Lyrics for Abel as interpreted by countzero

Abel Lyrics
My mind's not right
My mind's not right
My mind's not right
[repeat]

Abel, come on, give me the keys, man
Everything has all gone down wrong
Abel, come on, give me the keys, man
Everything has all gone down wrong

I see water on the bridge
Well, you better hold my hand through this
Turn around, turn around, take me back
I can't calm down
Turn around, turn around, take me back
I can't calm down

My mind's not right
My mind's not right
My mind's not right
[repeat]

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impact
05-29-2005

Rated 0 
There's a line missing where he says "You turn me ______ god fearing. Now tell me what am I supposed to do with that? I'm missing something I'm missing something. My mind's gone loose inside its shell." Maybe it was left out of the liner notes or something.

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The_Variable
11-08-2005

Rated 0 
This is a complete scenario interpretation but it seems to me as if someone is letting their drunk buddy drive them home, and they're starting to have second thoughts about letting this person "Abel" drive.

This could also be an analagy to something else...

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the_associate
12-20-2005

Rated 0 
Everything has gone wrong and the narrator no longer has control. He needs some security and friendship - he doesn't know what to do.

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midwesterner
02-10-2006

Rated 0 
i agree with variable... and i still wonder if there's a connection to CANE AND ABEL. The name abel isn't real common.

It could also be that the narrator WANTS to drive drunk in a sort of james dean/ timmy taylor suicide sort of thing

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n0bi
02-16-2006

Rated 0 
i think this song is told through the perspective of this abel character. his life is out of control, in the sense that he's driving drunk, but at hte same time going w/ the cane and abel thing. once abel started down that path to killing his brother, his life spun out of control. I think ultimately it comes down to being about realizing things have gone to far, but not being to far down the line to change that fact.

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proxima
03-14-2006

Rated 0 
the biblical character's name is cain by the way. yout comments gave me this impression of a candy-cane bludgeoning someone to death.

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Travis_Parker
04-10-2006

Rated 0 
Okay, I always thought he was saying "My mind's not a wreck," which is pretty much the same meaning as "My mind's not right," but I like the line "not a wreck" better than what it's posted on here. Personally. I don't know all the words off the top of my head, so I figured I'd wait until they're all here for me to try to analyze anything.

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electricocean
05-21-2006

Rated 0 
The cd doesn't have the lyrics, but it does on the band's website. Here's the missing ones...

Abel, come on, give me a reason
I am not as bright as I could be
Abel, come on, take me with you
Everything has all gone down wrong

You turn me good and god-fearing
Well, tell me what am I supposed to do with that
I'm missing something
Yeah, I'm missing something
My mind's gone loose inside its shell
My mind's gone loose inside the shell
Well, I'm missing something
Yeah, I'm missing something
Abel, my mind's gone loose inside the shell

I thought maybe there are two characters speaking in the song but now im not so sure...maybe its just one narrator who's talking to this abel guy and seems to feel like he needs his help.

This page got me into the national by the way, it was the latest comment so i clicked on it and then thought i'd check out the band, and saw the soho riots video and immediately bought the cd. So thanks to songmeanings!
Oh and sorry this comments so long and rambling

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epliohunk:::
02-24-2007

Rated 0 
Abel was the second son of Adam, but I wonder if it was just a name.

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dplafcan25
07-15-2007

Rated 0 
They opened with this song when I saw them in concert. Wow, the way Matt's passion and sincereness is projected in this song is the very root of human emotion. I love it.

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ohnoodles
08-29-2007

Rated 0 
in the biblical story of cain and abel, cain kills abel, even though they're brothers. if the name abel is being used in reference to the biblical story, I'm sure that ties into it

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Quonset
09-15-2007

Rated 0 
This song makes me imagine somebody who's with a friend and who has just taken drugs of some sort. And these drugs are beginning to kick in, and the high is a bit more intense than he expected it would be, so he's really not enjoying it. So this guy, the narrator, is talking to his friend Abel, saying, help me regain control, help talk me down or whatnot because my mind has totally run amok on these drugs.

I don't think this is the exact situation that the song is suppoused to be describing, it's just what I'm led to imagine. for some reason.

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comehome416
10-25-2007

Rated 0 
on youtube, there's a really good version of a private show they put on at spin magazine. In that version, he says that it's a lovesong. With that in mind, I think it has to do with him(the singer) being confused, but also set on a plan of action. He says is mind isn't right, and that it's gone loose inside it's shell. That doesn't neccesarily mean he's losing it---perhaps he's just not being given the whole story. He obviously has some confidence, if you look at where he talks about taking the keys from abel, and seeing water on the bridge. He sees trouble down the road(the bridge) and wants Abel to let him change direction. All together, it's probably a song of frustration/hope/and well intentions.

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pandora_ash_avalie
12-16-2007

Rated 0 
i always thought he was saying "my mind's not ready". it seems like abel's trying to drive off somewhere and the panic in the singer's voice makes me think the subject matter is dark. like suicide, like abel drives off and his friends follow him in time to see him jumping off the bridge into the water. and then the person saying "turn around, take me back... i can't calm down" and "my mind's not ready" is his friend, who isn't prepared to accept what he has just seen.

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Welch151
12-25-2007

Rated 0 
Surely when i heard the song i thought the 'give me the Keys' was drugs but i doubt it now

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GentleDogs
01-10-2008

Rated 0 
The song likens its narrator to Cain; a strong metphor, so that he "is" Cain. But Matt Berninger is only as pure evil as he thinks himself. Which we come to find out over the course of a few albums is a lot.
The brother, "Abel," is the voice of reason. And Matt/Cain pleads him to give him the keys, so he can cut loose and destroy shit: people, windows, hearts.
He's missing something. This has a double meaning: the part of his brain that makes him sane; and something's absent in his life that he feels (self) destruction will heal.

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_yoda
02-08-2008

Rated 0 
When I saw The National live at the City Recital Hall in Sydney (first show), Matt remarked wryly just before the song began:

"This is a song about love... between two brothers"

So it would seem that the name "Abel" was in some way inspired by the story of Cain and Abel - although obviously the lyrics aren't a telling of that story.

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techai
02-20-2008

Rated 0 
A Great song! Actually, I think the song tracks pretty well as a creation from Cain's perspective of what could have happened after the Biblical account of Cain and Abel ends. I am hearing it as all Cain's words; he realizes what he's done in killing him and trying to work out his regret.

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fursoftasfur
05-16-2008

Rated 0 
reuben abel was a famous professor of philosophy. he wrote the book man is the measure.

all i'm sayin is, he sure gave me the keys to my mind.

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JonesieSucks
06-23-2008

Rated 0 
I always interpreted the song as the lyrical interpretation of an anxiety attack. It actually has a lot of the same things that I think and/or feel during one. He uses Cain and Abel as a metaphor for his mind, Cain being the rational side and Abel being the side that's out of his control, but is taking over his emotions.

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notagoodidea
06-26-2008

Rated 0 
From the first time I heard it I thought of Abel as the little brother of Cain and identified the first person as the evil brother, Cain. To me it's an interpretation of the difficult relationship between two brothers: Abel, good and rational and worried for his brother, Cain anxious and into trouble, at the same time trying to get his brother's sympathy ("my mind's not right") and trying to talk him into helping him to break loose and do something wrong ("Abel c'mon, give me the keys man..."). I can imagine this modern Cain being an addict, or a potential suicide, or a and his little brother Abel keeping him locked to prevent him from reinciding in his habits.

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ragecage0500
10-19-2008

Rated 0 
I saw them in Cincinatti and the singer (dont know his name) said it was about families, I think. I dont know how, but thats what he said.

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TheWrongGirl
09-07-2009

Rated 0 
notagoodidea, i see it in a similar way, or at least from the same perspective-- as in cain is saying this to abel. at first, i see it as sort of pleading and pathetic... like he's saying, "c'mon, gimme something here. i just don't get it, man." but i also see it as somewhat desperate, like he's missing something, maybe something everyone has, and he just can't understand it. so he feels as if he's losing it, and he just has to do something.

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TheWrongGirl
09-07-2009

Rated 0 
also, the whole part where he says "i see water on the bridge. well, you better hold my hand through this..."-- again, it feels like desperation to me, and maybe even jealousy. he's almost threatening him here, like, "you better turn around, you better come back for me." the way a frightened person makes threats. he's scared. it almost gives makes me think of where you should draw the lines in relationships, especially with regards to family. like, cain thinks his own brother turned his back on him, should've helped him. and if his own brother could do that...

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