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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]
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
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The song makes me want to scream or dance like thom yorke or just fall into a trance, and usually it's the latter that occurs.
As for the song meaning, I believe it's about the west's exploitation of the east, primarily the middle east.
The song title Idioteque has two meanings - the first describing idiocy (idiotic) and the second mentioning the influence technology has had upon this (especially ignorance).
the first verse talks about a bunker, whether that be of literal sense, as in a war zone where humanitarian efforts and morality is followed, or of a metaphorical sense in which the children (of western countries) are being taught from a young age what is supposedly right and wrong through media -the bunker is the 'protection' they have against seeing such horrors of war on T.V. Teaching the children first allows for generations to grow and have the same mindset.
The second verse is talking about the entertainment we have, forced into our lives through soaps and singing competitions etc. that empty out worries and allow us to be absorbed by the entertainment, filled with joy and laughter until our minds are ready to burst. Entertainment distracting from real pressing world issues allows these issues to just be ignored.
The third talks about how stories, shown by the news, only show small edited, carefully refined snippets of the whole and true story. By only showing a small portion of reality, media can tell a completely separate story to what is actually happening in our world.
in the chorus, the song talks about being alive here, all the time. This is talking about how we have vast amounts of luxury and excess in western countries, where we can have all we want, all the time.
NB: i think the song lyrics are: here i'm allowed, everything all the time.
the verse after the chorus, verse 5 I think, mentions the ice age coming, which may be a direct reference to climate change, or to the fact that the world, in a new century, is changing significantly. "let me hear both sides" is talking about being able to have all the information and make your own opinions instead of having them forced down one's throat. In a new age, its asking to be able to make our own opinions on the facts, and to have free reign over those opinions.
Verse six then goes on to talk about throwing it in fire. This could mean governments trying to hide compromising information through the most effective method, burning it, or simply the public disregarding information they do not wish to see and tossing it into the fire. However throwing things in a fire would only cause it to get stronger and more powerful, so alternatively Yorke may have been asking for the fueling of such a fire, to create a change. He may have realised that the constant feeding of a fire (unintentionally) would only cause it to burn more aggressively once given oxygen (the realisation).
The next verse, 7, says "we're not scaremongering, this is really happening". People who claim that the world is corrupt and that things are wrong are usually discarded as crazy or wrong, because subconsciously, people are too scared to admit and then face the truth. It's asking people to see the truth and accept it, because this is really happening.
"Mobiles working (lyrics wrong again), mobiles chirping, take the money and run", is referencing the US's exploitation of the middle east (such as its oil) for its own technological advances (the mobile being the example). We live in an age of social media (currently) where our mobiles are constantly chirping, but this is only made possible through the resources exploited from third world countries power our own. The running part symbolises how once a country has been exploited and drained of its livelihood, we no longer have any need to be there, and will depart, leaving those countries with the mess that we have created.
Just a few thoughts...
So we can see that in this song, especially when it repeats "First of the children"
So... Different.
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!
a present.
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
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!
The speaker sees the apocalypse coming but isn't motivated to do anything, just feels cold.