The act of looking back at a former love after a significant amount of time has passed has always enticed songwriters. So much so, in fact, that it sometimes feels like nothing new can possibly be said on that subject.
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Then you come upon a song like “Hard To Find” by The National. And you realize that there’s still plenty of ground left to cover on the subject. Effortlessly pretty and profound, the song examines how perspective might be gained in examining a spent romance from a distance. But that doesn’t in any way dull the lingering ache.
“Hard” Truths
The one-two punch of Boxer in 2007 and High Violet in 2010 put The National in the catbird’s seat in the world of indie rock. Their intricate, stirring musical compositions offered an ideal counterpoint for lead singer Matt Berninger’s droll, world-weary observations. They could bring the thunder or get it done with delicacy.
Having established themselves so solidly as critical darlings and in-demand live performers, all while their album sales continued to rise, the quintet had reached a point where they could take a bit of a breath. Yet their sixth album, Trouble Will Find Me, ended up arriving three years after their previous one. That represents roughly the same pace they’d kept in their previous LP cycle.
If anything, the way they had found their footing made it easier for them to move forward. Feeling no pressure about having to go in a specific direction, the band recorded an album that was assured, confident, and yet still brimming with the vigor you might expect of a band on the come-up.
As is their habit, they closed out the record on a note of quiet reflection. Over somber piano chords and tenderly picked guitar, Berninger delivers a devastating postmortem on a broken relationship. “Hard To Find” demonstrates how a great lyricist can suggest so much with a few short strokes. That allows listeners to fill in the blank with their own heartbreaking experiences.
Exploring the Lyrics of “Hard To Find”
“Hard To Find” opens with the narrator checking out the night sky. He is imagining his ex somewhere underneath “the glowing lights.” “Really not so far away,” he explains. “I could be there in a day.” Her location is more a state of mind than a physical location anyway: “I wonder if you live there still/I kinda think you always will.”
“What I feel now about you then,” Berninger sings, making the listeners chase him around the various time periods of his life. “I’m just glad I can’t explain.” He knows it wouldn’t do much good anyway. “Beautiful and close and young” is how he remembers her. And he’s learned to be stingy with his memories. “There’s a lot I’ve not forgotten/But I let go of other things.”
In the final verse, the regret he has held at bay to this point creeps into the picture: “I don’t know why we had to lose/The ones who took so little space.” “We’re still waiting for the ease,” he sings about that time of life when youthful losses don’t sting so much. For all his rational realizations that it’s over, a glimmer of hope exists somewhere deep inside him. “I’m not holding out for you,” he sighs. “But I’m still waiting for the signs.”
That flicker of light is quickly doused by the refrain: “If I tried, you’d probably be hard to find.” The song title aside, it’s not at all difficult to locate the beauty and truth of The National’s “Hard To Find”.
Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images
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