Posted by Two of the most popular musical acts in the United States come together in a song that fans have been waiting for years. The National published The Alcott on April 28, 2023, the same day as the new album First Two Pages of Frankenstein was released. Obviously, the track broke the Internet, and fans wanted to understand more about its lyrics and meaning. Let’s find out together. You will also find the complete lyrics 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 place chosen in the lyrics of The Alcott has a precise meaning: it’s a location you probably reach while traveling, which means that your life may be dragged by other priorities at this moment. Nevertheless, you have a significant one, and you don’t want to lose them: that’s why, when they meet, the two singers share their most intimate thoughts.
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
The impression is that both protagonists are busy, stolen by the other parts of their lives. This may be the reason why they cannot dedicate the right time and energy to their relationship. The male perspective is fascinating: he feels he won’t be able to introduce a significant change, and he’s afraid this will create more problems in the future.
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, therefore, represents the hotel when the two protagonists meet, a fictional location that we can easily identify as a place like that. The song was originally written by The National and then sent to Taylor Swift (who’s a fan of the indie band). Taylor promptly introduced her point of view, adding lyrics and offering her voice to the single. The meaning of the lyrics inside The Alcott is now clear: I don’t want to lose you; I’m still in love with you, despite the ways our lives keep us apart sometimes. I catch this unique opportunity now, at the Alcott, to show you what I still feel for you.
Read other popular song lyrics and their meaning on Auralcrave
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
