Lyrics for 2 + 2 = 5 (The Lukewarm.) as interpreted by SyntaxLies

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知 not
Because I知 not
I swat them like flies
But like flies the buggers
Keep coming back
But I知 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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personblahblah
01-31-2005

Rated 0 
this song is too short.

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Kaleks88
02-07-2005

Rated 0 
I personally don't think the song is about Bush- simply because Yorke denied it. Now I realize that many of you will rant about how Yorke is only denying this because people never want to admit their anger toward influential politicians. Yet this argument doesn't really work; Yorke has openly stated his dislike for Tony Blair, for example when asked about "You and Who's Army?" (Amnesiac). If he admits to that song being a shot at Blair, why wouldn't he admit this song being a shot at Bush? Those are my thoughts.

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just_another_brick
02-23-2005

Rated 0 
**Removed**

Edited by Matty on March 30 2005, at 04:00AM



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just_another_brick
02-23-2005

Rated 0 
**Removed**

Edited by Matty on March 30 2005, at 04:00AM



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gregface
03-07-2005

Rated 0 
this is for those who do not see the 1984 connection. this is a paragraph from 1984 in part 1, chapter 7.


"He picked up the children's history book and looked at the portrait of Big Brother which formed its frontispiece. The hypnotic eyes gazed into his own. It was as though some huge force were pressing down upon you -- something that penetrated inside your skull, battering against your brain, frightening you out of your beliefs, persuading you, almost, to deny the evidence of your senses. 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. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality, was tacitly denied by their philosophy. The heresy of heresies was common sense. And what was terrifying was not that they would kill you for thinking otherwise, but that they might be right. For, after all, how do we know that two and two make four? Or that the force of gravity works? Or that the past is unchangeable? If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable what then?"

2+2=5 comes up quite a few times throughout the book. most importantly is that last chapter of the book. i would say what happens, but i wouldn't want to ruin the ending of such a great book for everybody.

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Fake Plastic Arse
03-07-2005

Rated 0 
Greenplastic has terrible lyrics to this song. Either that or it's some live version.

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bjengles3
03-17-2005

Rated 0 
I believe that for many of the songs off of Hail to the Thief, Thom Yorke narrates from the antagonist's poin of view. The "dreamer" in this case is the idealist youth who thinks he can change the corruption that is inherent in the world. The narrator is the all-powerful "thief" whose authority is not to be questioned.

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kathrynlh
03-25-2005

Rated 0 
incredible song. incredible album. i love this band.

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jek21
04-03-2005

Rated 0 
This song's so fucking sick. God DAMN. This is actually the song that got me into Radiohead in the first place. It's such a great opener...after the psuedo electronica of Kid A and Amnesiac, Radiohead proves that they can ROCK once again (Don't get me wrong, Kid A was awesome and Amnesiac...had some good songs on it).

Oh, I don't know if any of you care, but the song starts out in 7/8 meter and then goes to 4/4 when the song goes into it's 2nd section...yeah (cough).

What's that? Song meaning? I don't give a shit. Im sure it's political and it's probably a reference to 1984.

Oh, and anyone who doesn't know what "lukewarm" means should be punched in the face for a being an ignorant loser.

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LDG
04-07-2005

Rated 0 
My interpretation of 2+2=5 is basically nothing is always as it seems.

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lauradonaghy
05-07-2005

Rated 0 
It's mixing Orwell's 1984 with anti-Bushism. Love it.
It's the struggle to go with the flow in a world which he has realised to be corrupt and non-sensical. It incorporates his fear that he may be going insane as well as his frustration that he's the only one who's noticed what's going on (eg the shifting alliances).

'Hail to the Thief' can apply either to Big Brother or George W. Bush.

Brilliant song. I generally seem to love songs based on 1984 - see Muse's Citizen Erased.

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musicoholic
05-13-2005

Rated 0 
guyz plz check out this site http://contender.tv.yahoo.com/01/fanfavoriteresults.html?poll_id=5314&user_choice=11 thanx

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lilwonder77
07-29-2005

Rated 0 
the name of this song 2+2=5 is from a book called 1984 by george orwell that describes the world under a goverment that controls the past making 2+2=5

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Eelsrule
08-11-2005

Rated 0 
It's about Bush being elected (the first time around)
"You have not been paying attention" references the floridians who made the famous voting mistake, and the country not paying attention to the presedency. 2+2=5 means 4 votes equals 5, BUsh cheated the election, and we can't take it back now.
Long story short, he's saying we dug our own grave, we're fucked.

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Wallamanage
08-19-2005

Rated 0 
In the Album booklet it says that the last part sings: (Ah Diddums)

Can anyone actually hear those words?

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xdvr
09-12-2005

Rated 0 
LauraDonaghy has summed it all up. It's projecting 1984s endng, where he's told "2+2=5", and he struggles to keep saying it's "4" until he stops thinking for himself.
This is what nearly ALL Governments want, not just the US. Bush dragged the US into a World and the UK followed because the UK Government are lapdogs to the US, since it was hobbled by the US after WW2.

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saaamantha
09-30-2005

Rated 0 
this song is another awesome creation by radiohead. it makes you forget the conformity of this world and makes you want to resist all that is wrong and false.

i think it says box aswell.. it sounds better too.

anyways radiohead will forever stay fabulous

does anyone think stanley donwood exists?

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ThayilBeGod
10-29-2005

Rated 0 
radiohead fans are much more intelligent than soundgarden fans
well done

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Hyperbole
11-10-2005

Rated 0 
The part at the end where he starts really shoutin and stuff sounds A LOT like Pearl Jam's "Do the Evolution."

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Hyperbole
11-10-2005

Rated 0 
The part at the end where he starts really shoutin and stuff sounds A LOT like Pearl Jam's "Do the Evolution."

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theregoesmyhero
11-13-2005

Rated 0 
Bril song..Definate reference to 1984..2+2=5 and it's too late now and the use of doublespeak....

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Ramtharlikesguys
01-07-2006

Rated 0 
Ramthar likes guys.



KILLING SPREE

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blocpartyboy
01-15-2006

Rated 0 
To me this song expresses confusion and dislike for the way his life is going. I think 2+2=5 is a way of describing. Everytime he wants to work something out it doesn't work out right. "I try to sing along but the words are all wrong" maybe about life. He tries do something good and positive but it doesn't work and backfires. I think this song is about releasing negative energy from all the stress and disappoints of life. Well that's what i think anyway ;-)

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topaincayupanqui
01-17-2006

Rated 0 
o.O,,,,,,,, anywaaay.... thom has used the term "orwelled" describing the state of the earth when u.s. invaded iraq...... gosh if u.s. hasn't done nothing, no one has!!!!
2+2=5 certainly links to 1984..... freaky book man, but i love it

thom was actually good at gymastics when he was a laddie... velly strange

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bkat004
01-29-2006

Rated 0 
love how it goes from "Because" into a musical onslaught of rock!

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