Song of the Day 3/11: Molly Tuttle, “Fake Empire”

Celebrated bluegrass guitarist Molly Tuttle released a pandemic-inspired cover album, “…but I’d rather be with you,” last August, and the songs represent a mix of influences you might not expect, including the Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead, Harry Styles and Rancid. This song dates to 2007, when it was included on The National’s fourth album, “Boxer.”

National frontman Matt Berninger said his lyrics are about “where you can’t deal with the reality of what’s really going on, so let’s just pretend that the world’s full of bluebirds and ice skating.” Guitarist Bryce Dessner, an accomplished classical composer, had a more esoteric goal in mind. “Conceptually I said I would love to write a song that was based on a certain polyrhythm, the four-over-three pattern, which is what you hear in the piano,” Dessner said. “It’s something I, personally, have never heard in rock music. What’s interesting is the song sounds like it’s in four, but it’s in three.”