Lyrics for The Rip as interpreted by osbert

The Rip Lyrics
As she walks in the room
Scented and tall
Hesitating once more
And as I take on myself
And the bitterness I felt
I realise that love flows

Wild, white horses
They will take me away
And the tenderness I feel
Will send the dark underneath
Will I follow?

Through the glory of life
I will scatter on the floor
Disappointed and sore
And in my thoughts I have bled
For the riddles I've been fed
Another lie moves over

Wild, white horses
They will take me away
And the tenderness I feel
Will send the dark underneath
Will I follow?

Wild, white horses
They will take me away
And the tenderness I feel
Will send the dark underneath
Will I follow?

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jag1364
03-12-2008

Rated 0 
Great song! Some heavy despair up in there. Perhaps it's, "Wild, white horses" not "While, white horses".

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zatoichi
03-17-2008

Rated 0 
incredible song :)

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Anarchitect
03-20-2008

Rated +1 
The song's name used to be "Mystic", which may tie into the reference to Wiccan Mysteries on "Silence". Not to mention the horse imagery, which might be related to the animist beliefs of some Wiccans.

p.s. Does this sound like the sister song to Radiohead's "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" to anyone else?

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myzterons
03-21-2008

Rated 0 
Omg Anarchitect you fucking read my mind! That's what I've been saying to my friends all along, the arpeggiation is almost identical. With the difference that this song I like a lot more.
I love how the guitar work is far from flawless on its execution, it makes the song that much warmer.

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Anarchitect
03-23-2008

Rated +2 
Cool, nice to know others who see it too. Both songs (and albums) are tremendous works of art, in my opinion.

I'm increasingly convinced that the woman in the first verse is a romantic interest. Love would flow, but there are a mountain of obstacles in the way, including her own confusion and bitterness, and the riddles and lies that have bled her mind dry. What "riddles" could there be? Well, how about society's homophobic sophistry/rhetoric, for starters.

Furthermore, I see two options for what the "rip" of the title could mean:

1) Perhaps it simply refers to the act of the horses carrying her away from her troubles (i.e. tearing her away from despair). These aren't wild white horses for no reason, after all. White is often associated with goodness and purity; horses typically represent freedom, power, and independence.

2) The rip could also be a figurative fissure or tear: between a hesitating bitterness, and a love that flows; between the glory of life, and the riddles and lies; between the dark underneath, and the tenderness above.


Man, this album floors me the more I listen to it. It's like an old flame of mine has come back. I really ought to dive into "Dummy" and "Portishead" again.

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Wallamanage
04-20-2008

Rated 0 
I know it's a bit early, but does anyone know what chords they arpeggiate throughout. This is just crying out to be played on my guitar but I can't seem to work it out.

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peeje
04-25-2008

Rated 0 
I straight away thought of Radiohead too with this song, although i think it was the instrument that replaces the guitar sound that reminded me of 'All I Need'. Certainly In Rainbows was a big step closer to the Portishead sound.

I agree with much of the post above about the meaning. I wonder if the song title answers her question 'will i follow'? It sounds like as there is a rip, perhaps the wild white horses did take her away from the dark. But then why i ask the question? There must be some doubt. Perhaps its a question we're meant to ask ourselves - what happens to us when we feel that way?

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ws205
04-25-2008

Rated 0 
i was thinkin it sounded like 'like spinning plates' by radiohead...

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tmg
05-04-2008

Rated 0 
i think the song combines several references, some of which you all mentioned. my addition to them, i think the song is "ripped" from the rolling stones' "wild horses" song. the melody is similar and the tempo is faster. i think "the rip" contains the same context as the rolling stone song with her spin on it.

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szoreny
05-06-2008

Rated 0 
I don't know guys, - its pretty hard to sing about 'white horses carrying me away' and not expect some folks to think its a heroin reference. Sounds to me like this is the song of a recovering drug addict and the scented woman in the first verse is the singer herself, strong in recovery but still tempted by the exploits of the past.

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raisngrrl
05-08-2008

Rated 0 
i agree with the post above. i know that some people want to make the first verse out to be her love for another woman...but it's about herself. And i agree with szoreny that the song is about heroin. There are so many names for the drug, but most of them involve the word "white". I'm not sure about Beth's past, but this song reminds me of someone struggling with drugs. Until you've been there, you have no room to contradict this theory.

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higginst
05-21-2008

Rated 0 
wow. didnt even think about the heroin connection but you could be onto sumthing thr

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Cosmic Serpant
05-22-2008

Rated 0 
The rip ...reminds me of Rest In Peace.

...She is dying ....Through the glory of life I am scattered on the floor ...refers to her body and cells decomposing …returning to the earth.

...The wild white horse represents the purest of freedoms …release from the boundaries of the material world …escaping the dark underneath …witch is death
…will she follow (the light to some heavenly realm)?

… Lyrics aside …the song has that sad epic feel …like Radiohead’s Exit Music For a Film …witch in my estimation is an allusion to the death of both Romeo and Juliet …a sense of acceptance to the fate of one’s death.

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Anarchitect
05-26-2008

Rated 0 
Some comments:

1) "Wild Horses" is a nice catch! There's definitely a lot of resonance between it and "The Rip". However, while they share a melancholic mood, the Stones song emphasizes perseverance: the hope (if not the certainty) that you can ride out the storm when faced with life's trials. Here, Beth seems to have a gloomier attitude. Instead of toughing out the bad times, she turns instead to the white horses that promise escape. The question is whether this escape is illusory. The mere fact of having to ask "Will I follow?" leads me to believe she's not out of the woods yet. Perhaps she's worried she may wind up following the "dark" again that's only been brushed "underneath" the carpet.

http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=45029

2) I like the heroin reference. Quite a tantalizing possibility. I take most Portishead songs to be about relationship ills and societal malaise, but if "The Rip" concerns a struggle with drugs, I wonder how pervasive that theme might be in the rest of their work. After all, this is the same woman who sang, "Take a ride, take a shot now," back during her sour times. It doesn't look like those times are over yet, so it wouldn't surprise me if she's tempted by old coping mechanisms.

Anyway, just to clarify, I wasn't trying to make it sound like Beth was in some kind of doomed sapphic romance. Just idle speculation on my part. Feel free to disagree even if you haven't "been there." (Being a guy, I certainly haven't.)

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resuri
06-08-2008

Rated 0 
fyi. there's a radiohead cover of "the rip" on youtube.

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bent
06-10-2008

Rated 0 
I don't have the album so I don't know if it has a lyric sheet, but doesn't "centered and tall" make more sense?
Just a suggestion.

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pinkandblurry
06-11-2008

Rated 0 
"Wild, white horses"
Emin
"They will take me away"
Fmaj. Play Emin at away
"And the tenderness I feel"
Emin. At "tenderness" play Cmaj. At "I" play play B on the lower e string, and at feel play Amin
"Will send the dark underneath"
At "dark" play Bflatmaj. At "...neath" play Amin
"Will I follow?"
At "follow" play Gmaj

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pinkandblurry
06-11-2008

Rated 0 
So, chord progression is:

Emin, F, Emin, C, (B note), Amin, Bflatmaj, Amin, G.

just watch the cover by radiohead on youtube or Dead Air Space to see which position to play these chords on.

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Morningcloak
06-17-2008

Rated 0 
Holy shit!I love this song.I watched Radiohead cover it on dead air space.I have been a fan of Radiohead for a long time but i have never list.Iened to Portishead.I gues I will be from now on.

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Morningcloak
06-18-2008

Rated 0 
Now that I have listened to it several times I hear her say centered and tall.You know the times when you find yourself trying to build up the strength to face someone or something, you take a deep breath to center yourself and pull yourself up a little straighter,hence the line"centered and tall".The great thing about this song is it can represent several different situations depending on the particular listener.She could be refering to a long term battle with depression.Especially bipolor disorder.People can expirience extreme highs and lows.So even though she has this sense of unrelenting sadness she still has love inside of her ready to flow for the people she cares for.I agree with the reference to the white horses.White represents purity and peace.Horses are a symbol of strength, freedom and liberation.So she may be hoping that her lighter side(wild white horses)will take control and free her from her sadness,but she is still concernened that she will slip back into her depression.I personally feel that this song is about being in an emotionally abusive relationship.As she walks in the room centered and tall-she is preparing to make a decision as to wiether or not she should stay or leave this relationship,this is why she is hesitant.As I take on myself and the bitterness I felt I realise that love flows-she is thinking of how all that has went wrong for her during this relationship has made her feel disillusioned and bitter but she still has affection for this person and shes trying to let go of that bitter feeling.The chorus is her wanting to liberate herself from the feelings of anger and betrayal she has but she is unsure if she can resist the feelings of dissapointment and anguish to allow herself to forgive and move forward with this person.When your growing up you have been fed so much bull shit about love,romance and fairytale endings.But once you learn first hand that it was all bull shit it is a bitter pill to swallow.Emotional abuse is a terrible thing to have to endure especially when you love the person and you want them to love you back.This song could also represent leaving one bad relationship and trying your hand at a new one.Trying not to punish your new partner for the sins of the last one.But like I said this song can represent a medley of situations. I think everyones interpertation is great.I guess I'm just a blithering idiot that has spent to much time in an abusive relationship and that is why I take this beautifful song to mean what I think applies to me.Human nature< I guess.

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Wallamanage
06-19-2008

Rated 0 
Good tab for it now over at ultimate-guitar.com

Been playing it for months.

Oh, it's good...

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andysroom
06-20-2008

Rated +1 
Anarchitect, i think the meaning of the title 'the rip' is refuring to a nautical/surfing term. On any shore that is wave dominated, there is always a section with a strong current flowing out to sea. Water will travel along shore into this fast flowing channel, where the waves are a lot messier and disconcordant. This seaward flowing channel is known as the rip. The wild white horses are the waves pulling her out to sea.

Im not sure how this relates to the rest of the song though.

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russellspeight
06-21-2008

Rated 0 
Great song and album.

I listened to this today and came up with the exact same as andysroom.

The Rip = rip tide
White horses = a term for breaking waves.

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Novice51
06-21-2008

Rated 0 
ultimate-guitar.com is shutting down like most other tab places... anywhere else to get the tabs to The Rip?

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Novice51
06-21-2008

Rated 0 
oops... spoke too soon... found the tabs at:
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/p/portishead/the_rip_tab.htm

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