Taylor Swift and Matt Berninger Search for Reconnection in “The Alcott” by The National

Taylor Swift collaborated with The National on the band’s 2023 single, “The Alcott”. Written by bandmates Matt Berninger and Aaron Dessner, with Swift, the song finds a narrator returning to a familiar place, attempting to rekindle an old flame. But the search for a reconnection quickly reveals what went wrong in the first place.

Sitting as Usual

Returning to an old haunt, Berninger hopes to reconnect with an ex. He spots her in the corner and assumes she’s thinking about a new lover.

I get myself twisted in threads,
To meet you at The Alcott.
I’d go to the corner in the back,
Where you’d always be.
And there you are, sitting as usual,
With your golden notebook.
Writing something about someone,
Who used to be me.

We hear Swift’s voice in the chorus, like she’s predicted how he’d be in this moment. Berninger announces that he’s falling in love with her again. But she offers a truth he may not want to hear.

And the last thing you wanted,
Is the first thing I’d do.
I tell you my problems,
You tell me the truth.

Your Golden Thinking

He continues. And it seems he’s had this conversation before. Meanwhile, we hear Swift’s wavering voice like a distant memory rising and falling in and out of focus.

When she joins him in the “golden thinking” line, it feels like a reminder that they’ve been here before. It’s an open question whether or not a reconnection here is possible.

I sit there silently,
Waiting for you to look up.
I see you smile when you see it’s me.
I had to do something,
To break into your golden thinking.
How many times will I do this,
And you’ll still believe?

Moreover, Swift responds to his calls, offering a glimpse of what may have led to the initial breakup. “Everything that’s mine is a landmine,” she sings, suggesting the tension between them remains.

It’s the last thing you wanted. (Tell me, which side are you on, dear?)
It’s the first thing you do. (Give me some tips to forget you)
You tell me your problems. (Have I become one of your problems?)
And I tell you the truth. (Could it be easy this once?)

Finally, they repeat how they’ll likely “ruin it all over.” A doomed relationship, and perhaps returning to The Alcott only reminds them of the curse they could never shake.

Photo by John Shearer/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management