The National
“Willow” and “Cardigan” are two of Taylor Swift’s most beloved tracks on Evermore and Folklore, respectively. But what if they didn’t make it into her discography?
That was almost the case, according to the superstar’s frequent musical collaborators The National. In a new interview with The Telegraph published on Thursday (April 20), the band’s Aaron Dessner and Matt Berninger revealed that the two songs were originally intended to be for The National.
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“I’d taken a swing at [‘Cardigan’] and ‘Willow’ and a couple of others, and I wasn’t having a lot of luck, so Aaron sent them to Taylor,” Berninger recalled. “I always have a lot of music to work on, and I am looking for something to connect emotionally. The reverse has happened, too, where Aaron wrote something for Taylor, and I dove right in. It works both ways.”
The National is gearing up to release their ninth studio album, First Two Pages of Frankenstein on April 28, and previously revealed that Swift will be featured on the track “The Alcott.” The group previously collaborated with Swift on Evermore‘s “Coney Island.”
“We’re all big fans of Taylor, and she’s been really generous with us, inviting us to be part of ‘Coney Island,’” Aaron’s brother Bryce Dessner previously shared in an Apple Music interview. “And obviously my brother’s worked with her a lot, and I’ve done a bunch of orchestration for her albums.”
He continued, “‘The Alcott’ is a song that she co-wrote with Matt [Berninger], where she co-wrote the lyrics. It’s really amazing to hear her, the way she was able to take what Matt had done and then reinvent the song, and it’s really a special song.”
The National is gearing up to release their ninth studio album, First Two Pages of Frankenstein on April 28, and the band’s Bryce Dessner sat down with Hanuman Welch for ALT CTRL Radio on Apple Music 1 this week to discuss the project.
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Most notably, Taylor Swift is featured on The National’s “Alcott,” which will be included on the forthcoming album. The National previously worked with Swift on Evermore‘s “Coney Island,” and Bryce’s brother Aaron Dessner frequently collaborates with the 11-time Grammy winner. “We’re all big fans of Taylor, and she’s been really generous with us, inviting us to be part of ‘Coney Island,’” Bryce shared. “And obviously my brother’s worked with her a lot, and I’ve done a bunch of orchestration for her albums.”
He continued, “‘Alcott’ is a song that she co-wrote with Matt [Berninger], where she co-wrote the lyrics. It’s really amazing to hear her, the way she was able to take what Matt had done and then reinvent the song, and it’s really a special song.”
As for the inspiration behind The National’s literary album title, Bryce explained that Berninger came up with the name, after the frontman went through a pause in creativity. “I think he was just blocked about what he wanted to sing about, lyrics weren’t coming,” he shared. “And typically in the past, he’ll pick up favorite books, and so apparently he picked up Frankenstein, the [Mary] Shelley book — people know the film and some people don’t realize it’s based on a book — and that helped him get out of his, somehow opened a door for him. I’m not sure why, maybe thinking about monsters or something. But, it helped open the flood gates and in the later stages of the album, he started writing really quickly.”
Listen to the full interview on-demand on Apple Music here.
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