Half awake in a fake empire.

The National.

I'm very much of a lyrics guy, but that really comes to the fore quite rarely on this blog. I guess my relationship with certain lyrics is something I prefer to keep to myself - maybe because there are often deep emotional connections in it, stuff that I really prefer not sharing with anyone. But every once in a while, a tune just sums up and hits a certain set of emotions and a period so spot on that it's almost frightening. That's how I've got it with The National's 'Fake Empire' right now.


I think this is fundamentally a song about being carefree, a youthful natural high that is really just a thin varnish hiding realities, postponing decisions and turns of page which you know are approaching, but you're unwilling to jump to any conclusions on them just yet. You know their imminence, but you're trying to reject them, or perhaps just plainly ignoring them. You're just riding the feeling of being in the fake empire for as long as it lasts.

Stay out super late tonight,

picking apples, making pies.

Put a little something in our lemonade,

and take it with us,

we're half awake

in a fake empire.

Tiptoe through our shiny city

with our diamond slippers on.

Do our gay ballet on ice,

bluebirds on our shoulders,

we're half awake

in a fake empire.

Turn the light out,

say goodnight,

no thinking for a little while.

Let's not try to figure out 

everything at once.

It's hard to keep track of you

falling through the sky,

we're half awake

in a fake empire.