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/
Sugar Wife
The National Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
sugar wife
sugar wife
can you make me a man
baby doll can you make me a dad
I'm no butterfly (repeats)
you never shoulda tried
if you tried to make a miracle
sugar wife
baby doll
can you make me a man
can you make me a dad
can you make me a man
can you make me a dad
sugar wife
The National's song "Sugar Wife" is a haunting ballad that explores the complexities of relationships, specifically the role of a spouse or partner in one's personal growth and development. The repeated refrain of "sugar wife, can you make me a man? Baby doll, can you make me a dad?" is a poignant plea for support and validation, as the singer grapples with his own limitations and insecurities. At the same time, there is an underlying sense of frustration and resignation, as if the singer has realized that he cannot rely on anyone else to "make" him into the person he wants to be.
The line "I'm no butterfly" adds further nuance to the song's themes of self-acceptance and transformation. The butterfly is a symbol of metamorphosis and change, but the singer acknowledges that he is not this mythical creature - he is a flawed, human being with all the complexities and contradictions that entails. This is echoed in the lines "if you tried to make a miracle, you never shoulda tried" - perhaps a recognition that there are no easy solutions or quick fixes to the challenges that we face.
Overall, "Sugar Wife" is a poignant reflection on the ways in which our relationships shape us, and the extent to which we are responsible for our own personal growth and development. It is a deeply introspective and emotional song, and one that will resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to reconcile their own desires and ambitions with the expectations placed upon them by others.
Line by Line Meaning
sugar wife
Addressing the sugar wife, who is likely a romantic partner or spouse.
sugar wife
Repeating the address to the sugar wife for emphasis.
sugar wife
Repeating the address to the sugar wife once again for further emphasis.
can you make me a man
Asking the sugar wife if she has the ability to transform the artist into a mature and responsible adult.
baby doll can you make me a dad
Asking if the sugar wife can also help the artist become a father figure and provider for a child.
I'm no butterfly (repeats)
Repeating the assertion that the singer is not a fragile and ephemeral creature like a butterfly.
if you tried to make a miracle
Imagining a scenario where the sugar wife attempts to perform a miraculous feat.
you never shoulda tried
Suggesting that attempting such a feat is impossible and a mistake.
if you tried to make a miracle
Repeating the hypothetical scenario for emphasis.
sugar wife
Addressing the sugar wife once again.
baby doll
Using a term of endearment to refer to the sugar wife.
can you make me a man
Repeating the request to the sugar wife to make the artist into an adult.
can you make me a dad
Repeating the request to the sugar wife to help the singer become a father figure.
can you make me a man
Repeating the request with urgency to the sugar wife.
can you make me a dad
Repeating the request with even greater urgency to the sugar wife.
sugar wife
Ending the song with a final address to the sugar wife.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: AARON DESSNER, MATTHEW BERNINGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind