Lyrics for Karma Police as interpreted by piesupreme

Karma Police Lyrics
Karma Police
Arrest this man
He talks in maths
He buzzes like a fridge
He's like a detuned radio

Karma Police
Arrest this girl
Her Hitler hairdo
Is making me feel ill
And we have crashed her party

This is what you'll get
This is what you'll get
This is what you'll get
When you mess with us

Karma Police
I've given all I can
It's not enough
I've given all I can
But we're still on the payroll

This is what you'll get
This is what you'll get
This is what you'll get
When you mess with us

For a minute there
I lost myself
I lost myself

Phew, for a minute there
I lost myself
I lost myself

For a minute there
I lost myself
I lost myself

Phew, for a minute there
I lost myself
I lost myself

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  • 242 Comments
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kaisute
05-30-2002

Rated +1 
They are mad at the guy who speaks in maths 'cause they are outsiders and they are mad at the woman 'cause she follows trends (hitler hairdo)
They want Karma to catch up with them and they hold angry feelings for them, but this in turn brings karma back to themselves cause they're holding grudges. "I've given all I can, it's not enough..." He realized this too late when he said "for a minute there I lost myself" To me the song seems to illustrate how Karma comes back to us all, even for those short moments when we lose our cool.

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JulieBeBe
05-30-2002

Rated 0 
I gave up trying to understand RaDIOHead lyrics for what they were written, instead i just appreciate them through my own interpretation...i think one magical trait of RaDIOHead's songs is that one verse can have a thousand meanings. That's the beauty of it, folks... keep listening :-D
<3Julie *mwaz

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HoeDickTaketr
05-30-2002

Rated 0 
http://hometown.aol.com/jupiterlordjovei/ , you're right about it meaning lots of ppossibilities, I think an artis like this, likes to gain of hi sown intelligence, just by all his psychic awareness, that his songs get people to think aboyut. THat's how a star can say, xontinue to tshine on stage, having reaon for the crowd, ans the crowds' support continuing to aspire the art ist

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turtonhot
05-31-2002

Rated 0 
sausages smell like pigs

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johnboyeee
06-16-2002

Rated 0 
Its about being at at a party and not knowing anone. I read Thom talking about it somewhere but i cant remember where. That idea combined with the one of 'Karma,' is the overall theme of this one. Top song too.


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vagrant58
07-03-2002

Rated 0 
Dear Lord the song isn't that tough to comprehend. It's about him wanting to kill people that he hates because they are inherent jerks. What do you get from the Karma Police? You get killed.

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misschelsealynn
07-09-2002

Rated 0 
yea.. it's cool & all to interpret it as you like but what thom yorke (and uh not the songmeanings.net user... by the way, sweet name buddy) meant (according to him, mind you) was a) the expression 'karma police' was just a joke around the band and it turned into a song... b) the 'lost myself' part was exactly what LOSTCHILD said, the carbon monoxide thing... and c) it has nothing to do with not understanding your math teacher, idiot.

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KoRnKiTTie606
07-11-2002

Rated 0 
This has to be one of the best radiohead songs. ever.

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hobo_superstar
07-18-2002

Rated 0 
i remember was it in the meeting people is easy doc? Thom mentioned that the lyric " buzzs like a fridge he li8ke a detuned radio " was inspired by listeing to the alternative music stations on the radio said the music sounded like the buzzing of a fridge. I agree with what most have said about this song. being hateful towards people who abuse you. I f you the watch the video where the car chases the guy down the road it could be about standing up to people, bullies and assholes in general, turning their insecurites resentment against them the lighting the of the trial of petrol coming from the car. ;)

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icy40oz
07-20-2002

Rated 0 
have you seen the vidoe for this one? it definitely speaks of karma. an unseen driver is chasing a pedestrian down a dark road. just when it seems the car will overtake the man, he tosses a match into the car's own leaking fuel and kills his pursuer.

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ruben
07-29-2002

Rated 0 
Kid Rock Is GAY !!!!!!!!!!!

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subtool666
08-13-2002

Rated 0 
this raadiohead song is one of the most lyrical of all there songs very good song...

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Luvlie53
08-22-2002

Rated 0 
i relate this song to myself in the way that i find when i cut up on someone else... it's usually a result from my own insecurity. but when i hold my tongue it gives me a sense of maturity and self

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treestump
09-09-2002

Rated 0 
misschelsealynn: blow me, bitch

have a nice day.

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anni
09-22-2002

Rated 0 
beautiful song

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punk_rocker_
10-17-2002

Rated 0 
this is one of the songs with which i became aquainted with radiohead. i absolutely love this song. the piano in the part where he says "this is what you get" is beautiful. THIS is good music. THANK YOU RADIOHEAD!

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acdcfan672
03-04-2003

Rated 0 
I think this song is about how people have been getting in trouble for the stupidest things...it sorta relates to prison system by system of a down. It complaining over how society can tear you to shreds over nothing

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carms
03-07-2003

Rated 0 
I'm not going to write about how much this song means to me, because I'd be writing for days.. I'm just telling you all that you need to hear the string instrumental version. It's amazing.

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streetspirit
03-11-2003

Rated 0 
i have a story to tell.. carlos, cory, and i were sitting in my room on a wednesday afternoon.. and i put some radiohead in.. and i decided to put it on karma police.. and i sang to it.. carlos heard me singing.. at first he thought... "i think its just the stereo drowning his voice out making his voice sound good".. but he turned it down... and i kept going.. he said... sometimes you cant tell the difference.. so from that moment on.. ive been more confident in my singing ability.. and im now most likely going to be the new lead singer replacing the other in his band.. thats kind of similar to radiohead.

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glassjaw987
03-23-2003

Rated 0 
This song might be about how certain people apply stereotypes to others and hate others due to race or how they look. This is a beautiful song. The way the piano and guitar blend is amazing.

XXX

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erogers
04-04-2003

Rated 0 
my friend had suggested it may be stephen hawkins thom is refering to ... "talks in math" "buzzes like a fridge" think about it the next song is fitter happy and guess who that sounds like...

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erogers
04-04-2003

Rated 0 
last comment must be said in an english accent because i kept imagining all of the other comments to be said in an american accent probably due to the "emo" content.

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BeautifulSound
04-09-2003

Rated +1 
To me, this song is about how police men can get to agressive when they lay their sextoms down to make love to them. Its kind of sad if you read it through a few times. 8( Penis.

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Dreamlandscape
04-16-2003

Rated 0 
I don't know what this song was meant to be about, but when i first hear it I thought about a cold world (maybe symbolic), where control was everything, and where the little person didn't had much chance against Them...a little bitter; "This is what you get when you mess with us".
Like Big Brother, maybe.

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flagro ergo sum
04-23-2003

Rated 0 
this song is examining the "white man's burden" of the exploration of the new world, and how it applies today - how people put their own concerns over everyone else's, and feel utterly justified in the most ignorant of presumptions. the speaker is acting as god through an internal monologue, and "doing all he can" by condemning those around him because he can't understand them ("talks in maths") or misinterprets them ("hitler hairdo"). the end is ambiguous - either the speaker started paying so much attention to other people that they started to feel crowded out, or maybe they're clinging to their identity and are starled by the fact that they were starting to be tolerant and see things through other peoples' eyes.

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