National Anthem vs Here's Looking at You, Kid

When I first heard National Anthem, I couldn't help but notice a big similarity, at least at the beginning of the song, with Here's Looking at You, Kid. Has anyone else noticed it?

Yes we have all noticed it I think. It's hard not to. If we are comparing the songs though Here's Looking At You, Kid wins hands down for me.

Xanthias wrote:

When I first heard National Anthem, I couldn't help but notice a big similarity, at least at the beginning of the song, with Here's Looking at You, Kid. Has anyone else noticed it?

Yeah it kind has the melancholic vibe about it that's very similar to Here's Looking at you Kid.. Others have said it's the same chords and strumming pattern as Bruce's I'm on Fire.

heres looking at you kid wins hands down. can def here the similarity between them

What it comes down to is the fact the strumming/picking pattern is the same and both have little to no additional instrumentation. Call me crazy or whatever, I'd pick National Anthem. Then again, as of lately I've been able to more so relate to more line of National Anthem then Here's Lookin. I know its weird, but its a complicated story haha.

Both good examples of how if you are going to do a bare bones acoustic song, it has to be really strong. You can't mask weak songwriting with instrumentation or harmonies or production. "Here's Looking at You, Kid" succeeds in that to me, whereas "National Anthem" is pretty unmemorable.

I agree Dale... The bonus track, Teenage Rebellion is a far better acoustic song than National Anthem, which is clearly trying too hard... The strings make it sound cheesy, rather than adding something to it and the vocals aren't memorable.... Just kind of mumbled through but not much passion in the delivery.... I'm not sure about this new sound...

To be honest, I don't really see any similarities between the 2 songs, especially musically - am I the only one?
For what it's worth, National Anthem is my favourite off the album!

I'm a little surprised at the dislike for National Anthem here, when so many people elsewhere are blown away by it. Personally I think it's one of the best songs on the album....How do people have problems with the lyrics? There are some cliches (as in almost all their songs) but it also has a few lines that are absolutely brilliant.

eagles1139 wrote:

I'm a little surprised at the dislike for National Anthem here, when so many people elsewhere are blown away by it. Personally I think it's one of the best songs on the album....How do people have problems with the lyrics? There are some cliches (as in almost all their songs) but it also has a few lines that are absolutely brilliant.

Agreed. It's a great song - classic Gaslight to me, albeit stripped to the bones.

eagles1139 wrote:

I'm a little surprised at the dislike for National Anthem here, when so many people elsewhere are blown away by it. Personally I think it's one of the best songs on the album....How do people have problems with the lyrics? There are some cliches (as in almost all their songs) but it also has a few lines that are absolutely brilliant.

I think it's just the overall effect the song has with both meaning and the music itself. Here's Lookin' At You, Kid has a few cliches as well, so I don't think that exempts it from complete dominance over the two songs, but its meaning combined with the style of the song is so spot-on and brilliant. National Anthem almost seems like an incomplete story to me. It's gorgeous, but it doesn't feel finished.

DaleCooper wrote:

Both good examples of how if you are going to do a bare bones acoustic song, it has to be really strong. You can't mask weak songwriting with instrumentation or harmonies or production. "Here's Looking at You, Kid" succeeds in that to me, whereas "National Anthem" is pretty unmemorable.

This!

Here's Looking At You, Kid is heartbreaking - and very real. You know he went through all those things with those women. National Anthem, I'm still not convinced is based in reality...

I love both songs. I can hear the similarity for sure. Both have the same picking pattern, and both use the kind of "walk down" chord progression (minor 6th, major 5th, major 4th, 1st). And yeah, I'm on fire is in the same key as national anthem, although I think bruce throws is one extra note in his picking pattern. All three are incredibly powerful songs, and some of my favorites to play along on.

DaleCooper wrote:

Both good examples of how if you are going to do a bare bones acoustic song, it has to be really strong. You can't mask weak songwriting with instrumentation or harmonies or production. "Here's Looking at You, Kid" succeeds in that to me, whereas "National Anthem" is pretty unmemorable.

"Here's Looking at You, Kid" is a full band electric song, so not a bare bones acoustic song. "National Anthem" is a barebones acousic song. I think the share a strumming pattern (a very common one), that's about it.

Put me in the "HYAYK is better" group, but I don't dislike "national anthem" like some seem to.

Hmm yeah I'm not sure what I was thinking with that, but the sentiment still applies. Replace acoustic with "stripped down". I guess there is a lot more instrumentation than I had remembered, but I still don't think that is what makes it such a strong song compared to National Anthem.

DaleCooper wrote:

Hmm yeah I'm not sure what I was thinking with that, but the sentiment still applies. Replace acoustic with "stripped down". I guess there is a lot more instrumentation than I had remembered, but I still don't think that is what makes it such a strong song compared to National Anthem.

Music is subjective, but I think Alex's leads and the lyrics are a big reason why I prefer "Kid"

rubberducky wrote:

Xanthias wrote:

When I first heard National Anthem, I couldn't help but notice a big similarity, at least at the beginning of the song, with Here's Looking at You, Kid. Has anyone else noticed it?

Yeah it kind has the melancholic vibe about it that's very similar to Here's Looking at you Kid.. Others have said it's the same chords and strumming pattern as Bruce's I'm on Fire.

Definitely the same key as I'm On Fire (Key of E), but the chord progression is totally different (albeit utilizes the same chords, so you're technically not wrong).

To be honest, neither of these songs are anywhere near my long list of "favorite gaslight songs" but I do really like them both.

I am a bigger fan of National Anthem in the context of the album. I just love the way the album moves as a whole and with how intense and heavy the whole album is, I like that NA is at the end to kind of calm me down. I though in that regard that it worked perfectly. I think HLAYK does that too.

I love the strings and I do think they added something to it. I can understand some people not liking them but I'm not sure I get how they're "cheesy".

That said I agree with the "not memorable" comment. But that doesn't have to mean it's bad.

I also don't really like to compare their songs that much. I like/love all of them for different reasons, that's why I have trouble ranking them. It's apples and oranges to me.

jzancan wrote:

rubberducky wrote:

Xanthias wrote:

When I first heard National Anthem, I couldn't help but notice a big similarity, at least at the beginning of the song, with Here's Looking at You, Kid. Has anyone else noticed it?

Yeah it kind has the melancholic vibe about it that's very similar to Here's Looking at you Kid.. Others have said it's the same chords and strumming pattern as Bruce's I'm on Fire.

Definitely the same key as I'm On Fire (Key of E), but the chord progression is totally different (albeit utilizes the same chords, so you're technically not wrong).

The similarity is there. Listen closely to the respective melodies of "Oh-oh-oh, I'm on fire" and "I already live with too many ghosts".

both are fine songs musically and everything borrows from something before it in that realm. lyrically i prefer "kid" because the story is more in sync as a narrative. "national" sort of goes into some different themes from a girl to god/forgiveness/faith to despair of living in a rut. more scattered i suppose or maybe trying to tell a longer story in the same 3 minutes?

National Anthem is easily one of the best written songs, lyrically, Brian has ever done.