Radiohead – High and Dry

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  Song Meaning:Yeah, well I don't know how many of you are or were parents of a kid who just bought his Harley, and I'll tell you, back in '76, about 20 years before H&D hit, those words were the first conversation I had with him after he made his way home, a frikkin' mess, got cleaned up by my nurse girlfriend and went to bed heavily sedated.
  
  Next month he made it to Sturgis, then solo'd to LA. He's a dad now and he won't ride.

  Flag ckfavon March 16, 2013   Link

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  General Comment:Radiohead's one of my fav bands! I just discovered this site and am lovin it!

  Flag pinkcanvason January 14, 2013   Link

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  My Interpretation:It's a song about the will to find some kind of hope after losing yourself in life and being left "high and dry", which means, "stranded without help or hope of recovery" with the loss of, "the best thing that you ever had".

  Flag Pterodacylon January 14, 2013   Link

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  General Comment:this song makes me feel self conscious as fuck. thats about all i know.

  Flag mont293on November 23, 2012   Link

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  Song Meaning:The Bends appears to be an album about radiohead becoming famous quickly. The title song is about sudden fame, and the impact on life, and iron lung is about the song Creep that propelled them to fame. This song is about a person who achieves fame, self hatred, and envy. It uses the a similar metaphor of altitude / depth for fame. My assumption is that is about exactly the same topic as the bends - becoming famous and losing your friends. Radiohead has been left high and dry by their success.

  Flag dilaudidon November 12, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:I've read some comments, but this is what it means...The singer is in a relationship with someone who's career has taken off(the entire 1stt part before the chorus is referring to an Evil Knievel type motorcycle jumper as a analogy of the person's succcess) and now he sees that because of this person's fame and success, it's time for them to "move on" from him. So his plea is that he's the best thing they'll ever have and not to leave him "high and dry". It's very common in any business..someone gets rich and famous and it's time for them to move on to the bigger and better relationship.

  Flag Yepprdon September 01, 2012   Link

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  My Interpretation:In my opinion, I think this is about a boy, who is with someone who he loves and cares about, but takes them for granted, takes his feelings for granted, and treats them badly to make himself look cool... to impress the people who don't even care about him. and he's changing who he is to fit in with them. and in the beginning the person just wants them to stay, and not to leave them, because they love them and would do anything for them, but being hurt becomes too much. The tables turn, once he realizes what he's done... "Drying up in conversation
  You will be the one who cannot talk
  All your insides fall to pieces
  You just sit there wishing you could still make love" ... now he is speach-less and heartbroken cause he lost the one person who really cared for him, because he realized the people who he was trying to impress would probably not even care if he dropped off the face of the earth. and now he was left, "high and dry"
  he lost the best thing he had... and he's the only one to blame

  Flagged gabbivolp3on August 14, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:I love this song! I think that its about losing your self

  Flag wisheyon August 13, 2012   Link

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  My Interpretation:just my interpretation, but I feel like this song relates more to a failed relationship. you're with a person, and everything is going fine, but over time they just change, for whatever reason. maybe they think they're better than you (i.e. "kill yourself for recognition"). and you desperately don't want them to leave you high and dry. maybe I'm completely off base here but I'm pretty much going through a situation like that right now and this song is something i feel like I can relate to.

  Flag renee3946on July 06, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:It could be about that one flashy kid who always has to be cocky by showing off what he has. I see it all of the time. infact today I was at the stop light and a guy always has to rev up his engine and peel out. He cranked up the AC/DC. His car is old, he has long butt rocker hair, and I think this guy thinks he is still in the 80's back when he had his prime. He sees me walking because it's a small town and he has something to prove. Why does he have something to prove? It could be insecurity. so I believe the song could be about a guy who has something to prove and he took it to the far level of showing off, when being cool was not the real moment of time for that guy. It just was not him. So therefore, if it was not him, then it contradicted and he is now in a place to where he is retarted and now needing to be takin' care of and fed, and what not because of his bike accident. Those who he showed being "too cool" too are now the oens he is asking to be takin' care of from. It's so true in everyday life. It could be that big bully brother, and now years later he is calling to hit us up for money because he can't take care of himself.

  Flag approdison July 02, 2012   Link

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