Let me start off by saying that this song is among my top 3 of all time, if not my favorite song of all time. Radiohead has crafted a heartwrenching masterpiece of a song with almost-B-side "Black Star", and after over 100 listens in the past month [and many more before that], the song still carries an immense emotional weight with me.
"Black Star" appears to be a song about a failing relationship [by the end, the relationship has failed completely].
"...I get home from work, and you're still standing in your dressing gown,
Well, what am I to do?
I know all the things around your head and what they do to you.
What are we coming to?
What are we gonna do?..."
The first verse reflects Thom Yorke's realization that the first signs of the failing relationship are taking place. He plaintively asks "What are we coming to?", symbolizing a last attempt at reparation.
"Blame it on the black star,
Blame it on the falling sky.
Blame it on the satellite that beams me home."
The chorus shows Yorke's [and likely the woman as well]'s view on the situation, almost as if they want to avoid the situation at all costs, even though it's become inevitable.
"...The troubled words of a troubled mind, I try to understand what is eating you.
I try to stay awake, but it's been 58 hours since that I last slept with you.
What are we coming to?
I just don't know anymore..."
Yorke again comes through with a real emotion-twister of a verse. He is being torn apart at the seams because of this separation, and since the second to last line verifies that the relationship is not quite over yet, Yorke slams the point home with the hopelessly sung "I just don't know anymore".
The chorus is once again sung, leading into one of my top moments of all-time [concerning music] - the second to last verse is by far one of the strongest and most identifiable verses I have come across in ages, and the sadness in Yorke's voice when this second to last verse is sung really just levels me emotionally.
"...I get on the train and I just stand about, now that I don't think of you.
I keep falling over, I keep passing out,
When I see a face like you.
What am I coming to?
I'm gonna melt down."
Yorke bitingly shows the feeling of emptiness that comes with the end of a relationship [that was once good and had gone bad], and the change from "What are we coming to?" to "What am I coming to?" shows that once again, the song's narrator is single, alone. The last line in the song's lyrics [before the chorus and last "verse" that isn't on this site], "I'm gonna melt down..." sums up almost everything in the song...
...but it doesn't end there. After one powerful last chorus, the song goes into jam mode, with the final two lines, Yorke's sad yellings of "This is killing me", aptly ending the song on a beautiful, haunting note.
With that, I give you the absolutely fantastic "Black Star" by Radiohead.
Let me start off by saying that this song is among my top 3 of all time, if not my favorite song of all time. Radiohead has crafted a heartwrenching masterpiece of a song with almost-B-side "Black Star", and after over 100 listens in the past month [and many more before that], the song still carries an immense emotional weight with me.
"Black Star" appears to be a song about a failing relationship [by the end, the relationship has failed completely].
"...I get home from work, and you're still standing in your dressing gown, Well, what am I to do? I know all the things around your head and what they do to you. What are we coming to? What are we gonna do?..."
"Blame it on the black star, Blame it on the falling sky. Blame it on the satellite that beams me home."
The chorus shows Yorke's [and likely the woman as well]'s view on the situation, almost as if they want to avoid the situation at all costs, even though it's become inevitable.
"...The troubled words of a troubled mind, I try to understand what is eating you. I try to stay awake, but it's been 58 hours since that I last slept with you. What are we coming to? I just don't know anymore..."
Yorke again comes through with a real emotion-twister of a verse. He is being torn apart at the seams because of this separation, and since the second to last line verifies that the relationship is not quite over yet, Yorke slams the point home with the hopelessly sung "I just don't know anymore".
The chorus is once again sung, leading into one of my top moments of all-time [concerning music] - the second to last verse is by far one of the strongest and most identifiable verses I have come across in ages, and the sadness in Yorke's voice when this second to last verse is sung really just levels me emotionally.
"...I get on the train and I just stand about, now that I don't think of you. I keep falling over, I keep passing out, When I see a face like you. What am I coming to? I'm gonna melt down."
Yorke bitingly shows the feeling of emptiness that comes with the end of a relationship [that was once good and had gone bad], and the change from "What are we coming to?" to "What am I coming to?" shows that once again, the song's narrator is single, alone. The last line in the song's lyrics [before the chorus and last "verse" that isn't on this site], "I'm gonna melt down..." sums up almost everything in the song...
...but it doesn't end there. After one powerful last chorus, the song goes into jam mode, with the final two lines, Yorke's sad yellings of "This is killing me", aptly ending the song on a beautiful, haunting note.
With that, I give you the absolutely fantastic "Black Star" by Radiohead.
@InfraRecon there's no doubt that the last verse is beautiful
@InfraRecon there's no doubt that the last verse is beautiful