Fans have been anticipating the collaboration of two of the most well-known musical performers in the country for years. On April 28, 2023, The National released the new album First Two Pages of Frankenstein and published The Alcott. Naturally, the song became viral online, and many were curious about the lyrics and meaning. Let’s together research this. The full lyrics are included at the end of the article.
You can watch the lyric video of The Alcott below.
The National & Taylor Swift, The Alcott: the lyrics & their meaning
The Alcott is a song about finding a new connection with the person you love in a public space like a hotel bar.In the lyrics, a man and a woman, in love with each other, sing about their encounter in the usual spot where they always meet, renewing their feelings.
The concept of meeting in a hotel bar has been explicitly explained by The National’s frontman Matt Berninger on the Zane Lowe Show:
“It very much is a perspective of one person sort of coming to try to reconnect with the other person in a hotel bar. I’d written all that side of it and Aaron sent it to Taylor Swift right away and I think she jumped right into the role of the other voice, the other perspective….It sets a scene of a person with a notebook writing in a bar…and she fit right into that spot.”
The location picked in the lyrics of The Alcott has a clear meaning: it’s a site you presumably arrive to while traveling, which denotes that other priorities in your life may be dragging you down right now. The two singers disclose their most private thoughts when they meet because they have a significant other and don’t want to lose them.
And the last thing you wanted
Is the first thing I do
I tell you my problems
You tell me the truth
It’s the last thing you wanted
It’s the first thing I do
I tell you that I think I’m falling
Back in love with you
It seems as though both of the main characters are preoccupied with other aspects of their lives. They might be unable to invest the necessary time and effort in their relationship because of this. The male viewpoint is fascinating since he feels he won’t be able to make a substantial shift and is concerned that this will lead to further issues down the road.
And I’ll ruin it all over
I’ll ruin it for you
I’ll ruin it all over
And over like I always do
The Alcott, a fictional location that we can easily recognize as a place like that, thus depicts the hotel when the two protagonists first meet. The National, a supporter of the indie band, wrote the song in the beginning and then sent it to Taylor Swift. Taylor immediately shared her perspective by contributing lyrics and lending her vocals to the song. The lyrics of The Alcott can now be understood to imply, “I don’t want to lose you; I’m still in love with you, despite the ways our lives sometimes keep us apart.” At the Alcott, I take use of this rare occasion to express my continued affection for you.
The complete lyrics
Below you can find the complete lyrics of The Alcott.
I get myself twisted in threads to meet you at The Alcott
I go to the corner in the back where you’d always be
There you are, sitting as usual with your golden notebook
Writing something about someone who used to be me
And the last thing you wanted
Is the first thing I do
I tell you my problems
You tell me the truth
It’s the last thing you wanted
It’s the first thing I do
I tell you that I think I’m falling
Back in love with you
I sit there, silently waiting for you to look up
I see you smile when you see it’s me
I had to do something to break into your golden thinking
How many times will I do this and you’ll still believe?
It’s the last thing you wanted
(Tell me, which side are you on, dear?)
It’s the first thing you do
(Give me some tips to forget you)
You tell me your problems
(Have I become one of your problems?)
And I tell you the truth
(Could it be easy this once?)
It’s the last thing you wanted
(Everything that’s mine is a landmine)
It’s the first thing I do
(Did my love aid and abet you?)
I tell you that I think I’m falling
Back in love with you
And I’ll ruin it all over
I’ll ruin it for you
I’ll ruin it all over
And over like I always do (Why don’t you)
I’ll ruin it all over (Rain on my parade?)
I’ll ruin it for you (Shred my evening gown)
I’ll ruin it all over (Read my sentence out loud)
And over like I always do (‘Cause I love this curse on our house)
It’s the last thing I wanted
(Tell me, which side are you on, dear?)
It’s the first thing I do
(Give me some tips to forget you)
I tell you my problems
(Have I become one of your problems?)
And you tell me the truth
(Could it be easy this once?)
It’s the last thing I wanted
(Everything that’s mine is a landmine)
It’s the first thing I do
(Did my love aid and abet you?)
I tell you that I think I’m falling
Back in love (Back in love)
Back in love with you
Back in love with you