Lyrics for Videotape as interpreted by black_cow_of_death

Videotape Lyrics
When I'm at the pearly gates
This'll be on my videotape
My videotape
My videotape

Mephistopheles is just beneath
And he's reaching up to grab me

This is one for the good days
And I have it all here in
Red, blue, green
Red, blue, green

You are my centre when I spin away
Out of control on videotape
On videotape
On videotape
On videotape

This is my way of saying goodbye
Because I can't do it fact to face
So I'm talking to you before
No matter what happens now
I won't be afraid
Because I know
Today has been the most perfect day I have ever seen

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BooBoo McBad
03-25-2008

Rated -1 
This song is about someone who has had a child but are dying, and all their child will have of them is the videotape when they die. There's different ways to interpret the exact situation though. I believe it's someone dying of a debilitating disease.

"When I'm at the pearly gates
This'll be on my videotape
My videotape
My videotape"

It's just a reflection on what they're doing for their child, the mixed belief of heaven or purgatory, or some kind of afterlife is where they will be, while the child still lives.

"You are my center when I spin away
Out of control on videotape
On videotape"
The person is obviously in a bad scenario, possibly sickness. The child will see their parents' life come to an end.

"This is my way of saying goodbye
Because I can't do it face to face"
Again, the child will have alot of video of their parent to watch when they're older and can comprehend it. Face to face is the assumption that their child won't have any real memories of them.

"the most perfect day I've ever seen."
That's the birth of their child, or the day their pain ends.

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Big Tk
03-28-2008

Rated -1 
I agree with the last comment but also feel that this is is a multi layered song and could also be about suicide. My reason for this and I'm not sure if anyone else has said this but the drumming towards the end of the song starts to sound like a train when it is slowing down on the tracks. Anyone who has been on a train will know what I mean. So maybe he is considering throwing himself in front of a train because he can't deal with something like a terminal illness or maybe even more. Anyway thats just my thoughts.

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Big Tk
03-28-2008

Rated -1 
to further my earlier comment the line "When Mephistopheles is just beneath
And he's reaching up to grab me" would tie in with suicide because in christianity suicide is a sin which would mean you would end up going to hell which Mephistopheles is another form of the devil. So it may be that he has got a terminal illness and is leaving a videotape behind for somebody possibly a young son/daughter but he doesn't want the child to see him in a worsened state so he ends it. again I don't know if this has already been touched upon.

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BooBoo McBad
03-28-2008

Rated 0 
Your comment makes a point Big Tk. I just find that too often people think within the box, suicide's so hot topic in songs and whatnot.

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Big Tk
03-31-2008

Rated -1 
I know what you mean about the fact suicide is a hot topic in songs booboo mcbad. Maybe suicide is the wrong term maybe self euthanasia which is still the same thing but means he is not in the debillitating state that he could be if he died from the disease. I know the suicide topic comes out a lot in songs but this like all radiohead songs doesn't go for the conventional approach. I think that line about "Mephistopheles" is key to the whole song and puts the whole thing into perspective for me anyway. It just sounds like he's a nice guy who has a terminal illness and probably deserves to go to heaven but he realises by ending it he won't go to heaven. Just my thoughts man but I love this song its the stand out for me on the album and I love the whole album.

You are quite right though that everyone always jumps on the suicide bandwagon I'd like to think that I put a bit more thought into than that though. Cheers for posting a response man.

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pwstyle
04-03-2008

Rated 0 
My thoughts... videotape refers the playback of his life that he will be judge on at the pearly gates... and he thinks the videotape of his life will send him to hell. There was someone special in his life who made him good once... that center him... It's a perfect day because he's dying and will not have to feel the pain of the losing that person anymore...

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amatterofgrace
04-20-2008

Rated 0 
"I won't be afraid, because I know today has been the most perfect day I've ever seen."

When someone decides to end their life after a long time of suffering, everything seems more beautiful and meaningful to the person.

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TheStance
04-20-2008

Rated 0 
This is as good as it gets; good or bad, in the long run, it doesn't matter because it's done and all he wanted was to do something, to have the memory.

I don't know.

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twocent
04-28-2008

Rated 0 
this is the last song on the album, like a coda, a final benediction, a last wish, an elegy. whether you think the drums plod on like war drums, the ratcheting of war machinery, whether you think this IS about a suicide bomber, whether you think it is a more intimate more apolitical narrative, this song is absolutely about death and regret, the ties that bind us, the choices we make and are forced to make, the shame we live and leave behind, maybe hidden in the last line is the hope of absolution in oblivion, the tapes will degrade, the memories will tarnish, the entropy that blesses us all.

That said here is my videotape:
http://www.aniboom.com/Player.aspx?v=210843

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subconscius
05-03-2008

Rated 0 
Hmmm, does anyone else see a potential connection with Lou Reed's "Perfect Day"
Beside the words being used in the line, the overall mood of the song, or the tone of the lyrics is somewhat similar in that bittersweet but ultimately melancholic and hopeless way, it seems to me.

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emanroga
05-08-2008

Rated -1 
Maybe it's about a soldier going to war. He has a child on the way, and he doesn't know whether he'll ever meet the child. So he makes a videotape of his last day home - "one for the perfect days." He doesn't know whether he'll go to heaven or hell for the things he'll have to do, but his family is his center that keeps him sane through it.

I thought it was a suicide note too, but it sounds like fate has a big role here. I've been trying to divine some theme to the album. It sounds like a movie soundtrack (a really good one). RH don't generally have a theme for these things, but certainly there's a lot about dying, judgment, and reasons to live for on In Rainbows.

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RIverX
05-25-2008

Rated -1 
This song is about our main task in this form in this world(Human form of essentials in this reality)
LISTEN, IT IS REAL IMPORTANT. You MUST create your own videotape here. It help you when "Mephistopheles is just beneath
And he's reaching up to grab you"-it'll be your lighthouse there,your guiding star.
During the all our life we must make this guiding star,this videotape,filling it with most good(most truthful)things in our life here.
Truth,Love,Kindness,self-sacrifice,etc-it's all a different form of Him in our essences.Find the God in yourselves and record Him on Your Own Videotape.

...It's so sad when you misunderstand...Feel Thom's pain when he try to say us something really important...and strike against misunderstanding...

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bass_dqv
06-07-2008

Rated -1 
its hard to pinpoint this theme in the song, but something that comes through to me when listening to this song is the emphasis on technology. something that could be considered materialistic and phony. instead of focusing on the real experiences, loves, and losses of his life, he is only thinking of his videotape when he's at the pearly gates. its about someone stuck in the past, who is dwelling on the good days instead of living in the present.... his life is there in red blue green, instead of his own memories.

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doublemo7
07-03-2008

Rated 0 
My favorite of radiohead's new album...
Not really sure what Thom was aiming for us to think about the song, but I like what it means to me. Still sounds like a suicide note as much as everyone tries to toy with that idea.
Still love it
"You are my center when I spin away"
That line kinda echoes in my head.

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thedawg
07-13-2008

Rated 0 
Mephistopheles had many different variants is the devil himself it is also the name used for Faust legend why people discuss so in depth the meaning of Mephistopheles Google it it will tell you.

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everymanforhimself
07-19-2008

Rated -1 
Definitely suicide. he will be survived by the videotape once he's done. inside the box thinking--or taking the lyrics as they are? you choose.

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137secrets
07-22-2008

Rated 0 
I think this song is about a guy who is dying, or merely thinking about death. i think the "videotape" is a metaphor, and that he'll be watching his life again on his "videotape" when he dies. i think the person is treasuring every day, hence they say:
"When I'm at the pearly gates
This'll be on my videotape
My videotape
My videotape"
I think theyre saying that today is a beautiful day, and that he'll remember it as one of the best.
"No matter what happens now
I shouldn't be afraid
Because I know today has been the most perfect day I've ever seen"
I think this is also adding to what i was saying. the suicide thing is also a very good point, that could also be it. but i think the videotape isn't a physical object, more of a mental thing.

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bass5137
07-28-2008

Rated 0 
it's not a song about death, this song isn't even depressing.
it's simply thom saying that no matter what happens in the world, he has spent this perfect day with "you", the one he loves, and that "you" don't have to worry because thom has had the most perfect day

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ShinyDemon
07-30-2008

Rated 0 
I'm going to have this song played at my funeral. Its the ultimate funeral song.
Uhm, time for my interpretation:

When I was around 7 years old I used to believe everyone in the world has a book written about them, about their entire life. What they did, what they thought, etc. Each day is a paragraph long, each week is a paragraph, each month is a page, each year is a chapter...You get the general idea.
This song sort of echoes my past belief but instead of having a book we all have videotapes that record our life. Maybe even a series of videotapes. So instead of just reading it, we have a series of tapes that lets us see ourselves in our worst of times!

I hope I explained that clearly :S And could anyone tell me if that sort of thing has a name?

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RIverX
07-31-2008

Rated 0 
Huh?
Audiotape!

Your little voice...

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shaown
08-09-2008

Rated -1 
I love this song, extremely. So beautiful.

The lyrics are pretty straight forward. It's about a guy leaving a videotape behind for his family since he's aobut to die.

Great song. Radiohead are incredible.

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coldwindblowing
08-09-2008

Rated 0 
the gold at the end of the rainbow... the story told lets him know that there is something else. he deserved the rain, but heres the sun.

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Adam_Wall
08-09-2008

Rated 0 
Beautiful piano/vocal piece, this song gave me the fucking chills.
Looking at the lyrics i think its about a guy who filmed the day he killed himself, and made it the best day of his life so he could die on a good note, i think hes talking to a loved one on the tape before he dies so she can get it and see that he died peacefully as reassurance. He fimls his las day so everyone can see he died in peace.

this song slightly reminded me of "lights in the sky" by nine inch nails off of their new album "The Slip"

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eatenbytheworms
08-11-2008

Rated +1 
I don't think there's a right or wrong interpretation. Radiohead's songs mean different things to everyone. I guess you could say that about a lot of music.

But what I feel about this song is that it's about losing some of the fear of dying by focusing on that one perfect day we all hope to have. Life is not about experiencing happiness all the time. Most of our lives are spent trying to find that very elusive happiness, without realizing that life is not just about attaining happiness but about experiencing what it's like to be alive and not being afraid to expose ourselves even to things that will bring us pain, as long as we feel like we are truly living.

Towards the beginning of the album the narrator in Bodysnatchers can't even tell if he's dead or alive. It's as if his soul has been taken away from him. He just goes through the motions putting on a facade but hating every minute of it.

The narrator in Nude is afraid to look for something to get him out of his rut. He's lost hope and can't envision anything better.

Song by song his character (or they could be different characters but it feels like a progression) goes through different stages. In Weird Fishes the narrator opens himself up when he finds hope in the eyes that turn him. All I Need is possibly about opening up even more... expressing what he feels like because he is not by her side.

Then there is that moment in Reckoner where something transcendental seems to happen. Maybe it's about opening oneself up and losing the fear that keeps him from being able to experience life to the fullest. House of Cards seems like it's coming from an entirely different vibe. The narrator is not afraid to ask for what he wants.

Something goes wrong in Jigsaw. The narrator can't go after what he wants. We humans are like that. We find it difficult or even impossible to imagine something better than what we have. We are afraid to go after what we want so instead the narrator just has his memories to look back to.

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enjoyyourroots
08-30-2008

Rated 0 
what a way to end the cd.

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