| The National – Rylan Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| My apologies for the many typos, btw. | |
| The National – Rylan Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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It is about how a shy and introverted person (seems to ba child or teenager in this song, but you can easily expand it to all timid or withdrawn people) can feel underappreciated in a world dominated by extroverts. His parents would like to see him come out of his shell more, but he disappoints them when he fails to do so: "Rylan, did you break your mother’s heart / Every time you try to play your part?" Ryland does feel isolated himself as well, and his thoughts are so dark the narrator even makes an illusion to suicide: "Rylan, you can take the quick way out. / You can turn blank white in a blank white house." Other people seem to be living very different lives. They are so mysterious it seems to Rylan as if there is an impenetrable mist curtain between him and the outside world: "Is it easy to live inside the role? / All the little kids are high and hazy." Moreover, he appears to have gained a low self esteem as a result of his loneliness: "They say that you're a pervert, you’re a vulture. / Don’t you wanna be popular culture?" His perceived rejection of him by other people leads him to develop a twisted sense of superiority; he considers most other people to be shallow and insensitive. "Is it easy to seem so grand? / Wanna be alone in la-la-land." This is not the right attitude at all, however, and the narrator urges Rylan to take initiative. Rylan constantly has epiphanies, thinking he has finally figured out what is holding him back, how he can finally live his life the way he wants it to, but the narrator points out to him that his epiphanies are merely illusions because he fails to act on them: "Change your mind and nothing changes." In the choruses, the narrator advises Rylan to change his pessimestic attitude and to start approaching people. He must develop his social skills and learn to cope with rejection, just like everybody else. "Rylan, you should try to get some sun. / You remind me of everyone. / Rylan, you should try to get some sun. /A little bit of heaven in everyone". He is not better than anyone else, despite his higher sensitivity: "Everybody got no where to go, Everybody wants to be amazing." All in all, this is another great The National song. It is amazing how Matt Berninger can see through certain characters and explain them in these very poetic and sympathetic ways. Most rock bands are pretty shallow, but Matt Berninger shows amazing emotional complexity in all of his songs. Maybe he drew a little bit on his own experience for this song, although I would not want to go as far as claim he is shy or even very introverted, considering he is the lead singer of a rock band. He does need wine to combat his stage fright every night, so I would definitely count him more on the introverted side of the spectrum. Definetely not shy though, I think he is introverted the way Barack Obama is. Yes, I look up to the man. |
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