Lyrics for Paranoid Android as interpreted by piesupreme

Paranoid Android Lyrics
Please could you stop the noise, I'm trying to get some rest
From all the unborn chicken voices in my head
What's that, what's that?

When I am king you will be first against the wall
With your opinion which is of no consequence at all
What's that, what's that?

Ambition makes you look pretty ugly
Kicking, squealing, Gucci little piggy

You don't remember, you don't remember
Why don't you remember my name?
Off with his head, man, off with his head, man
Why don't you remember my name?
I guess he does

Rain down, rain down, come on rain down on me
From a great height, from a great height, height
Rain down, rain down, come on rain down on me
From a great height, from a great height, height

That's it sir, you're leaving
The crackle of pig skin
The dust and the screaming
The yuppies networking
The panic, the vomit
The panic, the vomit
God loves his children
God loves his children, yeah

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clovissexplosion
07-28-2009

Rated 0 
this is probably been said, but heres how i view it
this first part of the song, the main character is obviously paranoid and is very angry(When I am king you will be first against the wall).when he says "Ambition makes you look pretty ugly" i view the character talking to himself telling himself how worthless he is. Then he bursts, saying to everyone, why dont you remember my name! Then i picture the rest like this. Some guys at something with people he knows, and after his melt down people say they remember his name "i guess he does" and he leaves ashamed then feels the world on his shoulders "rain down on me" And the ending "god loves his children" i think is like him reassuring himself everythings okay because god loves everyone including him. Like telling yourself that everything has a meaning


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xlillith
06-27-2009

Rated 0 
It's like he is angry at the world and is thinking about people who piss him off. and possible revenge.
Kind of makes me want to laugh, but in a good way. O.O



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degree7
06-13-2009

Rated 0 
When they wrote this song, Radiohead wrote it as a joke, and it is two seperate songs that seperate band members wrote, joined together. It probably is something to do with Marvin, the Paranoid Android from Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. But when I listen to it, it reminds me of a paranoid king or something.

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PheonixSwazz
05-22-2009

Rated 0 
This song is actually about an experience Thom Yorke had in LA. He went to some bar, and everyone was high on Coke, and he was frightened by a woman who became violent after someone spilled a drink on her. Its were he got the inspiration for "kicking screaming gucci little piggy"

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heehee4321
04-15-2009

Rated 0 
Reminds me of a crazy guy who goes and shoots people at his school

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nimrxd
04-14-2009

Rated 0 
i once heard that thom changed the lyrics,
the part "god loves his children" was actually supposed to be
"god loves his children, that's why he kills them"

i love this song. it's just.... it creates a special feeling like no other song. it's not my fav song but i guess i couldn't live any longer without playing the intro on the guitar.

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musemaniac
01-23-2009

Rated 0 
According to Yorke, this song is about how life has become "utter fucking chaos".

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Paranoid Reckoner
01-08-2009

Rated 0 
I'm a big fan of interpreting your own meaning through music. When i listened to this song I immediately thought of paranoid android meaning referring to a person who is scared of doing what they want because of external influences....for me- my parents. "Please can you stop the noise" meaning stop all the yelling and correcting me "Im trying to get some rest" I have enough shit to worry about in my life without worrying about pleasing your every demand....thus all the "voices in my head." The second verse can mean once I have my own life I will make sure I don't look back in gratitude at all for all the shit you put me through. I dont know I was going through some shit with the folks and when i went in the car i heard this song and It made sense this way. Tell me what you guys think.

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Bridgyflies
01-06-2009

Rated 0 
Such a great song..

As a female I like to apply "When I am Queen you will be first against the wall.." !

Brilliant song, I feel tingles when the "rain down" portion plays..

xxx

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DrParanoidAndroid
01-05-2009

Rated 0 
gotta love the sarcastic 'Yeah' at the end :P

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alangolding25
12-16-2008

Rated +1 
i dont think there is any definitive meaning in this song, more of a collection of feelings and thoughts.

"Ambition makes you look pretty ugly
Kicking, squealing, Gucci little piggy"

i think refers to clubgoers,yuppies and general people who hide from reality behind materialstic , self possession, self status lifestyles.

"Rain down, rain down, come on rain down on me
From a great height, from a great height, height
Rain down, rain down, come on rain down on me
From a great height, from a great height, height "

someone who has led an un human life , hiding from reality, living behind shadows, but finally comes to realize what he has become and wants the rain from above to wash his sins away and cleanse his spirit

"When I am king you will be first against the wall
With your opinion which is of no consequence at all
What's that, what's that?"

maybe refers to people who have put him down through life and told him he wasn going to be anything and he wasn going to succeed

On the other hand thats only what i think, what i relate to. I think different people will find different meanings and somewhat personally relate to the lyrics and so come the conlusion on what they think the lyrics mean.
Really interesting though looking at other peoples analogies.

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RetroUltraModern
11-14-2008

Rated 0 
This song oozes anger, frustration and profound sadness about the atrocities committed against animals, whether it be humans treating animals like machines to produce eggs, food and meat, using animal skins, the use of animals to test products, and the use of animals for scientific experiments. Thom Yorke is a vegan. He cares about animals. This song is clearly an expression of this.

The first part of the song describes someone who is haunted by the spirits of billions of unborn chickens. Yorke is indirectly referring to the fact that humans eat chicken eggs, preventing the birds from being born. When he asks "What's there?" he is probably being haunted by other animal images or sounds that he does not recognize. "The crackle of pig skin, the dust and the screaming" refers to animal testing. I have seen horrific video online of people using a blow torch to scorch a live pig's skin off in the name of science. Look it up online. You can hear similar sounds to the pig's helpless squeals during the instrumental at the end of the song, after the line "God loves his children, yeah." That line is obviously sarcastic. If god loved his children, he/she would not let the cruel abuse of animals persist. Another take on that line is why would god love people when they do these things to animals?

The references to God are implying that people play God when they eat, abuse, torture, and generally disregard animals (who are also God's children). People dominate other animals because religion teaches people to feel superior to other creatures. That is why the original line was "God loves his children, that's why he kills them."

If he were king he would execute a person who ambitiously tries to elevate himself above animals and using animals to make money, should be executed. Yorke chose to refer to Gucci because their products are usually made of leather and they are considered status symbols that ambitious, wealthy, yuppie types would buy. With this in mind, their products make you look ugly. The yuppie's opinion is of no consequence because he disregards the opinions of animals who object to the way humans treat them. The part that sounds like a dirge, with the lyrics "Rain down on me" may be the yuppie asking god for forgiveness for the sins committed against animals. Of course, just asking god to forgive you does not make things right. When he says "That's it sir, you're leaving?" he is astonished that someone can witness the abuse and just get up and walk away like nothing happened. People are self-absorbed, only looking to get ahead and ignoring the affect their lifestyles have on the world around them. People who ignore the way animals are treated just dont get this song, but it has always been crystal clear to me.

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loubylouxx
10-21-2008

Rated 0 
The bit in this song that gets to me most is

Please could you stop the noise, I'm trying to get some rest
From all the unborn chicken voices in my head
What's that, what's that?
When I am king you will be first against the wall
With your opinion which is of no consequence at all
What's that, what's that?
I hum those lines in my head everytime the inane babble I hear at school starts to get to me, and it just makes me feel better, or at least I can imagine my classmates up against a wall.

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1 Reply
sjtwillow
10-14-2008

Rated +1 
to me it sounds inspired by Charles Whitman, the sniper affected by a brain tumor.

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Brian22
10-01-2008

Rated 0 
It says on wikipedia the lyrics before they recorded the song were "god loves his children, thats why he kills them". If that helps at all

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sorich_sopretty
10-01-2008

Rated 0 
the guitars in this song are hypnotizing

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RetroUltraModern
09-22-2008

Rated 0 
While there are references to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I believe this song and the album Okay Computer have a strong anti-cruelty to animals theme. Throughout the album, there is an undertone of outrage at the atrocities committed by humans against other animals. Lines like "stop the noise I'm trying to get some rest from all the unborn chicken voices in my head", "kicking, squealing Gucci little piggy", and "the crackle of pigskin" in Paranoind Android all refer to animal testing and factory farming. At the end of Paranoid Android, during the final gut-wrenching guitar part, you can hear in the background what sounds like the squeals of a helpless pig being tortured, probably being burnt alive for a "scientific experiment." Other songs on the album refer to "a cat tied to stick" and "a pig in a cage on antibiotics"(Fitter Happier), as well as "it's just business - cattle prods and the IMF" (Electioneering), and the killing of spiders and insects (Fitter Happier and Let Down) - which further make a case against the horrific acts of torture and cruelty, and basic disregard for the lives of non-human animals our society condones in the name of science and big business.

Thom Yorke of Radiohead is a Vegan. Kudos to him and the whole band for so artfully expressing anger at the disgusting things people do to other species. If you are moved by this song, please do some research to learn about the sadistic and violent practices of animal testing and factory farming.

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carrot rope jive
09-12-2008

Rated +1 
all of this over-analyzing is making me want to panic and vomit

this song is structured exactly like Happiness Is A Warm Gun. has anyone else recognized that?

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carrot rope jive
09-12-2008

Rated 0 
all of this over-analyzing is making me want to panic and vomit

this song is structured exactly like Happiness Is A Warm Gun. has anyone else recognized that?

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im_a_pirate
09-11-2008

Rated 0 
okay, first off this song doesn't seem like it's supposed to make much sense. But if it actually does, then it has something to do with society today. And, not much to do with Radiohead, but still sort of relevant, since many people compare it to Bohemian Rhapsody, Freddie Mercury had said in an interview years ago, that he wrote Bohemian Rhapsody without knowing what it was about, and by trying to pick it apart and learn it's meaning, it takes away the mystery surrounding the song. I think the same about this song. Don't try and pick it apart.

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Drakehyman09
08-08-2008

Rated 0 
First of all...i hate it when your average idiot gets on a website like this and says "I THINK THIS SONG HAS TO DO WITH A GUY, AND A RELATIONSHIP HE IS IN, AND A GIRL, AND blah blah blah...we've seen it thousands of times..."

other than that...the first time i listened to this song, the first word that came to my mind was "power". from the time you first hear the jutting guitar riff before the solo (and before Thom sings "ambition makes you...), I am blown away by the sheer power of this song, not in the "aww it's so moving", but i mean, literally, power.
Energy, movement, alacrity, insanity, control...
everything about this song, though it may have (along with the rest of OK Computer) driven Thom mad, this song has something i think other songs haven't been able to touch upon yet.

In a way, this song defines Radiohead, at least in their current state today. From OK Computer on, you never hear Radiohead sounding like they did when they were head-bopping to High & Dry, but rather, you feel their deep, sometimes disturbing, view of the world that really does, in several ways, make them seem like Paranoid Androids.

I cannot find anything optimistic or openly cheerful (not saying it doesn't make me happy, for it does) about Kid A, Amnesiac, HTTT, or In Rainbows)

I think this song changed Radiohead for good, but of course Thom would tell you it was the OK Computer tour that changed them...but i think it all began in this song.

Great, timeless song. classic even.

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marsz_g
08-03-2008

Rated 0 
ITS TOO DAMN GOOOOOOOOOODD.
i love iiiiiiiit

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Joelbeets
07-31-2008

Rated 0 
Just became aware of the original lyrics, thanks cahoopuk. "That's why he kills them," though certainly controversial, explains that god loves us enough to save us from this place.

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Joelbeets
07-31-2008

Rated 0 
I imagined the words coming from me, and my meaning goes like this:

At first, the speaker is in turmoil because he has begun to realize the cacophony of wrong that the human race is causing. Nearly everything seems exactly backwards and subsequently becomes a reminder of what needs to change. With each realization of how something SHOULD, he becomes aware that there are countless more waiting to hatch. Although the realizations weigh heavily on him, he strains to hear inside the shell in the hopes that he can correct it before it's too late. The character would need an incredible amount of influence to "fix" the problem, but sees this as his most important goal...becoming king would give him this power.
Having someone against the wall simply means that they have to face you. Your opinion doesn't matter, you have to listen to me. I imagine that during the subsequent conversation, the "king" would ask the people about themselves, hoping that they might realize on their own the extent to which they are preoccupied with objectives that only hurt their person - i.e. ambition for financial success or acquiring material things or vanity.
He notes that you don't seem to give a damn about a person until they try to hurt you (cut off your head)...or more importantly, do hurt you. After you've been hurt, you dwell on your sorrow and beg for sympathy from everyone...worst of all you hold onto the anger until it controls you.
He asks the man above to reign down on him. Help him to gain the trust of everyone he wants to help and to have the type of power that only Jesus and maybe a few others such as George W. Bush (joke. ha?) have ever achieved.
At the end are a few examples, such as the attraction to physically violent activities (American football) the unpleasant noise everywhere and the filth and stench we produce and that carelessly destroys the beauty of our earth.
Words of hope at the end. God does love his children and his love has the power to fix things.

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misterinteger
07-19-2008

Rated 0 
I definitely agree that this song is about schizophrenia. The speaker, whoever he is, is schizophrenic, and is talking to the same listener throughout. The voices in his head fit, of course. He talks about how he will be king, and how when he is, everyone will pay. "When I am king you will be first against the wall".
Possible the android portion of the title is how the schizophrenic speaker sees himself, as an android?
But I think "God loves his children" is meant to exclude the android, speaker, I character. An android, after all, is not a child of god, but a creation of mankind, an artifice. Reference my favorite book, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. :)
As for the yuppies line, I think we can ascribe it to schizophrenic ramblings of a conspiracy...

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