time
That I'll never be anything you ever want me to be
That I'll never be the person you desire me to be
I keep coming back here where everything slipped, ah-ah-ah
I continue to return to this place where everything I thought I knew shattered
But I will not spill my guts out, ah
However, I won't be divulging my innermost thoughts and feelings
But I will not spill my guts out, ah, ah
But I won't be disclosing my emotional baggage
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Aaron Dessner, Matthew D. Berninger
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind