The National – Secret Meeting

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  General Comment:I met the Dessners the other night after a show and made it a point to get the answer. It is, in fact, I'm talking ace.

  Flagged PaintMeAnythingon December 18, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:I think at the core of this song there is a man who is being self destructive. How one specifically interprets this depends on the lines and verses that most speak to them. Some people suggest its his self destructive attitude towards the record labels and becoming famous.
  
  Personally I was in a fading relationship when I first heard this song and thats how I connected with it.
  
  The verse "Sorry I missed you I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain" rings true to the way I felt around her. I was withdrawn and always lost in my own train of thought. I remember driving home one day with her and during the entire car trip I was deep in thought in my own world of almost nothing. In reference to the "spies" thats how silly my thoughts were. Not so dramatically paranoid but just as silly. I remember her talking in the background about seeing her parents for dinner next weekend and what we should get for my birthday... and I all I remember at the time was thinking, "if the world was suddenly over run by Zombies I would definitely hide in that house over there". Go figure.
  
  "I know you kept me in sunglasses" also rang so true in many ways, I knew she was the best thing to happen to me. When I met her I was still very impressionable and she turned me into a member of society. Stylised me with her fashion sense. The 'sunglasses' is such a clever use of word because it also suggests hiding or trying to fit in.
  She tried to make me fit in with the rest of the crowd.
  
  And now its almost annoying for her because all her friends she introduced to me are very good friends of mine too.
  
  "gracefully disappear in a room".. another reference to the dynamics of the realtionship. Where he is naturally introverted and withdrawn, she is outwardly vocal and confronting. He wants her to just leave him alone right now.
  
  
  

  Flag ashkonon December 14, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:this song means something entirely different to me, but understandably so due to my narcolepsy. The paranoia ('full of spies') and constant loss of consciousness ('sorry i missed you, had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain') that go along with having late night conversations, or falling asleep in the corner at parties ('disappear in a crowded room') speak volumes about the condition. The resulting feeling is a constant dulling of human interaction to the point were you begin to resent the very people you remain awake to talk to. Hope that wasn't too morbid for you all.

  Flag Nated936on March 12, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:I think he is hiding from the media and maybe his record company who are looking for him, but he is having his own secret meeting in his mind about what to do with this record. He doesn't want to be bothered by them.

  Flag Indiekid39on January 10, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:from listening to a recording of the national's bonnaroo concert (2010), i think they first say "i'm talking ace, but i'm folding" and then switch it to "don't talk the ace and fold it"
  
  you can listen here. it's around 22 minutes into the concert
  npr.org/templates/story/…
  

  Flag givemethesunon July 09, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:I've always thought this song is maybe about some sort of drug problem. Not to say that anyone in the band might be an addict of any sort, but I see songs as stories and I like to make up music videos in my head while I'm listening.
  In this song (story), I see a man who is trying to keep his addictions quiet. Perhaps he's even trying to quit. But he's clearly having a rough time of it. He's seeing "spies" and feeling just paranoid in general. He refers to someone important in his life who "puts in the hours to keep [him] in sunglasses." Perhaps the sunglasses reference is to wearing them in order to cover up bloodshot eyes or some such. He's using this other person's hard-earned cash to waste his own life. The secret meeting in the basement of my brain is, to me, kind of a pun. Where do you go when you wanna hide out or smoke by yourself? Maybe the basement. The reference to the basement of the brain might be literal, going downstairs, or just trying to express deep inner thoughts and turmoil. However, it always goes that dull, wicked, ordinary way. Which is to say, it's a cycle. Nothing changes, but it's something undesirable and wrong. He thinks he's ruined. He's somewhat addicted, paranoid, and trying to make an effort to quit, but he's still missing meetings with people in favor of his own time spent thinking or nursing habits. Who knows? I know there are actual words being shouted in the ending choruses, but I don't see these as intelligible. I hear someone saying he's in the basement of his brain, just hiding out and thinking, and there are multiple persons shouting at him. He's got some sort of problem and he's hearing voices.
  I dunno. I'm up for suggestions.

  Flag sweetfatality7on June 28, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:Hmmm now that I've heard it, dealing with fame does make sense but I always thought it was about drugs. The paranoia ("I think they're onto me") and when he sings "I'm sorry I missed you, I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain" it makes me think of how drugs destroy relationships and how he was so caught up in himself due to the drugs that he forgot about his loved ones.

  Flag OK242on April 05, 2010   Link

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  My Interpretation:"somethingclever's" answer makes sense to me. at first i thought it was about going to rehab. he's wearing sunglasses because he's in withdrawal and the light hurts his eyes, and it was his gf who made him go in the first place. and the spies are also from the paranoia of withdrawal and the psychologists dealing with him. his secret meeting was his decision to go overboard, which felt natural in his current use inertia.

  Flag servechilledon February 08, 2010   Link

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    -1

    Hmmm now that I've heard it, dealing with fame does make sense but I always thought it was about drugs. The paranoia ("I think they're onto me") and when he sings "I'm sorry I missed you, I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain" it makes me think of how drugs destroy relationships and how he was so caught up in himself due to the drugs that he forgot about his loved ones.

    Flag OK242on April 05, 2010  
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  General Comment:I think this song is about the pressure of finding success as a band. It's an ode to their manager :). "I know you put in the hours to keep me in sunglasses" meaning someone has been working hard to make them a success.
  
  "And so and now I'm sorry I missed you
  I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain
  It went the dull and wicked ordinary way"
  
  He blew off a responsibility or committment or appointment to go relax and get stoned by himself.
  
  I think what they are shouting in the background at the end is "Don't draw the ace then fold it" which makes sense in the context of having anxiety about getting famous. Most bands don't get the chance for real success (drawing the ace) - don't throw it away just because it scares you (folding it).

  Flag heardithereon September 11, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:It's definitely, definitely, definitely "I'm talking ace this morning".
  
  It's much clearer when they play it live.

  Flag watchthestarson August 20, 2009   Link

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