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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RdeC
03-30-2005

Rated 0 
That's what they say about nearly every other song of theirs. :p

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skarredmunkey
04-05-2005

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I'm not sure if someone's already mentioned this or not... but has anyone noticed a possible metaphor to William Golding's Lord of the Flies? The entire song has references to it. The character "Piggy"; "When I am King..." (aka the ruling kid among the kids stranded on the island); I am sure the line "Off with his head man, off with his head man" was in the Lord of the Flies; and:

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

They killed and cooked a pig on the island in LOTF; there is a reference to yuppies which can be the kids and the seperate groups or networks that formed, and "God loves his children" is a sarcastic reference to the fact that these kids were stranded on an island where they slowly started killing one another, etc., etc.

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FakeplasticSN
04-07-2005

Rated 0 
The truth i have no clue what this song is about but thom said in an interview "this song is about the dullest F***** people in the world" so ill take his word for it and if you thikn about the only part i doubt it could relate to is part 3 (rain down)

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jonobrow
04-30-2005

Rated 0 
I think this song, despite it being in three separate segments, has a continous meaning. To me it is a monologue by God for the first 2 parts, then at the part where it goes "that's it sir your leaving", it is a monologue by an angel.

"Please could you stop the noise I'm trying to get some rest?
From all the unborn chicken voices in my head"
According to religion the universe is the thoughts of God inside his head, so this is about God being tired of all the noise us humans are making in his head.

"When I am king you will be first against the wall
With your opinion which is of no consequence at all"
This is about when God is king (ie: in heaven), you (the humans) will pay for everything you have done.

"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"
This is about people forgetting God in their lives, like what is happening in the western world now, and suddenly remembering it when they are about to die and hoping because they suddenly remember they will be saved by God.

"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"
This is an angel talking about how God has abandoned possibly either Earth/the universe or heaven, beause he is sick of what is happening. The last 2 lines are ironic because actually God hates his children.

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jonobrow
04-30-2005

Rated 0 
and also the song is called "Paranoid Android" because the robot in Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (forgot his name) has superior knowledge and understanding, yet is given menial talks to do. This relates to God because he obviously has more knowledge than anything else, yet he is often ignored by humans. "I may be paranoid but no android", uttered by God, shows how he isn't an android, something created in the image of a human, which related to a part in the Bible that states "God created man in his image,"

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DADGADfiend
05-18-2005

Rated 0 
wtf is this video about?

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lauradonaghy
05-19-2005

Rated 0 
It can be about so many things, but I take it to be all about Marvin from H2G2 and his frustration with living beings. Though I can't recall any point in the books where he says he'd like to just kill everyone ("When I am king you will be first against the wall"), believing he is better, that seems to be the sentiment.

And then he does. "The panic / The vomit" is humanity's reaction - "the crackle of pig skin / the dust and the screaming / the yuppies networking" is what he can see around him.
"God loves his children" - taunting that their god has done nothing to save them.

Brilliant song.

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soulmusic
06-01-2005

Rated 0 
Great song, I love the slow and fast parts, so many contrasts, thom yorke is a great guy. This is one of my favourite Radiohead songs, what more can I say? not many could be better!

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whapcapn
06-03-2005

Rated 0 
Well, for a start, I know that this is three songs in one. Thom said that it was originally intended to be three seperate songs, but then they thought of the Beatles songs, Happiness Is A Warm Gun, which was clearly more than one song jammed together, and decided to do it themselves.
Also, I do agree, this whole album seems to be packed with references to H2G2. "OK computer" is in fact a quote from it, as is "paranoid android." Subterannean Homesick Alien also seems to me to a certain extent inspired by Ford's predicament while marooned on Earth, although it may well not ahve been intended that way.

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frozen_in_fire
06-06-2005

Rated 0 
"I have a perverse sense of humour. It's a bit dark, that's all.... Paranoid Android, to me, was hilarious. People took it very seriously, but never mind."

From the great Thom-Meister himself.

...OK, don't worry, I'll never say Thom-Meister again.

Someone may have already posted that quote, but I am not about to read through all these.

"Paranoid Android" is, as most people know, from H2G2. As is, probably, "first against the wall". Also, incidentally, the phrase "OK Computer" is used quite a bit in H2G2. Both Radiohead and H2G2 are incredible.

Again, sorry if someone already made that point, but I'm not reading through all these. ...

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b_to8
07-02-2005

Rated 0 
what a heard is that this songs is about the devil and god
"Please could you stop the noise I'm trying to get some rest? that part is when the devil beign still an angel knew that he was goin to be the one against god, cause gad said so or something like that

"When I am king you will be first against the wall" think, if the devil wins the war againts god, god is gonna be the first one against the wall...

"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" we call him, devil, lucifer, or other names, but when he was an angel, the right hand of god, he has another name, i think it was "Gabriel" im not sure, anyway, that part talks about that....
i cant remember more of the meaning, but it was all about what im talking...
what do you think???

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iIsSmart
07-03-2005

Rated 0 
I think this song is about a guy who is fed up with everything and everyone, who is slowly going crazy and paranoid. Thus he is trying to grasp control of his life, and promises vengeance on those who have wronged him (the part where he imagines himself as king and has total control). The middle part is where he finally goes ballistic (where he gets angry at someone who can't remember his name). I can imagine him killing people who have pissed him off. Then the third part. The third part is momentary peace and calm before the guy goes insane again, which happens at the end of the song. But that's entirely my opinion and my spin on the song, so please don't attack me in your posts.

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iIsSmart
07-03-2005

Rated 0 
Also, I'd like to add that I love Radiohead, I love OK Computer and I think this is their best song ever. Creep is definitely not their best song.

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Skam33
07-20-2005

Rated 0 
He seems to be sceptically observing the cannabalistic, uncivilised nature of Media and Business people (yuppies, Gucci piggies) and drawing similarities with Lord Of The Flies. He despises them for a number of reasons, they don't care, don't remember his name, their "ambition makes [them] look pretty ugly". As the song builds, his imagination descends into a warped hallucination "crackle of pigskin", "panic, vomit". He then sarcastically adds "God loves his children", as if anyone could love the things these soulless art destroyers have done. I assume this because I know Thom wa a fan of the Comedian Bill Hicks, as am I, and any other fan will know Bill's opinions an people in marketing and advertising. As for the rain fall down on me, i can only guess it refers to a desire for something 'real', and refreshing. Also, the "unborn chicken voices in my head"? Could be a reference to the saying "Don't count your chickens before..."etc. As for the "You'll be the first against the wall," it means putting someone in a firing line, to be killed by shooting. I assume this is a threat to those who don't appreciate art and beauty, only see it as a means to make money.

I might be miles off, but I'm fairly sure of this as being coherent.

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freeyourmind
08-15-2005

Rated 0 
I once read an interview where Thom said it was about chaos - I like that take on it (I only accept the band's explanations when I like them :D), only that I connect it to the confused chaos of depression, especially considering the song's title, which hints at Marvin the Paranoid Android, who, as we know, was constantly depressed.

Being quite depressed for the last few years it's a very familiar sensation to me when your mind's stretching out in every direction trying to find something to hold on to ("unborn chicken voices in my head"), often falling into hysterics ("off with his head").

I take the "rain down" part as a fantasy of finding a solution, and the last bit as a kind of sadly paranoidic acceptance of the situation. A cynical kind of wistfullness. I'm hoping I'm not using too many adjectives here.

Astonishingly, this song doesn't get me down, probably because it has an evident self of humour about it, as its title would hint, coming from one of the funniest books ever written.

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Mashleh
08-21-2005

Rated 0 
i love this song... enough said?

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Kleiny
08-30-2005

Rated 0 
Okay, other opinions notwithstanding, you could nail this entire song to Marvin from HHGTG as being a part of his mental state. It's his entire life.

Marvin's demise comes during a rainstorm on a miserable planet whilst reading the last message from God, which was: We Apologise For The Inconvenience.

Marvin's opinion of the corporation that built him was that when the revolution came, they would be first against the wall.

In HHGTG there is a breed of pig who can talk and whose sole ambition is to be eaten.

Marvin, being depressed, never thinks much of other people's opinions, most specifically because he's smarter than everyone else...he has the brain the size of a planet.

But I think it's the 'rain down' bit that clinches it, or maybe it's a complete coincidence that they have described Marvin's demise, with the last line being, 'God loves his children.'

From Douglas Adams' pen, Marvin is a sadly comedic creature who is born depressed, lives for about 40 billion years (30 million of which are spent parking cars), and only moments before he dies he has his only positive thought.

That's Adams' part. Radiohead have seen Marvin as the perfect metaphor for trying to live the quiet life, just get along, but is constantly placed up against life and all of it's messiness.

Anyway, that's my take.

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Kleiny
08-30-2005

Rated 0 
Just as an aside, for anyone who is interested, I've read about 15 posts that say this song is just a random bunch of lyrics. Might I suggest this kind of 'rationale' is lazy.

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xxxpnkrokxxx
08-31-2005

Rated 0 
i dont think it was inspired by hitchhikers guide to the galaxy although it may hav some similarities...it's like alot of songs are similar to books..yu don't see every1 saying it's inspired by them.

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Kleiny
09-01-2005

Rated 0 
Ordinarily xxxpnkrokxxx I would agree. Were it not for the name of the song and the lyrics you'd have a point. The phrase 'paranoid android' is not utilitarian, i.e., unlike 'clear blue sky' or 'road kill'. If paranoid android was in the general lexicon, you would really have something.

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Kleiny
09-01-2005

Rated 0 
I don't think Radioheads song titles are that cryptic, although their obvious fondness for all things Zeppelin would contradict that.

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Thunderbolt
09-07-2005

Rated 0 
In my opinion, the earlier post on Lord of the Flies is an interesting idea. I personally doubt that's the actual meaning, but the parallels are undeniable.

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utalkinto0me
10-14-2005

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The lyrics mainly describe in my opinion a mentality of frustration with their fellow humans. He feels different and feels both empowered and isolated by his lonely mindset, no matter if his loneliness is physical or not. He feels he is a sense of god almost, he has the power to kill, the power to make decisions for others. He has some animosity towards life, he feels he has been left out of his birth right almost, that others do not see this power he has, going through their daily lives they are self absorbed and throughout it I believe even though he is referencing talking to others, he is also talking to himself. “with your opinion which is of no consequence” I feel that since he had crossed the line mentally at that point, and thought or did unsuitable acts in society, that from here on out his opinion no longer mattered either, it was going to continue. I believe the last lines are ironic, because he is almost asking for gods touch and help with the rain request, however he is also making fun of God for making these creatures he hates and for making him, it seems that one of those he must not love.

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NickBush24
12-07-2005

Rated 0 
Not sure if this has been asked before, but if you listen very closely, you can hear the computer voice that's used in the song Fitter Happier. What is it saying?

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apotheosize!
12-12-2005

Rated 0 
i believe i read somewhere that when thom yorke was out one night he saw this woman with a gucci purse and she struck him as pathetic. so "kicking squealing gucci little piggy."
i love the whole song. i love how you can break it into distinct parts. the end though, in the end when he sings "that's it sir you're leaving..." that's almost haunting.

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