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/
Sunshine On My Back
The National Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She lies there forever
She likes the sun
Tina knows the devil
Tina loves the violence
Of living in the country
She likes that it's
Tina has her story down
I really thought I knew it
And it changed around
When I was almost through it
Sunshine on my back is the only kind I like
Sunshine in my brain is the lonely kind of pain
It's the sunshine of a lonely mind
She says "After today then there's nothing you owe me"
And I'm so glad that you came, I needed someone who loves me
But just don't try to talk yourself into this love
And sleep like a baby while I'm staying up
It's as much what you say, as it is what you don't
You can't try to stay you either will or you won't
The National's song "Sunshine On My Back" paints a picture of a mysterious woman named Tina who lies on the ground, loves the violence of living in the country, and knows the devil. The lyrics are haunting, with a dark and introspective tone. Tina appears to have a complex backstory, with the singer initially thinking he knew it before it changed around when he was almost through it. The final verse speaks of a sense of isolation and loneliness, with the singer craving sunshine but feeling a "lonely kind of pain" in his brain.
One interpretation of the song is that Tina represents a place or state of mind that is alluring but ultimately destructive. The violence and darkness of living in the country may be seen as a metaphor for a self-destructive lifestyle, with Tina having control over the singer's emotions and actions. The final verse suggests that the singer has been hurt in the past and is struggling to trust again, even when someone tells him they love him.
Interestingly, "Sunshine On My Back" was released as a single in 2015, but it was not included on any of The National's albums. The song was released in conjunction with a documentary film about the making of the band's 2013 album "Trouble Will Find Me". The indie rock band has been praised for their introspective and emotionally honest lyrics, with lead singer Matt Berninger often exploring themes of love, loss, and identity.
Line by Line Meaning
Tina lies on the ground
Tina is lying on the ground
She lies there forever
Tina seems to not move from the ground
She likes the sun
Tina enjoys the warm sun
Tina knows the devil
Tina is aware of the evil in the world
Tina loves the violence
Tina enjoys the chaos and disorder of living in the country
Of living in the country
Tina's violent amusement comes from living in the countryside
She likes that it's
She takes pleasure in the fact that it's
So far from me
It's away from me
Tina has her story down
Tina has her tale well-constructed and firm
I really thought I knew it
I thought I understood her story completely
And it changed around
But it shifted unexpectedly
When I was almost through it
when I was just about done with it
Sunshine on my back is the only kind I like
Only Suns rays on my back gives me pleasure
Sunshine in my brain is the lonely kind of pain
The brightness in my mind is a kind of grief
It's the sunshine of a lonely mind
It is the sunshine of isolation
She says "After today then there's nothing you owe me"
She mentioned that you wouldn't owe her anything after today
And I'm so glad that you came, I needed someone who loves me
I am happy you are here because I require someone who loves me
But just don't try to talk yourself into this love
But do not try to convince yourself you love me
And sleep like a baby while I'm staying up
You may sleep peacefully, but I must stay awake
It's as much what you say, as it is what you don't
What you don't verbalize is as important as what you do
You can't try to stay you either will or you won't
You can't just focus on staying, you either will or will not
Contributed by Evelyn R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
dfgh asdf
"Sunshine On My Back"
Tina lies on the ground
She lies there forever
She likes the sound
Tina knows the devil
Tina loves the violence
Of living in the country
She likes that it's
So far from me
Tina has her story down
I really thought I knew it
Then it changed around
When I was almost through it
Sunshine on my back
Is the only kind I lack
Sunshine in my brain
Is the lonely kind of pain
It's the sunshine
Of a lonely mind
She says "After today then there's nothing you owe me
But I'm so glad that you came, I needed someone who loves me
But just don't try to talk yourself into this love
And sleep like a baby while I'm staying up
It's as much what you say as it is what you don't
You can't try to stay, you either will or you won't."
Sunshine on my back
Is the only kind I lack
Sunshine in my brain
Is the lonely kind of pain
It's the sunshine
Of a lonely mind
dfgh asdf
"Sunshine On My Back"
Tina lies on the ground
She lies there forever
She likes the sound
Tina knows the devil
Tina loves the violence
Of living in the country
She likes that it's
So far from me
Tina has her story down
I really thought I knew it
Then it changed around
When I was almost through it
Sunshine on my back
Is the only kind I lack
Sunshine in my brain
Is the lonely kind of pain
It's the sunshine
Of a lonely mind
She says "After today then there's nothing you owe me
But I'm so glad that you came, I needed someone who loves me
But just don't try to talk yourself into this love
And sleep like a baby while I'm staying up
It's as much what you say as it is what you don't
You can't try to stay, you either will or you won't."
Sunshine on my back
Is the only kind I lack
Sunshine in my brain
Is the lonely kind of pain
It's the sunshine
Of a lonely mind
thelastbookfan
It's really great when real poets are composing and singing songs.
inspectrnorse
Seems like an eternity since their last release. The best. Always beautiful.
Matthew Stone
+inspectrnorse, Try out Matt's other band, El Vy. They sound alot like this particular song.
Alejandro Ortega
Sublime, lo que tocan lo convierten en oro
Gijs Peters
Such a mellow track. Great to hear new material again, rooting for an album announcement soon.
transistorlatin
MrNonsensical root all you want doesn't mean anything
Aiur
MacK K the artwork also resembles a photo used for one of the record sleeves on the vinyl of Trouble will find Me
MacK K
I think this is just a leftover from Trouble Will Find Me. Look at the song title in the top right corner, it's stylized in the TWFM type of lettering. this reminds me of more like how The Virginia EP was stylized in the Boxer lettering even though it came out a year later
Kayleigh Smoot
MrNonsensical oh i will cry if there's a new album announcement/possibly followed by a tour?!?