Guess I'll clear this up for you guys. See no ones paying attention and he's yelling at you to pay attention but no ones listening. If you jut LISTEN to the song instead of read the lyrics you'll understand why he says what he says.
"Ill stay home forever where two one two always makes a five"
now that doesn't make sense, but its why he sings the way he does
"its the dvls.. way out now."
its all about sound, thats why its radioHEAD

After the release of Amnesiac, Radiohead fans were getting uncomfortable because they missed the "old" radiohead" and thought the "new" Radiohead was too electronic. So, at the beginning of this song, when the first song is the plugging in of a guitar, it's like they're saying "we're back!"

Best Radiohead album (in my opnion). My favorites off this album are: 2+2=5, sit down stand up, go to sleep, we suck young blood, There,there, and awolf at the door. Radiohead is one of those classic bands that have influenced rock in general.

I think 2 + 2 = 5 comes from the old USSR propaganda about how working equally will get the work of 5 years done in 4 years. translated to the song they are saying everyone has just been taking the quickest/easiest route possible but have not been paying attention to the damage they're causing and now they have caused so much damage that it is to late to fix it.

yes i think this song is reffuring to the novel 1984.

I could be wrong..

very good novel..

very good song

Ideology , false consciousness, its manipulation of the subject, or as we like to think, the 'Individual'.

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2+2=5 is a reference that people can be made to believe anything even when the truth is clear. Because of this, some will use this to their advantage to control people. The song is about exploitation of people by those in control through mind control and how people are oblivious to what is going on even when it is very obvious.

Are you such a dreamer
To put the world to rights?
I stay home forever
Where two and two always makes a five

A reference to not questioning the common thought, staying home and staying brainwashed instead of stepping outside of ones comfort zone and questioning what they are being told to believe.

I'll lay down the tracks
Sandbag and hide
January has April's showers
And two and two always makes a five

A reference to the people working for a caused because they were sold a concept that was not true. They do the bidding and work of those in control which is ultimately leading to their demise.

It's the devil's way now
There is no way out
You can scream and you can shout
It is too late now

It's too late, once you realize that you've been lied to and the world becomes a corrupt place it's too late. It's so obvious in hindsight but the people did not notice because they were not..... paying attention

The very last line, go tell the king that the sky is falling... but maybe it's not.. shows that even when disaster is clear people are still blind to the truth because the reality that exists in their mind is difficult to change after believing in something so much. They are the victim of someone planting a clearly false idea/concept in their head and they struggle to re-invent their reality.

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Just a weird connection: in the book of Revelations, St.John claims that God judges one church for being "lukewarm", neither hot nor cold. From my perspective, this links to the idea of being present, "pay(ing) attention" to life.

First of all, hi! I just signed up, but I've been coming to this site for months to read users' opinions about meanings of songs and have found pretty good song analyses (is that word right? My native language is Spanish, so my english is not that good... you may have noticed).

Anyway, somewhere (don't recall where) I read that the first line of this song (2+2=5), "Are you such a dreamer to put the world to rights?" is sort of an attack to religious thoughts... is that true? and if it is, could someone please explain? I don't find the relation between "Rights" and religious stuff because of my limited english...

Thanks in advance!

The first 15 seconds is my favorite part of the song. This song is such an awesome way to start off an album...

I'm going to start off by saying that "2+2=5" is an undeniable reference to 1984. It's a major theme of the work, which has clearly influenced Radiohead's work. Check out the link to the Chestnut Tree Cafe on their website if you don't believe me. Or just read 1984.

In 1984, everyone will believe that 2+2=5 if the party tells them it does. In fact, one character is tortured until he honestly believes that 2+2=5. Just saying it isn't enough for the party. He has to belief it. He's forced to confess to crimes that he never committed, and later forced to believe that he had actually committed them. The party has complete control over the minds of the people, and therefore can create and rewrite reality as they see fit.

"Are you such a dreamer
To put the world to rights?
I stay home forever
Where two and two always makes a five"

This is told from the perspective of someone who clearly believes that 2+2=5, someone who will take the comfort of forged reality over the truth any day. They seem to be addressing someone who refuses to believe the lies, and wants to try to put a stop to them, to bring back truth and put the world to rights. This makes them a dreamer to the speaker; to them the task is impossible.

"I'll lay down the tracks
Sandbag and hide
January has April's showers
And two and two always makes a five"

It sounds to me like the speaker want to hide in their false reality, where January has April's showers and two and two make five, where lies are truth.

"It's the devil's way now
There is no way out
You can scream and you can shout
It is too late now"

Thinking in the context of 1984, I interpret this as a statement made toward the "dreamer" saying that their pursuits are futile, that the Party has complete control over reality. I think the "devil's way" is the party's way, the way of lies.

"Because you have not been
Paying attention (etc.)"

You haven't paying attention, you haven't noticed the "devil's way" taking over. You didn't notice the rise of doublethink and the fall of truth.

"Yeah, I need it
I needed attention (etc.)
Yeah, I love it, the attention"

The attention could be a possible motive for following the "devil's way."

"I try to sing along
I get it all wrong
Because I�m not
Because I�m not"

The speaker can't get the song right, probably because they're not in touch with reality. They're also clearly in denial, stating not once but twice that they're not wrong.

"I swat them like flies
But like flies the buggers
Keep coming back
But I�m not"

The speaker tries to silence the dreamers, but they always seem to return to challenge the "devil's way." This time the "I'm not" could mean that the speaker's not coming back. Perhaps not back to the truth?

"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"

Twice the speaker cries "hail to the thief", a pretty bold accusation of a leader, while denying four times that they aren't a thief. Sounds rather hypocritical to me.

"Don't question my authority or put me in the dock
Because I'm not
Because I'm not"

Very defensive.

"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"

The speaker seems to want to tell the king something that they believe to be false, that the sky is falling in when it's not. However, the transition into "maybe not" reveals the speaker's doubt as they start to believe their own lie.

I always thought that this song was about undereducated children, but now that I look at it again I see that that's too obvious for Radiohead

What I'm gonna say here has probably already been said in the nine pages of comments, but ah well XD
Well this song clearly takes inspiration and actual quotes from George Orwell's 1984, where the government has such utter power over the lives of the entire population that they control thoughts. When the main character is being tortured he is influenced to a point where he actually believes 2+2=5 and january has april showers because he's told by authority.
If you're a dreamer and just stay home then what the media tells you you'll believe, and by living your life under the influence of the news and the government you will too believe things like Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, and two plus two equals five.
Also I think that Hail to the Thief was a reference to America's stolen election, where the concience of an entire nation had to accept the results of a rigged election. American politicians can't preech for shit about democracy when there's only two real parties in America, there's been a rigged election and it's winner was a massive idiot who just so happened to be the son of another rich white guy who decided to bomb the middle east. (sorry, just been listening to Rage Against the Machine.)
At the time there was a real anger in America and in the international community that Bush was in power. Radiohead subtly put this in their song by pairing it with the reference to 1984. Two plus two equals five could also be a satire on the vote count where Bush ended up winning the final state after Fox witheld the results for excessive time. The votes didn't add up but the connected and rich man got into power.

anyone who has read 1984 knows that this song is influenced by the scene with Winston in room 101

"I'll lay down the tracks
Sandbag and hide
January has April's showers
And two and two always makes a five"

As for this line, I think what it means is that someone knows they've picked the wrong guy as their leader, and they know all hell is going to break loose soon (possibly a war?). So they're gonna go down into the tracks and hide under some sandbags to wait for the inevitable. A foreshadowing of the madness to come.


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