Let me first say that I think Radiohead is allowing a lot of room for interpretation with 'Motion Picture Soundtrack,' and while some may have conflicting interpretations of the song, it's my belief that whatever you're moved to believe that it's about is the right interpretation.
Now on to my thoughts on the song.
This is a person who is in grief over a love that has ended, a relationship which is over. He (I'll just assume that the person speaking is a man) is sitting at home, and next to him is a glass of wine and a bottle of sleeping pills - a risky combination. Have you ever felt the heartache that a lost love brings? Don't we all try to fill that void with something - alcohol, drugs, pornography, sad movies?
"I think you're crazy...maybe"
Looking over at her picture he tells her, "you're crazy for leaving me. I love you more than anyone else could. Maybe, though, I'm just crazy for loving you. Maybe I'm the crazy one."
The second verse is of him talking to himself. "You fool. Stop writing letters to her. You know she doesn't read them. You're attempts at winning her love back will not work. It's not like the movies where the right words will make her love you again. It's over."
Again, "you're crazy for leaving me... but then again maybe I'm the crazy one."
"I will see you in the next life."
He takes all of the pills. Drinks the last bit of wine, and falls asleep.
The long silence in the song is his dying.
The bright sound that crescendos to the end is when he finds his love again. It's his next life.
Now let me hit on the third verse, which was recorded in an early version of the song.
"Beautiful angel, pulled apart at birth
limbless and helpless, I can't even recognize you."
This world corrupted this girl. Even from the time she was born her innocence and perfection was taken away from her. Maybe by bad parents. Maybe by people who misplaced her trust. Nevertheless, she lost the two feet which she could stand on. She trusts nothing. Not even this person that loves her the most. "I can't even recognize you," he says. "You've become so detached from me, I don't even know you."
Overall, I may be wrong. Thom may not at all have had any of the ideas that I laid down, but this is what 'Motion Picture Soundtrack' means to me. It's the REAL motion picture soundtrack. It's the song to losing a love.
Let me first say that I think Radiohead is allowing a lot of room for interpretation with 'Motion Picture Soundtrack,' and while some may have conflicting interpretations of the song, it's my belief that whatever you're moved to believe that it's about is the right interpretation.
Now on to my thoughts on the song.
This is a person who is in grief over a love that has ended, a relationship which is over. He (I'll just assume that the person speaking is a man) is sitting at home, and next to him is a glass of wine and a bottle of sleeping pills - a risky combination. Have you ever felt the heartache that a lost love brings? Don't we all try to fill that void with something - alcohol, drugs, pornography, sad movies?
"I think you're crazy...maybe" Looking over at her picture he tells her, "you're crazy for leaving me. I love you more than anyone else could. Maybe, though, I'm just crazy for loving you. Maybe I'm the crazy one."
The second verse is of him talking to himself. "You fool. Stop writing letters to her. You know she doesn't read them. You're attempts at winning her love back will not work. It's not like the movies where the right words will make her love you again. It's over."
Again, "you're crazy for leaving me... but then again maybe I'm the crazy one."
"I will see you in the next life." He takes all of the pills. Drinks the last bit of wine, and falls asleep.
The long silence in the song is his dying.
The bright sound that crescendos to the end is when he finds his love again. It's his next life.
Now let me hit on the third verse, which was recorded in an early version of the song.
"Beautiful angel, pulled apart at birth limbless and helpless, I can't even recognize you."
This world corrupted this girl. Even from the time she was born her innocence and perfection was taken away from her. Maybe by bad parents. Maybe by people who misplaced her trust. Nevertheless, she lost the two feet which she could stand on. She trusts nothing. Not even this person that loves her the most. "I can't even recognize you," he says. "You've become so detached from me, I don't even know you."
Overall, I may be wrong. Thom may not at all have had any of the ideas that I laid down, but this is what 'Motion Picture Soundtrack' means to me. It's the REAL motion picture soundtrack. It's the song to losing a love.