Lyrics for All I Need as interpreted by black_cow_of_death

All I Need Lyrics
I am the next act waiting in the wings
I am an animal trapped in your hot car
I am all the days that you choose to ignore

You are all I need
You are all I need
I am in the middle of your picture
Lying in the reeds

I am a moth who just wants to share your light
I’m just an insect trying to get out of the night
I only stick with you because there are no others

You are all I need
You are all I need
I am in the middle of your picture
Lying in the reeds

It's all wrong
It's all right
It's all right
It's all wrong
It's all right
It's all right
It's all right

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  • 149 Comments
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coldwindblowing
06-10-2008

Rated -1 
Thom being god. trying to explain how the relationship works... the dog and car one is good. this album is essentially modern christian rock. or god rock at least.

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RIverX
05-25-2008

Rated -1 
"I am the next act waiting in the wings
I am an animal trapped in your hot car
I am all the days that you choose to ignore"- no doubt this is addressed to Him.The Power of Him( The Power of Truth) is infinite.And we are the small part of Truth.Therefore
"You are all I need
You are all I need"-it's our REAL goal.Make our essence flow together with The Flow Of Truth(or God, the Author, the Lord, etc.).It's extremely hard and extremely easy at the same time-in EVERY reincarnation you MUST find a particle of God in yourself and feed it with the most truthful(good)) things of the world where you're reincarnate.An alien is an example of advance to Him in comparison with us...
"I am a moth who just wants to share your light
I’m just an insect trying to get out of the night" -it is the MOST RIGHT way for us,humans,because we are really pitiful...
"I only stick with you because there are no others"-i nearly thought about Tibet...yeah, wherefrom THAT book is...
"It's all wrong
It's all right
It's all right
It's all wrong
It's all right
It's all right
It's all right"-THe brOken Mirror sparkle in the light...
...are you really broken?...Yes, for the world of distorting mirrors...

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seemore_glass
05-20-2008

Rated -1 
Since the first time I listened to All I Need, I had been thinking 'It's obviously and simply about unrequited love.', so I didn't try to find a deeper meaning.
However, after seeing the video the whole meaning changed in my mind. Now I can't help but think that the first person in the song is one of those trafficked children and when he says 'you', he's addressing to God.

I am the next act waiting in the wings
I am an animal trapped in your hot car
I am all the days that you choose to ignore

He feels like he's too insignificant to God, like he's being ignored.

I am a moth who just wants to share your light
I’m just an insect trying to get out of the night

'Share your light' he says. I don't know about you, but it does sound like something holy to me. And don't all the people(insects) want to 'share' God's light?

I only stick with you because there are no others

And here, he has to stick to his faith even though God ignores him, because he has nothing else to hold onto. He doesn't have a family or anyone who can save him, only God. It's like 'If I had another choice, of course I wouldn't stick to this vain hope. But I don't.'

I guess there's no need for any further explanation, you get my point.

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evilbaby
05-14-2008

Rated 0 
am i the only one that thinks this is kind of a stalkery-obsessed song? maybe its about something else, but i get out of it somebody who wants to be loved by someone who doesn't love them back, and they WONT GO AWAY. maybe im bein too harsh. hey, that's what ambiguity is all about, and radiohead is the master at ambiguity. they kill that ish. :)

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M.o.S
05-08-2008

Rated -1 
on the other hand lrcq could be right...
there is a video. what if that explains everything...
what if thats the whole story and nothing more.
a little boy making your shoes, he worth nothing.
(or at least.. the world treats him like it.) hes doing everything for you, only our exploitating is keeping him alive, were all he needs. altough he wishes we werent. maybe its a metaphore.

I only stick with yo cause there are no others

meaning:

he (and other childworkers) are being exploited and they accept it because its either that or not having a job at all.

maybe the musicvideo is self-explanitory.

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M.o.S
05-08-2008

Rated 0 
i think its about being obsessed with someone end desperatly needing that someone. but that someone doesn't need you. i think its about a girl but cold be about a guy too (as a friend cause the song was sung by a guy)

i think its about needing her while she doesn't needs you. she has lots of other people around her. i think thats why hes saying youre all i need because he needs her and also says im just another act waiting in the wings: because hes just another gy too her.

she s all he needs but hes just another guy too her

im guessing thats what its about but i could be wrong
thats my interpitation

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calculusdork
05-08-2008

Rated 0 
Given the recent "official" video...I'd like to point out something interesting about the last lines of the song. I never knew that the last lines were "...It's all wrong...It's all right..." until I read the lyrics, and it surprised me because it sounded like Thom was singing the same exact line over and over. This conveys the final message in an incredible manner -- that the difference between "right" and "wrong" is so muddied that most of us can't tell the difference anymore.

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lrcg
05-02-2008

Rated -1 
Sooo...there's an "official" video for this song now, if I'm not utterly, horrendously mistaken. It was posted by radiohead on youtube unless I am insane and was seeing things. So yeah, go watch that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMUynHpGr_Y
And we've got a split screen that shows us a regular day for two kids. Ha, ok, before I write anymore, this post isn't about me being all like "THIS IS THE NEW MEANING OF THE SONG, YOU'RE ALL WRONG" Still, it's a new perspective on the song and I have to admit, it kinda works for the video, even though the video with the bugs and the slow motion and the rain at the end is in fact a muuch better video than the one they did. Better visually anyhow. I digress. Now though, when he says all that stuff about being "an animal trapped in a hot car" or "days you choose to ignore" that 'neglected lover' is now 'poor, starving slave child making shoes'. So come on, guys, let's change the world and give that kid a loving family and a nice school and good food and let's all stop exploitation and trafficking now that we know the TRUE MEANING BEHIND THE SONG!!!!

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JeremyB1
04-29-2008

Rated +1 
Anyone who argues "_________ is way too deep to write love songs" is as or more pretentious than the "shallow" people they're criticizing.

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endo
04-17-2008

Rated +1 
I think this is 100% about unrequitted love. Its the guy that loves the girl but she doesnt know it or wont acknowledge it. Hes in her world and loves her deeply but she doesnt see him. The "Im in the middle of your picture, lying in the reeds" kind of tells me this along with the moth reference. She is his light and he is attracted to her but cant get it. She is all that he needs but he cant be with her. Crappy situation that I can relate to.

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CHEECHIO777
04-14-2008

Rated 0 
"Iam the next act" step forward to the next steppingstone of love
"the animal trapped in your hot car" not able to escape the feelings of love
"iam all the days that you choose to ignore" iam everything that you need but cannot find
your all i need

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sweetbliss
03-25-2008

Rated 0 
this song is so, so sad. not just the lyrics, but the way yorke just sounds so careless and defeated. it's uplifting and depressing at the same time.

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TheTreefingers
03-19-2008

Rated 0 
The line "I am an animal trapped in your hot car" is really sad.
This is probably one of my favourite Radiohead songs, for lyrics.

(not going to bother posting my interpretation, I think enough people have hit enough nails on the head)

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patrickatemypants
03-17-2008

Rated -1 
these are the most amazing lyrics i've ever heard.
that's what i think.
i don't even want to interpret the meaning, that's how deep they are.
i don't even think the author realizes how much meaning they have

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synthacon
03-02-2008

Rated 0 
This song doesn't even need lyrics, the meaning is all conveyed through the music. A warm fat ambling bass set over an urban rhythm. To me this song is about the 20 something night life. Everyone's looking for their answer in someone else, a relationship. And this song is about two people finding eachother out of that and though it might not be good in the long run it's what they both need at the moment. The crescendo at the end is great and emphasizes the complexity of the relationship.

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infomorph_psycho
02-22-2008

Rated -1 
BlakeNewland thanks for the intelligent response. However you fail to understand that according to this site, every single song ever written is about either love or death. And that the average hormone driven teen can't make it through the day without associating his favorite song with that hot girl at school who is always just out of his reach. But credit to you for trying.

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Mobsy1
02-21-2008

Rated 0 
A beautiful depiction of what acceptance is from understanding.

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HowieB
02-20-2008

Rated -1 
BlakeNewland gave the only interpretation that really made any real sense. I think it's kind of shallow to blindly believe that so many of their songs are about relationships just because that's how the lyrics make it seem. Radiohead are so much deeper than that.

Their music is art, and art is for interpreting. Interpretations involve looking for symbols and deeper meanings. I like the idea that they use relationship-type allegories to define how they feel about society and consumerism. If you so choose to interpret this as a love song, then knock yourself out. No one's going to tell you you're wrong.

However, love songs are a dime a dozen. It's rare that you get to hear a song from a group that puts so much more meaning and political undertones into their music as Radiohead. I'd rather hear that kind of message when I listen to a song than typical romance lyrics I can get from just any artist.

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Wreckowner
01-27-2008

Rated 0 
Creepy song about obsessive, stalkerish, fantastic love.

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plathgirl
01-26-2008

Rated -1 
Unrequited love.

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sproutboy
01-21-2008

Rated 0 
Yes! I did until I read the lyrics. I think there's some clicking noise throughout the song, and it happens to click just after he sings "car".

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ayatollah
01-20-2008

Rated +1 
Does anyone think that Thom sings
"I'm an animal trapped in your hot cock" ?

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BrazilianFan
01-18-2008

Rated -1 
please, people......listen to the Easy All-Stars project called RADIODREAD....IT´S an Ok Computer entirely covered ON reggae style.......IT´S FREAKING AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ESPECIALLY "PARANOID ANDROID" , "CLIMBING UP THE WALLS" AND "LUCKY"!!!!!!!!!!!!

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sproutboy
01-18-2008

Rated +1 
This song is remarkably similar lyrically and in mood and tone to The Bottom Line by Depeche Mode from their Ultra album. Both songs about obsessive desire, both intense and somewhat creepy and sexy at the same time. Both have a first line about an animal (DM: "Like a cat dragged in from the rain..."), both mention a moth (DM: "Like a moth that only knows bright light, I will get burnt each and every night") and both have a similar repetitive lyrical structure to convey the obsession through simile - RH: "I am the..." DM: "Like a..." - followed by an affirmation of their love - RH: "You're all I need", DM: "I follow you". And although the tunes are different, there is a kind of similarity in the feel of the music. I'm sure Thom Yorke must be aware of the Depeche song, and consciously or subconsciously drew on it.

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OHcomely
01-17-2008

Rated 0 
First of all - what an incredibly gorgeous song.
To me, it's about accepting love for all it is good, or bad.

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