Lyrics for Down Is the New Up as interpreted by black_cow_of_death

Down Is the New Up Lyrics
Get yourself together
Let the light pour in
Pour yourself a hot bath, pour yourself a drink
Nothing's going to happen without warning
Down is the new up
What if I just flip-flopped?
Down is the new up, is the new up

Won't you be my girl?
Won't you be my girl?
Your services are not required
Your future's bleak, you're so last week

Ladies and gentlemen, without a safety net
I shall now perform a 180 flip-flop
I shall now amputate, I shall now contort
Because down is the new up
What if I just flip-flopped?
Down is the new up, is the new up

You crawled off and left us
You bastard
You bastard

Caught on Candid Camera
The chink in your armor
Topsy turvy town, topsy turvy town
Shake your pockets out
Pass it on, pass it down
Topsy turvy town, topsy turvy town

You crawled off and left us
Crawled off and left us
You bastard

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no_one69
06-14-2006

Rated 0 
such a cool new song! the live version i've been watching where johhny jumps on the little drum kit is about the best thing i've ever seen. cant wait to hear the new album, this is up there with videotape and arpeggi as my favourite new tunes

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1 Reply
Nonlinear314
07-12-2006

Rated 0 
Latest Version:

Get yourself together
Let the light pour in
Pour yourself a hot bath, pour yourself a drink
Nothing's gonna happen without a warning
Down is the new Up
What is up, buttercup
Down is the new Up, is the new Up

Your services are not required
Your future's bleak, you're so last week

Ladies and gentlemen, without a safety net
I shall now perform an Orwellian flip-flop
I shall now amputate, I shall now contort
Because Down is the new Up
What if I just flip-flopped?
Down is the new Up, is the new Up

Caught on Candid Camera
The chink in your armor
Topsy turvy town, topsy turvy town
Shake your pockets out
Pass it on, pass it down
Topsy turvy town, topsy turvy town

----
seems to be about relativism and how people can be conditioned to believe anything, 1984 style.

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eatenbytheworms
07-14-2006

Rated 0 
The lyrics are more along the lines of:

Get yourself together
Let the light pour in
Pour yourself a hot bath
Pour yourself a drink
Nothing's gonna happen
Without a warning

Down is the new Up
What is up Buttercup
Down is the new Up, is the new Up..

I'd sell my soul
If it's required
Your future's bleak
Your soul is weakening

Ladies and gentlemen, without a safety net
I shall now perform an Orwellian flip flop
I shall now amputate, I shall now contort

Cos Down is the new Up
What if I just flip flopped
Down is the new Up, is the new Up

caught on Candid Camera
the chink in your armor
Topsy turvy town, topsy turvy town

Shake your pockets out
Pass it on, pass it down
Topsy Turvy town, topsy turvy town

And I guess the reference to Orwell indicates it is a reference to Orwell's decision to become a socialist. Orwell wrote a book called "Down and Out in Paris and London".

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rodrigo_
07-24-2006

Rated 0 
does anybodi know where i can watch this video?

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Black Sativa
10-21-2006

Rated 0 
References to Orwell, amputation, contortion, Candid camera? It's about the way we are being consumed by the media, "contorted" news reports "amputation" - what is left out in what we see in the media? "Nothing's gonna happen, without a warning" - Our sense of false security?? Dark lyrics, scary theme.

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YanYan108
11-07-2006

Rated 0 
I agree that this song is about media distortion. "Orwellian Flip-Flop" may refer to how in 1984, the country that Eurasia was at war with was subject to change without notice.

We're being told in the media to give up our freedoms for safety (from terrorism). Normally, you wouldn't surrender your freedoms to anyone, but we're being told that's a good thing. Hence, bad is the new good, and down is the new up. Alles klarr?

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YanYan108
11-07-2006

Rated 0 
Also, if this one's on the next album, I'd like it put near the middle of the album.

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thomsmells
01-08-2007

Rated 0 
When Winston was reading 'the book' it talked about down being up in the Ignorance is Strength chapter I seem to recall, any takers?

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thomsmells
01-08-2007

Rated 0 
Any news abotu when it's going to be out?

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ikefox
02-19-2007

Rated 0 
Orwellian actually is symbolic for when you mishear the word "180" or "one-eighty"

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steinbeckthepearl
07-06-2007

Rated -1 
Watch the politcians... they're like jocks tripping over themselves in order to promise whatever wants to be heard by the virgin public's ear and so make them swoon - in order to get WHAT THEY WANT... Just you watch! Once we hand over our (deceived) hopes to them, they'll dump us like trash because politics is an abusive relationship! They say they're for us only to get elected and once elected, they're really only for those helped fund their elections. Meanwhile we're left scratching our heads... fools - fools all around...

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tarzan05
09-07-2007

Rated 0 
When I first heard it, I immediately thought it was a depressing social commentary on the state of society these days... We're being assured that nothing's gonna happen and I'd say our future seems pretty bleak. The world seems to have gotten so absurdly shitty that Down is the new Up. Thom Yorke is especially privy to this.

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enigmatic_jess
10-10-2007

Rated 0 
I was thinking the title could be a reference to what the guy in the video for "Just" apparently says to all the others when he tells them why he's lying on the ground...

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troiaj
11-01-2007

Rated 0 
I think it's '180 flip flop' not 'Orwellian flip flop'.


Maybe. That's just what I hear.

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semiramis
11-30-2007

Rated 0 
for me its also more likely that he is singing "180 (one-eighty) flip flop"

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jcarrig
12-07-2007

Rated 0 
anyone else think of Jet's "are you gonna me my girl?"
i thought that thom was directly talking to them when he's singing over 'won't you be my girl', talking about that generic theme of a lot of music lately... telling them 'you're so last week'
thats what i was thinking anywho, that 'wont you be my girl' seemed way too out there to not have some kinda ironic meaning like that, from my perspective anyway

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Wallamanage
12-07-2007

Rated 0 
Unfortunately it is 180 flip-flop. Orwellian flip-flop is an amazing lyric but you can't have everything. Fantastic song so that makes up for it.

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sarahsavedlatin
12-08-2007

Rated 0 
i like how thom kind of turns into prince near the end.

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hudsucker
12-19-2007

Rated 0 
Definitely about the current state of politics and the ackowledgment that a politician will do or say anything to get or stay elected, and always with a filthy layer of smarm, which makes a line like "What is up, Buttercup" cringeworthy.

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lelgustur
12-22-2007

Rated 0 
It's awesome the version on Discbox... really spooks!

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el_chiso
12-28-2007

Rated 0 
Radiohead at their jazzy best!


[A great surprise after listening to the boring From The Basement version]

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azby
01-13-2008

Rated 0 
Definately what Hudsucker said meaning wise. I like the lines
'Your services are not required
Your future's bleak, you're so last week'
Musically I think its sounds like a weird James Bond theme, anyone else hear that? Except at the end when it turns into 'Funky Town'. Love it

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Zetsumei
01-29-2008

Rated 0 
I don't think it sounds anything like a Bong song, nor Funky Town. It is, however, my new favorite In Rainbows song.

And I think that was pretty disrespectful of you, el_chiso, but I guess it doesn't matter.

As for the meaning, I think it may be about doing something to fit in and losing the people you were true to along with yourself. You'd make a fool out of yourself, cut off your limbs, contort, whatever, because you're doing what's "in."

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jocularjosh
01-31-2008

Rated 0 
I agree with Black Sativa, it is refrencing the social contorl via the state/media and powers that be. "Your services are no longer required"", a refernce to the fact that individuals are no longer in control, but that the propoganda system is in control and only it has the current relevant information. "You're so last week", no need to listen to any naysayers as they are talking about something that the government has likley already covered up using language to obfuscate/contort meaning or to eliminate new ideas/thought and their meanings that are deemed dangerous to the state. Amputate is a reference to the governments need to dissasociate itself with events viewed as negative by society, perhaps place blame on a scopegoat.

Candid camera being a chink in the armor seems to be referecing that things viewed are very powerful, candid meaning non-state controlled media showing truth. Once the chink is in the armor this can lead to revolution/topsy-turvy-town. No one trusts anymore.

One last note, is about turning the pockets out. In the case of a revolution society will look for individulas to hold accountable for the lies/manipulation. Perhaps this is referecing the individuals who are being looked at for thier personal actions, if in fact they were part of the machine that is the state. They need to show that they have nothing to hide and had nothing to do with it.

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jjjonatron
02-05-2008

Rated 0 
these are the lyrics, the rest are all slightly wrong:

Get yourself together
Let the light pour in
Pour yourself a hot bath
Pour yourself a drink
Nothing's gonna happen
Without warning

Down is the new up
What is up, buttercup
Down is the new up, is the new up

Your services
Are not required
Your future's bleak
You're so last week

Ladies and gentlemen
Without a safety net
I shall now perform a 180 flip-flop
I shall now amputate
I shall now contort

Because down is the new up
What if I just flip-flopped?
Down is the new up
Down is the new up
Down is the new up, is the new up

You're on Candid Camera
The chink in your armor
Topsy turvy tower
Topsy turvy tower

Shake your pockets out
Pass it on, pass it down
Topsy turvy town
Topsy turvy town

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