The Geese of Beverly Road

I'm a grumpy misanthrope but this song makes me cry. As has been pointed out, it's about those fleeting moments when you're totally free, totally happy. But the music and melody are so melancholic, you get the feeling the character in the song will never achieve this feeling again in their life...it's poignant, goddamn it and fuckin' beautiful.

This is a quote taken directly from an interview with Matt Berninger, the lead singer of the band at neumu.net. He [Berninger] added, "I do occasionally steal bits of real conversations or little scraps from movies and TV. Heir to the Glimmering World is a Cynthia Ozick novel that came out while I was finishing the lyrics to 'The Geese of Beverly Rd.' It was just what I needed, thanks Cynthia." This song, he explains, is set in the neighborhood of Brooklyn where he and Bryce Dessner lived during the recording of Alligator, a place called Ditmas Park. "It's a beautiful neighborhood that feels more like Savannah, Georgia than Brooklyn," he said. "The houses are all free-standing with nice yards and wrap-around porches. I was sitting outside one night watching a bunch of kids running up and down Beverly setting off car alarms. The song is theirs. Recording out there was nice, very relaxed."

This song uses the words "awesome" and "totally" a lot, which is cool because I use those words a lot too. It also uses the word "genius." I'm a genius too so that makes this song even better.

This song is about being in love and the foolish giddiness of it, feeling like you can take on the world. As freejoe put it, you're invincible. The previous interpretations of setting off the geese are correct.

However, I didn't find anyone giving a satisfactory interpretation of the line, "serve me the sky with a big slice of lemon", nor "we are the heirs to the glimmering world." A simple song, but the forementioned line about serving the sky is one of the most ellusive portions of imagery in this song.

Here's my interpretation. Clearly, all is beautiful when you are young, or maybe just in love and feeling young. It glimmers, but so does the night sky, which I directly connect with the gleeful night time activities with a devious bent that this song promotes. When you are in love you feel like you are kings and queens and so the choice to tie it into inheritance.

Serving the sky is like saying you are serving the stars to someone, especially since this song specifies the night sky by saying, "tonight." Lemons are bitter. Perhaps there is a desire for a bittersweet ending. Many a bittersweet ending has been idealized by youths, such as in "Romeo and Juliet." This last part about the lemon is purely speculation though.

This is about that one moment when you're with somebody and you're totally free. Acting silly, acting like kids, and a little wasted. Being free of all responsibly. Somewhere around 3 am... "We're drunk and sparking, our legs are open Our hands are covered in cake But I swear we didn't have any I swear we didn't have any" The world is ours for that one second. Perhaps the closest that anybody is going to get to the true feeling of happiness.

something worth noting is the choice of beverly road.

this street has something of an identity crisis. in some places it's spelled 'beverly,' in others it's spelled 'beverley.'

so, yes, things can look different depending on your perspective. and where you thought you were can suddenly change.

the lemon at the end - i suspect the character in the song doesn't realize what he's asking for.

in our best moments we make memories that are so painful they're almost impossible to live with when they're over.

i really love this song.. i agree with the posts above.. its about being young and being in love.. the freedom it gives you and the things you can get away with. i love the lines "Our hands are covered in cake but i swear we didnt have any" its like they dont care.. they have the confidence to deny what may seem so obvious but theyl "get away with it".

neamsing - I thought the same about the cake, because it fits in with the theme of the entire song. Then I thought of the similarity to 'having your cake and eating it too' - just wanting it both ways, wanting everything to go your way, believing it should ... which just emphasises it even more.

As for the 'Serve me the sky with a big slice of lemon'? I always assumed that was just referring to slices of lemon (or other citrus fruit) in cocktails, wine or any old drink (but as this is The National, it's probably an alcoholic one), but he wants the whole sky, everything, feeling like he can take on the world. Also the big slice of lemon could be how the moon sometimes looks in the night sky, when it has that yellowish tinge and appears larger than it is.

I also love the title of this song, because it sounds like a children's book. Like The Animals of Farthing Wood, or The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. Just makes me smile! Glad to hear I'm not the only one who gets a bit teary when I hear this - it's a completely involuntary reaction, song just gives me the shivers!

...the nostalgic sentimentality of watching the pure innocence of youth setting off car alarms on a warm summer night in Brooklyn. Oh who wouldn't want to recapture those feelings and emotions once held as a teenager? And I know that "We're the heirs to a glimmering world" is a stolen lyric, but it's a brilliant way of capturing the exuberance of youth and what the future could hold...Toronto at the end of May...can't wait...

No one commented on the most important line in this song. "Our hands are covered in cake, but I swear we didn't have any"

This song screams of a failed relationship that never reached its potential. Ya, you had some fun, felt on top of the world.

But, Cake is typically viewed as the prize to a party or dinner; think of life as this party or dinner. You never achieved that goal. "Serve me tonight, the sky with a BIG slice of lemon" Pointless sex. Big being key; not relative to size but value.

Berringer has stated himself that most of their songs are sarcastic and they are the only ones who find them funny