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2 + 2 = 5 (The Lukewarm.) Lyrics
Are you such a dreamer
To put the world to rights? I stay home forever Where two and two always makes a five I'll lay down the tracks Sandbag and hide January has April's showers And two and two always makes a five It's the devil's way now There is no way out You can scream and you can shout It is too late now Because You have not been Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention Yeah, I'm not feeling it Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention Yeah, I need it I needed attention I needed attention I needed attention I needed attention Yeah, I love it, the attention Paying attention Paying attention Paying attention I try to sing along I get it all wrong Because I’m not Because I’m not I swat them like flies But like flies the buggers Keep coming back But I’m not Oh, hail to the thief Oh, hail to the thief But I'm not But I'm not But I'm not But I'm not Don't question my authority or put me in the dock Because I'm not Because I'm not Oh, go and tell the king that the sky is falling in But it's not But it's not But it's not Maybe not Maybe not |
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07-05-2003
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07-06-2003
but anyway, ive been reading dostoevsky's Notes from the Underground. and as well as orwell (or maybe it is where orwell got the idea) there is a section where he uses 2+2=4 to define reason (the lukewarm) then talks about human nature and the deliberate denial of reason, and all the reasons for that boredom etc... how human nature can be studied and used, how in the end all you can do is nothing.
i mean what's everyone waiting for anyway? the end of the world?
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07-12-2003
"are you...rights?"
bush thinks he can tell everyone what is right and then enforce that
"i'll stay home...always makes up five"
bush is reluctant to leave america, where money can get you anything, even if it is immoral and unreasonable
"I'll lay...hide"
bush starts wars but do you see him on the front line?
"i try to...coming back"
people know bush is wrong so he imprisons/tortures/kills them, but opposing them/us only makes our feelings stronger
"all hail...maybe not"
bush still denies being a thief, and he exaggerates the threat of terrorism for his own reasons
of course, its unfair to scapegoat bush, as he is being manipulated by corporation and money anyway.
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07-22-2003
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04-10-2004
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04-12-2004
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04-14-2004
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04-28-2004
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05-02-2004
Are you such a dreamer?
To put the world to rights?
*/* Winston dreamt of fixing the world, or more, the proles, setting everyone free. */*
I'll stay home forever
Where two & two always
makes up five
*/* This was a common theme throughout the book. Winston wrote in his journal that as long as 2 + 2 = 5, not all was lost. However, at the end of the book, Big Brother had made such a statement to be true.*/*
I'll lay down the tracks
Sandbag & hide
*/* I believe this is a reference to the fact that he acted like everything was okay, that there was no change in his personality. He hid his thoughts from the authorities, keeping to his job. It took awhile for the Thought Police to catch up.*/*
January has April's showers
And two & two always
makes up five
It's the devil's way now
*/*Perhaps a reference to death as it was the only way to escape Big Brother?*/*
There is no way out
You can scream & you
can shout
It is too late now
*/* At one point in the book, Winston speaks of the screams that come from Room 101 -- the room that no one can escape from unchanged.*/*
Because
You have not been
paying attention
*/* The people of Oceania had to listen to lectures on their telescreens, constantly having them on. If they did not -- they were imprisoned.*/*
I try to sing along
I get it all wrong
*/* Winston tried to act as if he had not come to the realization that something was wrong with their society -- however, he could not succeed. */*
Ezeepeezeeeezeepeeezee
NOT
I swat em like flies but
Like flies the burgers
Keep coming back
*/* My thought is that this refers to the thoughts of doubt that Winston had. */*
NOT
Maybe not
"All hail to the thief"
*/* I think this is where they meant to connect 1984 to our present society with the whole Bush presidency. Whether he be a thief of our rights, our money, or the presidency itself that they are alluding to (perhaps all three?), I am not sure.*/*
"But I am not!"
*/* That appears to be a reference to how there is a lot of denial in the country, whether it be the president, other politicians, or regular citizens.*/*
"Don't question my authority
or put me in the dock"
Cozimnot!
*/* 1984 was written in the McCarthy era. I'm not sure if they thought about that when writing, but it's a good addition. */*
Go & tell the king that
The sky is falling in
When it's not
Maybe not.
*/* I want to say that this is a reference to the war in Iraq; however, it was written before then. Interesting foreshadowing. */*
I have no clue if any of this is correct; it?s purely speculation. I just happen to think about the book 1984 way too much as I?m looking at the state of our country today. There seem to be similar references in other places in the cd, though, so maybe I caught on to something.
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05-10-2004
"In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it."
"hail to the thief"... big brother? oh this is SO damn cool!!!!!!!
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05-19-2004
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05-21-2004
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=lukewarm
and thanks to the dozens of people who have drawn my attention to the link to 1984. didnt catch that one. (btw it seems many people post without reading first so there is a painful amount of repetition going on in a site like this)
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05-22-2004
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05-22-2004
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05-22-2004
That the sky is falling in
When it's not"
I think that this line is a reference to how Bush was told that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq when there were not.
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05-23-2004
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05-29-2004
e.g. "2+2=5" - vote manipulation
"It is too late now/Beacause/You have not been paying attention" - Voter Apathy
"All hail to the thief" + "It's the devils way now" - Thom's interpretation of Bush's competence and the fact that he doesn't like him.
Plus there are hints that he (or at least someone he knows) has tried to change things and failed - "I swat 'em like flies but like flies the buggers keep coming back" & "I try to sing along/I get it all wrong".
There is also a reference to Thom favourite kids story, Chicken Licken. His favourite due to the fact that it's just a big lie and everybody gets eaten. (Possibly a reference to the naive American public, unwittingly let Bush get in the White House. Who could be a Fox-Lox just waiting to gobble them all up)
Although, this is just an opinion.
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05-31-2004
on a futher note, all of the songs on hail to the thief where writen at the exact same time as Kid A/Amnesiac...if you where fortunate enough to have gotten one of the original pressings of Kid A underneath its disc tray is a secret booklet full of artwork and partial lyrics to some of HTTT's songs.
Radiohead are english, they hate Tony Blair, they dont give 2 shits about president Bush
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06-02-2004
To give insight to felipevox’s question, The Lukewarm are individuals who live their lives and just let things happen often giving little care to get involved. The Lukewarm can be found in Canto III of Dante’s Inferno. These are angels that did not side with either God or the Devil. Due to their indifference both parties reject them—banned from both heaven and hell—and they are beset with insects such as flies and wasps. From the point of view of the feuding parties (as well as Dante’s) their indifference to take sides makes them worse than their enemy.
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06-11-2004
1984 and Brave new world by aldous huxley were the fist books i ever read that i enjoyed, save where's wally.
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06-24-2004
i will
lay me down
in a bunker
underground
i won’t let this happen to my children
meet the real world coming out of your shell
with white elephants
sitting ducks
i will
rise up
"I won't let this happen to my children": what? he won't let single individuals do to his children what they did to him? i don't think so. in addition, i'm sure radiohead, like myself and many others who may not live in the U.S., do give a shit about Bush because the ramifications of his actions are far-reaching and long-lasting and will be paid for by all of us sooner or later, one way or another.
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07-01-2004
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09-17-2004
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10-11-2004
This is just my interpretation, "2+2=5" is probobly about Bush.
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10-13-2004
En un álbum cuyo título(1) alude a la forma bastante confusa y sospechosa en que Bush y su equipo se proclamara presidente de la principal potencia mundial en las elecciones presidenciales del año 2001, no es de extrañar que su primer tema haga foco, de modo directo y contundente, sobre esta temática.
En esta lírica no hay sutilezas y escasean las ironías tan frecuentes en las composiciones de Thom Yorke. Esto es deliberado, se busca impactar directamente, sin regodeos, para que quien escuche el tema no pueda tararearlo o acompañarlo sin entender de qué se le está hablando.
Como frecuentemente sucede en los temas de Radiohead, título-letra-ambientación musical forman una tríada que se interrelaciona perfectamente, dándole un sentido compacto que es mucho más que la suma de sus partes.
En este caso en particular, a un tono de voz desafiante y enérgico por parte de Thom, se le suma una melodía que lo acompaña en un increscendo de tensión y suspenso que nos permite intuir un inminente estallido. La sensación se compara a estar subiendo una cuesta a gran velocidad sin darnos cuenta que vacío se encuentra muy próximo a nosotros.
Una sucesión de advertencias acerca de las oscuras consecuencias que tendrá nuestra indiferencia generalizada sobre las decisiones que se están tomando en las más altas cúpulas del poder mundial y un llamado a intentar despertarnos y sacudir nuestra modorra antes de que sea demasiado tarde para gritar y chillar porque hemos ingresado en caminos demoníacos son la esencia de esta canción.
“¿Tan difícil es que hagamos un mundo acorde a los derechos que todos tenemos como humanos? Si entonces no podemos hacerlo, prefiero quedarme en casa, donde siempre dos más dos son cinco.” En esta estrofa inicial se puede apreciar cuál es el sentido actual de la indiferencia y la incapacidad por intentar modificar lo que no está bien en el mundo que nos toca vivir. Si afuera las cosas son crueles y duras, opto por quedarme dentro, donde las reglas las pongo yo, en mi pequeño refugio.
No estoy de acuerdo en que esta canción tenga un tono apocalíptico y resignado sobre el mundo tal cual se encuentra hoy día, sino que me parece más bien un llamado desesperado de atención y un intento por hacernos reaccionar frente a tanto adormecimiento que se percibe cotidianamente.
(1) Hail to the Thief= Saluden al ladrón!
Nota: En este álbum de Radiohead los títulos de los temas tienen otro alternativo al original colocado entre paréntesis. En muchos casos, este último tiene tanto o más significación que el original. En el caso de “2+2=5” el alternativo es “The Lukewarm”, o sea, “El Indiferente”.
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