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Reckoner
Can't take it with you
Disavow the pleasure
You were not to blame for
Bittersweet distractors
Dare not speak his name
Did I cater to all you
All your needs?
Because we separate
It ripples our reflections
Because we separate
It ripples our reflections
Reckoner
Take it with you
Did I cater to all you
All your needs?
Can't take it with you
Disavow the pleasure
You were not to blame for
Bittersweet distractors
Dare not speak his name
Did I cater to all you
All your needs?
Because we separate
It ripples our reflections
Because we separate
It ripples our reflections
Reckoner
Take it with you
Did I cater to all you
All your needs?
Lyrics submitted by autrefois, edited by yusnotyus, Yazardshir, erinek
Track duration: 04:44
"Reckoner" as written by Thomas Edward/greenwood Yorke
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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"Because we separate It ripples our reflections": the way race is a separator still and our differences are not celebrated which blurs what the person actually looks like. or another versions states "because we separate like ripples on a blank shore" races dividing on differences.
"Dancing for your pleasure You were not to blame for
Bittersweet distractors Dare not speak his name" like answering to the black's pain from slavery and then misunderstanding/abuse/profiting from after the fact and through history really (philosiphoers using black teachers ideas). and 'his' name is money?
The beginning starts with the important message of never letting money control you. I think black culture strongly carries this message in much of their behavior and are being watered down by a white, money controlled power which influences the whole world & it's progress. not in a doomsday conspiracy theory kind of way but in a real way.
"Did I cater to all you/All your needs?" treating people that aren't money hungry like dogs to discredit them even though that's who speaks the truth.
Kinda like you can hear his anger in those words he feels it he's commiserating like he's using sarcasm as a nod to how black culture deals with the pain. like 'we'll deal, but is it done being about you? can it be about the needs of all of us races?' and 'man, I'm white and im pissed because you (world influencing white government?) told us over and over that blacks were less until we "civilized them" but really you can tell their honesty in how they communicate and all your stories fall through and are layers of lies.'
tying in with rainbows, if you don't deal with anger, it just refracts and shoots off in different directions.
just my opinion. if it matters to you, I'm a white female. I truly believe what I've stated about race for a million reasons.
The painted rainbow's changeful life is bending,
Now clearly drawn, dissolving now and faded,
And evermore the showers of dew descending!
Of human striving there's no symbol fuller:
Consider, and 'tis easy comprehending —
Life is not light, but the refracted color.
-Faust II
The color of Goehte's masterpiece has rippled through the medium of Radiohead with their album, In Rainbows. The character, Faust, observes that life is not about some great search for divine light, but rather, it is about the practice of living with the enlightenment of God at your back; thus allowing it to guide you forward through your organic life, and not lead you down a dead-end path of obsession. This is essentially what the phrase "In Rainbows" means. It is the recognition that the source light which governs our world cannot really be seen nor fully understood by human beings ("dare not speak its name"). Although we have moments of clarity and deep understanding, these moments are generally temporary and don't last very long. As Thom Yorke said of the album, "It very much explores the ideas of transience. It starts in one place and ends somewhere completely different." This is the transient nature of human consciousness being described by the character Faust in the above passage.
So who is The Reckoner?
At a concert in Glendale, Arizona, Thom Yorke stated:
"..it [the song, Reckoner] was born out of a very trippy dream, one of those ones you wake up from and go, 'aww man, I don't want to wake up from that, ever.'"
The Reckoner is the one who wakes you up when you wish to remain in your current perceived reality or dream-state. It is the transient way of true nature that we all need to reckon with and accept. For Faust, this means that he must live up to his bargain with Mephistopheles, who represents the Devil. Note that Mephistopheles is mentioned by-name in another song on the album: Videotape.
As the story goes, Faust becomes so obsessed with discovering the true nature of life, he summons Mephistopheles to help him in this quest. Mephistopheles agrees to serve Faust right up until the moment he reaches the height of human wisdom/happiness/fulfillment; at which point, he will claim Faust's soul. Faust agrees to the deal because he actually thinks it would be impossible for him to reach that height.
Ultimately, however, Faust does experience a moment of pure happiness, and so Mephistopheles attempts to claim his soul... that is, Faust is woken up from his happy slumber. Luckily, Faust is ultimately rescued by a group of angels who escort him to heaven before Mephistopheles can take him.
The theme of transience can also be seen in the previous song on the album, Faust Arp ("it's on again, off again, on again")... another obvious reference to the tale of Faust. The sound of the music, like Reckoner, is also heavy with percussion and transient in that it folds over on itself between piano & guitar portions.
The most accessible metaphor that I can see for this idea is how people tend to want to escape from reality (that's the "bittersweet distractor"), and would rather call in sick on their day of reckoning. They, unlike The Reckoner (or Buddha, if you prefer) cannot overcome the division between self and other (i.e. subject and object, which make for the transient/dualistic ways of human beings). Again, we have moments of clarity and understanding, but they don't last.. "like ripples on a blank shore".
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