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/
where is her head
The National Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is she looking out?
Is she standing up?
Where are her hands?
Where are her eyes?
Where are her feet?
Where's her head?
Is she outside?
Is she looking out?
Is she standing up?
Where are her hands?
Where are her eyes?
Where is her head?
Is she looking out?
Is she standing up?
Where are her hands?
Where are her eyes?
Where are her feet?
Where is her head?
Is she outside?
Is she looking out?
Is she standing up?
Where are her hands?
Where are her eyes?
Where is her head?
What is she thinking?
Is she sleeping?
What did she say?
Is she looking out?
Is she standing up?
Where are her hands?
Where are her eyes?
Where is her head?
Is she looking out?
Is she sleeping?
I think I'm hittin' a wall
I hate loving you as much as I do
I think I'm runnin' away
The dark storm you bring
I can't take another day
I think I'm hittin' a wall
I think I'm hittin' a wall (is she outside?)
I hate my looks, I hate 'em all (is she looking out?)
I think I'm runnin' away (is she standing up?)
The storm you bring
Can't take another day (where are her hands?)
I think I'm hittin' a wall (where are her eyes?)
I think I'm hittin' a wall (where are her feet?)
I hate loving you as much as I do (where's her head?)
I think I'm runnin' away (is she outside?)
I think I'm runnin' away
I think I hate my looks (is she looking out?)
I hate them all (is she standing up?)
I think I'm hittin' a wall
I think I'm hittin' a wall (where are her hands?)
Where are her eyes?
Where is her head?
What is she thinking?
Is she sleeping?
Where are her hands? Where are her eyes? (And I will not come back the same)
Where is her head?
What is she thinking?
Is she sleeping?
(And I will not come back the same) What'd she say?
Where are her eyes? Where is her head? (And I will not come back the same)
What is she thinking?
Is she sleeping?
What'd she say? Is she going out? (And I will not come back the same)
Is she looking out?
Is she standing up?
Where are her hands?
Where are her eyes?
Where are her feet?
Where is her head?
Is she outside?
Is she looking out?
Is she standing up?
Where are her hands?
Where are her eyes?
Where is her head?
What is she thinking?
Is she sleeping?
What did she say?
Is she going out?
Is she going out?
Is she going out?
The lyrics to The National's song "Where is Her Head" are intentionally repetitive and elusive, leaving the listener with more questions than answers. The chorus is made up of a series of questions about the subject's physical and emotional state: "Is she outside? Is she looking out? Is she standing up? Where are her hands? Where are her eyes? Where are her feet? Where's her head?" These questions are repeated several times throughout the song, creating a mood of uncertainty and confusion.
The song also includes lyrics about the singer's own feelings, expressing a sense of being overwhelmed and trapped: "I think I'm hitting a wall / I hate loving you as much as I do / I think I'm running away / The dark storm you bring / I can't take another day." The repeated phrase "And I will not come back the same" further emphasizes the sense of change and transformation that the singer is experiencing.
Overall, the lyrics to "Where is Her Head" suggest a sense of disorientation and emotional turmoil, both in the subject of the song and in the singer themselves. The repeated questions about the subject's physical state create a sense of detachment and distance from the person being described, as if the singer is struggling to understand or connect with them.
Line by Line Meaning
Is she outside?
She might be physically outside.
Is she looking out?
She might be looking towards a certain direction.
Is she standing up?
She might be in a standing position.
Where are her hands?
The location of her hands is unknown.
Where are her eyes?
The location of her eyes is unknown.
Where are her feet?
The location of her feet is unknown.
Where's her head?
The location of her head is unknown.
What is she thinking?
It is unknown what thoughts are going through her mind.
Is she sleeping?
She might be sleeping.
What did she say?
It is unknown what she said.
I think I'm hittin' a wall
The singer is struggling to progress or make a decision.
I hate loving you as much as I do
The artist is struggling with their intense feelings towards someone.
I think I'm runnin' away
The singer feels like escaping or avoiding a certain situation.
The dark storm you bring
The person the singer loves, or their relationship, brings negative emotions or difficulties.
I can't take another day
The singer is feeling overwhelmed and low on energy to continue.
And I will not come back the same
The artist is implying that they will change or grow from their experiences.
Is she going out?
It is unclear whether she is planning to leave a certain place.
Lyrics © MUSIC & MEDIA INT'L, INC., BMG Rights Management
Written by: Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, Carin Besser, Matthew D. Berninger, Michael Mills
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind