Some songs often hit home because the feelings they conjure and the words they convey have been experienced by us already. We are exposed to a lot of different emotions in life and experiences that build us. The power of music lies within us, because we are able to associate a particular set of sounds and lyrics to memories we have. Those memories and songs become one and the same.
Slow Show by The National.
"Standing at the punch table swallowing punch
can't pay attention to the sound of anyone
a little more stupid, a little more scaredevery minute more unprepared"
How often have we been in a party, a bar or somewhere surrounded by people, yet we feel alone? We are engulfed in thoughts and feel weak and fragile. For me, these first lines are about just that. The 'Punch table' and 'swallowing punch' can be interpreted in a lot of different ways. The punch table could be that spot you find in a crowded place to isolate yourself within. or punch could mean drinks and alcohol. 'A little more stupid, a little more scared', this is a lack of self-esteem, the result of self-exclusion.
"I made a mistake in my life todayeverything I love gets lost in drawersI want to start over, I want to be winningway out of sync from the beginning"
'Everything I love gets lost in drawers' for me means that whatever memories made you happy for some time are very soon lost and, as a person hides things in drawers which are then forgotten, so are those experiences never to be lived again because the source of that happiness is now lost. 'Way out of sync from the beginning' can be seen as him demoralizing himself, thinking that whatever he does to start a new can only fail again because he will always not be compatible with whatever he 'loves' or makes him happy.
"I wanna hurry home to youput on a slow, dumb show for youand crack you upso you can put a blue ribbon on my braingod I'm very, very frighteningI'll overdo it"
'Home' in these lines can either be taken as literally, such that he wants to get away from the party or place he is in to go back home where the person he loves is, or else it can be taken figuratively, meaning that 'home' is just the place or time when he can 'put on a slow, dumb show'. He feels inclined to be funny as seen in these lines but the lack of self-confidence he is experiencing right now puts doubts in his head as he thinks he'll 'overdo it'. These doubts could have occurred either by over thinking due to the 'punch' or by an experience of being turned out when acting as such. The 'blue ribbon' is a symbol of award or winning a competition and therefore the ribbon in his brain means that that person back home fulfils his life.
"Looking for somewhere to stand and stayI leaned on the wall and the wall leaned awayCan I get a minute of not being nervousand not thinking of my dickMy leg is sparkles, my leg is pinsI better get my shit together, better gather my shit inYou could drive a car through my head in five minutesfrom one side of it to the other"
These next lines could mean two different things. The most likely is that the alcohol is taking a toll and he is losing control of himself. He feels weird like 'sparkles' and tired with pain (pins) in his legs. He needs to get his shit together and stop being drunk and he needs to find a wall to lean on which is hard due to his drunkenness. Also things seems to rush through his head because he's not aware of his surroundings.
Alternatively there is another far-fetched explanation which I prefer. 'Looking for somewhere to stand and stay, I leaned on the wall and the wall leaned away' is him explaining that he tried to find a person or someone to trust or maybe talk to but those people turned him away or neglected him, and thus now he feels 'nervous'. Not thinking of his 'dick' could mean not thinking of his sexual attractions but also of his mistakes. His legs are 'sparkles' and 'pins' because he feels weak and cannot stand upright with all the thoughts he's having. The 'shit' he's talking about could be the problems and thoughts he has and you could drive a car through his head in five minutes because he's so thoughtful and worried right now that you could be talking to him and he wouldn't even be listening to you.
"I wanna hurry home to youput on a slow, dumb show for youand crack you upso you can put a blue ribbon on my braingod I'm very, very frighteningI'll overdo it" - Repetition
This part is repeated to put the focus on the source of his sorrow and to move to the next lines.
"You know I dreamed about youfor twenty-nine years before I saw youYou know I dreamed about youI missed you forfor twenty-nine years"
These lines could also have two meanings. The simpler explanations is that he is an old person, let's say in his 40's and that he has known this other person for 29 years. He has thought about her for that much time because that is the first time he has met her, 29 years ago. The problem here is that he says he missed this person and dreamed for 29 years BEFORE he saw the person. That could mean that he knew the person for 29 years but only now realizes what he has lost or never had the opportunity to have. Or else it could mean that they had some sort of relationship that ended and he has seen her now, for which he misses her - that would make him way older than 40. Alternatively, 'twenty-nine years' could just be a figure to illustrate a very long time. It therefore would only mean that he has dreamt about the other person for a very long time.
The other explanation could be that these lines is him trying to be poetic in saying that he has spent a lot of time thinking about the person he wants to be with, who he has finally found. He dreamt about the ideal person he would have wanted to be with and he 'missed' that person because now it seems that person was a missing part of his life. It could also be interpreted that he is 29 years old and that all his life was a journey to this moment where he has now found the other person, and those 29 years he had dreamt and missed a part of him that he has found only now.
"You know I dreamed about youfor twenty-nine years before I saw youYou know I dreamed about youI missed you forfor twenty-nine years" - Repetition
These lyrics can be interpreted in different ways but it all depends on the person listening to them. They will have a personal effect independent of what the musician may have felt when he wrote them. The music accompanying the lyrics is what drives the words and gives depth to their meaning. All in all, the Slow Show is one great piece of work, an emotion put into sound and words that will last forever, in the minds of whoever listens to it.
