Mistaken For Strangers Lyrics

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

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About

Genius Annotation

“Mistaken for Strangers” is the second track on The National’s 2007 album, Boxer. It was the album’s first single. It is also the namesake of a 2013 documentary about the band, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.

Furthermore the documentary of Matt Beringers brother Tom about the band and the High Violet tour is named “Mistaken for Strangers”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OeSAUNvpvY

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did The National say about "Mistaken For Strangers"?
Genius Answer

There are lots of moments on the record about friends disappearing and losing friends and stuff like that. The line [“So you swear you just saw a feathery woman carry a blindfolded man through the trees”] alludes to the idea of someone’s spirit being taken wherever it goes after death. I’m not actually very religious, but it’s a metaphor—being taken to heaven by an angel. But it’s not so much about the spirit as it is about having seen something unbelievable, and the need to tell someone that there are things out there that are amazing, ‘I’ve seen something I need to tell you about.’ I think that’s what that’s about. A lot of the lyrics I write involve images that just swing the song in a way that feels really good to me and there isn’t a literal explanation. They’re not riddles for the listener to solve.“ – Matt Berninger in an inteview

Credits
Additional Production By
Keyboards By
Mastered by
Additional Recording by
Recording Assistants
Second Engineer
Mixed By
Recorded At
Tarquin Studios, Bridgeport, CT/Brooklyn, NY/White Sulphur Springs, WV/Seaside Lounge, Brooklyn, NY/Benny's Was N' Dry, Brooklyn, NY
Release Date
April 30, 2007
Mistaken For Strangers Live Performances
View Mistaken For Strangers samples
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