My Eyes Are T-Shirts

Album: Serpentine Prison (2020)
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Songfacts®:

  • My eyes are T-shirts, they're so easy to read
    I wear 'em for you but they're all about me


    Somber piano chords and steel guitar backdrop this self-reflexive track, which directly addresses Matt Berninger's inability to keep his emotions hidden. "I have a hard time concealing my thoughts'" he admitted to Uncut magazine about being such an open book. "One of my nicknames in The National, amongst the mainly semi-cutting, funny and underhanded ones is Stark Pronouncement. I can never edit myself. I just say it straight away, too soon, too loud, too honestly. I guess what my eyes are T-shirts is saying that even when I don't open my mouth, people can tell when I'm mad or when I'm mad or when I'm trying to lie. And I'm a terrible liar."
  • Berninger co-wrote the song with his National bandmate Scott Devendorf.
  • Gail Ann Dorsey, David Bowie's longtime bassist, plays bass on the track along with Devendorf. The Canadian singer-songwriter Hayden plays the piano and acoustic guitar.

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