Song · The National
“Don't Swallow The Cap” by The National
From the album Trouble Will Find Me (2013)
“Don't Swallow The Cap” by The National appears on 19 radio countdowns from 12 stations between 2013 and 2026. It was first released in 2013 on the album Trouble Will Find Me. Its best result is #16 on the WTMD Top 89 Songs of 2013. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #105 alternative song of 2013 and #7,581 alternative song of all time.
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"Don't Swallow the Cap" sits third on The National's sixth album, Trouble Will Find Me, and in April 2013 it went out to American modern rock radio as the record's second single. The division of labor is the band's usual one: Aaron and Bryce Dessner built the music and produced it, Matt Berninger supplied the words, and Craig Silvey mixed.
It's one of the album's more restless moments, drums ticking forward under chiming guitars while Berninger mutters and worries in that low, rumpled voice, a man holding himself together by the collar. The tension never quite breaks, and that's the point: this is anxiety you can nod along to.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 34 | CD101 Columbus, OH | CD101 Top 102.5 Songs of 2013 | 103 |
| 2013 | 40 | WXPN Philadelphia, PA | WXPN Year in Review: Top 200 Songs of 2013 | 200 |
| 2013 | 23 | Studio Brussel Flanders, Belgium | Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2013 | 40 |
| 2013 | 75 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2013 | 103 |
| 2013 | 20 | The Current Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN | The Current Top 89 Songs of 2013 | 89 |
| 2013 | 58 | WFPK Louisville, KY | WFPK Top 100 Songs of 2013 | 100 |
| 2013 | 16 | WTMD Baltimore, MD | WTMD Top 89 Songs of 2013 | 89 |
| 2013 | 64 | WFUV New York, NY | WFUV Top 90 Songs of 2013 | 90 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 1968 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
| 2016 | 519 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 | 913 |
| 2018 | 139 | WTMD | WTMD Listeners' Top 897 Songs, 2003-2018 | 896 |
| 2019 | 239 | KEXP | KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time | 627 |
| 2019 | 1077 | WYEP | WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 | 1099 |
| 2022 | 562 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time | 1055 |
| 2023 | 132 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2024 | 855 | WXPN | WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) | 885 |
| 2025 | 429 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
| 2025 | 589 | The Current | 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now | 893 |
| 2026 | 312 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound | 1055 |
Also listed as: Don't Swallow the Cap.
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