Who's in a bunker?
Who's in a bunker?
Women and children first
And the children first
And the children

I'll laugh until my head comes off
I'll swallow till I burst
Until I burst
Until I

Who's in a bunker?
Who's in a bunker?
I have seen too much
I haven't seen enough
You haven't seen it

I'll laugh until my head comes off
Women and children first
And children first
And children

Here I'm alive
Everything all of the time
Here I'm alive
Everything all of the time

Ice age coming
Ice age coming
Let me hear both sides
Let me hear both sides
Let me hear both

Ice age coming
Ice age coming
Throw it in the fire
Throw it in the fire
Throw it on the

We're not scaremongering
This is really happening
Happening
We're not scaremongering
This is really happening
Happening

Mobiles squerking
Mobiles chirping
Take the money run
Take the money run
Take the money

Here I'm alive
Everything all of the time
Here I'm alive
Everything all of the time

Here I'm alive
Everything all of the time
Here I'm alive
Everything all of the time

The first of the children [Repeat until fade]



Lyrics submitted by piesupreme, edited by Yazardshir

Track duration: 05:09

"Idioteque" as written by Thomas Edward Yorke, Philip James Selway, Edward John O'brien, Colin Charles Greenwood, Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood, Paul Lansky

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Idioteque song meanings
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317 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment:I don't think this song has a straightforward meaning, even if taken in context of the whole album. I see it as fragmented thoughts and feelings, coming from someone who is isn't in a right state of mind. In the song "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd the line goes something like, 'I caught a fleeting glimpse out of the corner of my eye, i turned to look but it was gone. I cannot put my finger on it now." It sort of describes this for me. These fragments of thoughts can't really be explained to others, but they can be understood and felt. This whole album is just so raw, like it was pulled directly from somebody's (Thom's) brain. I don't like to think of Kid A as a complete story, or as having one specific theme, I'd rather take it as raw.
    Flagged themachin3on April 23, 2013   Link
  • 0
    Memory:This song... I'm always in a different kind of thinking when I listen it ... So strange. The first time, i cried...

    So... Different.
    Flag Napoleon42on March 27, 2013   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:This song is an indictment of the post-911 / Bush-Cheney selling of the war in Iraq and the ensuing stupidity and gullibility of the American people and the news-as-entertainment phenomenon.

    Hail to the Thief would expound on these themes, but Thom Yorke was already aghast with the observations of robotic, humanoid, Amero-idiots who believed every line of bullshit being fed to them by the White House, Pentagon and news media outlets in the soft selling of the war.

    A coup d'etat in slow motion. Pathetique!

    C'mon, people - its not so difficult if you just open your eyes and use your head!
    Flagged HLMenckenon March 25, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:youtube.com/…

    a present.
    Flag alienlenaon February 15, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The funny thing is this came out in 2000 ; new millenium , new disasters !
    Flag Yazardshiron January 27, 2013   Link
  • +4
    Memory:I remember the first time I heard this song. I had the entire discography of radiohead on my iPod and had not listened to any of it but OK computer. I decided to listen to Kid A first as thought I would like it the least (Boy was I wrong) due to my dislike of techno. (I now love it though)
    I fell asleep after the national anthem, and I remember hearing the beginning of Idioteque in my sleep.

    I could not hear any of the other songs during my sleep, (even though the volume was basically cranked), only the beginning of idioteque. I then remember feeling sick in my head and stomach, and just about jumping out of my bed when Thom said-

    "Ice age coming,
    Ice age coming,
    let me hear both sides,
    let me hear both sides,
    let me hear both sides"

    I remember getting up and stagering to my toilet, earphones still in, and choking vomit from my throat and spitting it out. I could've taken the earphones off, but I for some reason felt that the song was in my dream and I was just dreaming. It felt like a nightmare, post apocalyptic scenes and stuff (I couldn't see them, only hear thoms voice oO. I then went back to my bedroom and laid on the flor in the fetal position (No joke) and cranked the song in time for the outro, where I fell asleep again.

    That small 5 minute section of that day was the most feeling I have ever gotten from any form of art. To think that a song, just sounds, made me feel sick. The power of radiohead.

    Of course, I woke up and found that it was all real. I was like- "O shit."

    This is not an interpretation, only the sharing of my feelings for this song. Of course, it could've just been the unsettling loudness and bassiness of the music that made me sick in my sleep, but I don't think it was. And even if it was, it didnt stop me from having an immense connection with this song.

    Now, whenever I'm watching Thom perform this live, everyone else is going- "What a cock, he cant even sing and is dancing like a dickhead."
    I know that he is feeling what I felt that night, He is more whimpering and panicking then singing and dancing. This is true art, and this is definitely the most hectic radiohead song in my opinion.
    Benny
    Flag BenHurlson December 20, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:The song's themes are very varied. It could be about technology, global warming, terrorism, war or, gathering all, about the end of the world.

    The "bunker" and "women and children" parts definitely refer to the bombing of a civilian shelter in 1991, during the Cold War. The "ice age coming" part, may refer to climate change and global warming. The "mobiles squerking/chirping" part may refer to our attachment to technology. And I've always thought of the "take the money and run" part to be about stock market crashes.

    All in all, the song has a very strong psychological tone; the way Yorke sings (desperate, about to go crazy) aids to make the song sound sarcastic. Like if the singer was laughing about all those things he's singing about. 'Idioteque' is an incredibly unsetting song, and quite possibly one of Radiohead's most enigmatic ones. Even though some lines don't seem to make sense, to me, the meaning is a little too clear for the lines to be picked out of a hat.

    Anyway, hands down, my favorite Radiohead song!
    Flagged HeavyLidon December 14, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Al Gore said a new Ice age would come in Europe because of global warming messing up ocean currents.

    The speaker sees the apocalypse coming but isn't motivated to do anything, just feels cold.
    Flag JohnTheSavage1on December 01, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This seems to be about impending apocalypse but a lot of lines seem to be more just mood-creating. Most of the songs on Kid A are like this, this seems even more literal.

    Thom Yorke on Kid A uses his vocals like Michael Stipe on Murmur. Not telling a story.
    Flag JohnTheSavage1on December 01, 2012   Link
  • +14
    Song Meaning:This album is very literal, straight forward and brilliant. Kid A is the name given to the Atomic bomb. And each track is a progression of life. I don't think you can talk about one track by itself.....everything must be put into the context of the album. Here's the track list. Notice the progression from peace to war to survival.

    1) Everything In Its Right Place: A time of peace and prosperity.
    2) Kid A: This feels like a birth song. A lullaby. Voices are mumbles or what a new born would hear. This is the birth of the Atomic bomb.
    3) National Anthem: An atmosphere is really built for this one. Sounds are meant to represent crowds and people. Government gets more involved in our world. And war is a result. And the next song shows the tolls of a governments involvement.
    4) How To Disappear Completely: This one feels like its from the perspective of a human life that has just been vaporized by an atomic bomb. "Im not here. This isn't happening". A spirit that has left the body. "That there. Thats not me."
    5)Treefingers: This feels like the calm after the storm. Like the eye of a hurricane. Somewhere between the initial blast of a bomb....and the aftermath and fallout.
    6)Optimistic: "Flies are buzzing round my head. Vultures circling the dead.", Its about the survivors of this war that has just happened. And we are questioning what will happen.
    7)In Limbo: This one feels like we are on the run. Trying to figure out where we belong.
    8)Idioteque: We are beginning to feel the fallout. "Whos in the bunker? Who's in the bunker?", "Iceage coming Iceage coming!" The nightmares of war that is still happening.
    9)Morning Bell: This one I feel is about survival. We are still waking up each morning. Surviving.
    10) Motion Picture Soundtrack: Happiness is within our sight.

    Okay I truly doubt that Yorke meant for the album to come off this literal. Or maybe he did? It is known that he was going through some major writers block. Its definitely one of my all time favorites.
    Flag GaryKon August 26, 2012   Link

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