First off, I'd like to say that, for as much freedom of interpretation is allowed for the listener, I still believe that any good artist/singer-songwriter can effectively manage to convey a lucid argument, as well as affecting emotions, through well-written composition. While I acknowledge that no analysis of lyrics, or art in general, can be purely objective it still bugs me when I see interpretations of songs that stretch beyond any indications found within the lyrics themselves. In my opinion, most good songs have concrete meanings, and while the listener often must be flexible in formulating her or his understanding of the song, this is simply the listener's attempt at relating with the artist. What the artist wrote, on the other hand, is not so flexible.
My spiel aside, Thom Yorke has presented us with some rather keenly distressing metaphors, but nonetheless they can be analyzed with greater objectivity than what I've seen so far on this page. Starting with the aching refrain, "Just don't leave," we can assume that the poetic voice of the song is already with someone as opposed to waiting for someone. Moving back to the first verse we gather from the personal sacrifice ("sacrifice my beliefs), commitment ("have your babies") and humiliation ("dress like your niece") she or he is willing to endure that the poetic voice has strong feelings of attachment to this particular person.
Attachment, and more specifically the loss of one's identity, dignity and autonomy out of fear of ending a relationship, in my opinion are the key themes of this song. Thom reminds us when he writes "I'm not living, I'm just killing time" that when we stay with someone solely because we're too afraid of not having her or him in our lives, we sacrifice our hopes and dreams, which couldn't be any more true once you have someone's children and act as their foot-washing servant. And what would anyone do all of this for? For the true love that we dream of as kids sucking on lollipops? You can't make true love happen with everyone as Thom suggests pessimistically in his ironical and sobering statement, "True love waits in haunted attics." Sometimes we just need to end the relationship and move on, lest we should spend the rest of our lives in haunted attics waking up next to someone with a "crazy kitten" smile.
It's been 4 years since you posted this but this is absolutely what I get from reading the lyrics and the way you interpret it seems to ring very true. I once believed that artists would leave a song open for interpretation kind of like a painting but there is a story behind it whether or not the artist wants to really explain the story or not is up for grabs. Either way I was looking for any "meaning" to these lyrics because I am in that same predicament... I'm dating this girl who i haven't seen in years. We...
It's been 4 years since you posted this but this is absolutely what I get from reading the lyrics and the way you interpret it seems to ring very true. I once believed that artists would leave a song open for interpretation kind of like a painting but there is a story behind it whether or not the artist wants to really explain the story or not is up for grabs. Either way I was looking for any "meaning" to these lyrics because I am in that same predicament... I'm dating this girl who i haven't seen in years. We kinda picked up where we left off and I felt my wanting to be around her "clingy-ness" grow strong. But I know myself enough to recognize it's not love... it's just not wanting to be alone. I even was going to post this video to her and i stopped to question what the hell did he mean by saying "I dressed like your neice?" That's ridiculous but when you put it into this context, I'm simply blown away. When I was feeling upset that I was losing control of the situation I would listen to this song... not really understanding the lyrics. And now that I have a better understanding of it... it really hits home and I feel empowered that I shouldn't be with this woman for the sake of "being with someone." So to you rthmjohn my hat is off to you. For taking your time to explain to us a more unique interpretation of the song and not to mention your very well observation. You have helped me in ways that I can't explain... many thanks!
It's been 2 years since you posted this so I don't know if you'll ever get this response but this is absolutely what I get from reading the lyrics and the way you interpret it seems to ring very true. I once believed that artists would leave a song open for interpretation kind of like a painting but there is a story behind it whether or not the artist wants to really explain the story or not is up for grabs. Either way I was looking for any "meaning" to these lyrics because I am in that same predicament......
It's been 2 years since you posted this so I don't know if you'll ever get this response but this is absolutely what I get from reading the lyrics and the way you interpret it seems to ring very true. I once believed that artists would leave a song open for interpretation kind of like a painting but there is a story behind it whether or not the artist wants to really explain the story or not is up for grabs. Either way I was looking for any "meaning" to these lyrics because I am in that same predicament... I'm dating this girl who i haven't seen in years. We kinda picked up where we left off and I felt my wanting to be around her "clingy-ness" grow strong. But I know myself enough to recognize it's not love... it's just not wanting to be alone. I even was going to post this video to her and i stopped to question what the hell did he mean by saying "I dressed like your neice?" That's ridiculous but when you put it into this context, I'm simply blown away. When I was feeling upset that I was losing control of the situation I would listen to this song... not really understanding the lyrics. And now that I have a better understanding of it... it really hits home and I feel empowered that I shouldn't be with this woman for the sake of "being with someone." So to you rthmjohn my hat is off to you. For taking your time to explain to us a more unique interpretation of the song and not to mention your very well observation. You have helped me in ways that I can't explain... many thanks!
First off, I'd like to say that, for as much freedom of interpretation is allowed for the listener, I still believe that any good artist/singer-songwriter can effectively manage to convey a lucid argument, as well as affecting emotions, through well-written composition. While I acknowledge that no analysis of lyrics, or art in general, can be purely objective it still bugs me when I see interpretations of songs that stretch beyond any indications found within the lyrics themselves. In my opinion, most good songs have concrete meanings, and while the listener often must be flexible in formulating her or his understanding of the song, this is simply the listener's attempt at relating with the artist. What the artist wrote, on the other hand, is not so flexible.
My spiel aside, Thom Yorke has presented us with some rather keenly distressing metaphors, but nonetheless they can be analyzed with greater objectivity than what I've seen so far on this page. Starting with the aching refrain, "Just don't leave," we can assume that the poetic voice of the song is already with someone as opposed to waiting for someone. Moving back to the first verse we gather from the personal sacrifice ("sacrifice my beliefs), commitment ("have your babies") and humiliation ("dress like your niece") she or he is willing to endure that the poetic voice has strong feelings of attachment to this particular person.
Attachment, and more specifically the loss of one's identity, dignity and autonomy out of fear of ending a relationship, in my opinion are the key themes of this song. Thom reminds us when he writes "I'm not living, I'm just killing time" that when we stay with someone solely because we're too afraid of not having her or him in our lives, we sacrifice our hopes and dreams, which couldn't be any more true once you have someone's children and act as their foot-washing servant. And what would anyone do all of this for? For the true love that we dream of as kids sucking on lollipops? You can't make true love happen with everyone as Thom suggests pessimistically in his ironical and sobering statement, "True love waits in haunted attics." Sometimes we just need to end the relationship and move on, lest we should spend the rest of our lives in haunted attics waking up next to someone with a "crazy kitten" smile.
It's been 4 years since you posted this but this is absolutely what I get from reading the lyrics and the way you interpret it seems to ring very true. I once believed that artists would leave a song open for interpretation kind of like a painting but there is a story behind it whether or not the artist wants to really explain the story or not is up for grabs. Either way I was looking for any "meaning" to these lyrics because I am in that same predicament... I'm dating this girl who i haven't seen in years. We...
It's been 4 years since you posted this but this is absolutely what I get from reading the lyrics and the way you interpret it seems to ring very true. I once believed that artists would leave a song open for interpretation kind of like a painting but there is a story behind it whether or not the artist wants to really explain the story or not is up for grabs. Either way I was looking for any "meaning" to these lyrics because I am in that same predicament... I'm dating this girl who i haven't seen in years. We kinda picked up where we left off and I felt my wanting to be around her "clingy-ness" grow strong. But I know myself enough to recognize it's not love... it's just not wanting to be alone. I even was going to post this video to her and i stopped to question what the hell did he mean by saying "I dressed like your neice?" That's ridiculous but when you put it into this context, I'm simply blown away. When I was feeling upset that I was losing control of the situation I would listen to this song... not really understanding the lyrics. And now that I have a better understanding of it... it really hits home and I feel empowered that I shouldn't be with this woman for the sake of "being with someone." So to you rthmjohn my hat is off to you. For taking your time to explain to us a more unique interpretation of the song and not to mention your very well observation. You have helped me in ways that I can't explain... many thanks!
It's been 2 years since you posted this so I don't know if you'll ever get this response but this is absolutely what I get from reading the lyrics and the way you interpret it seems to ring very true. I once believed that artists would leave a song open for interpretation kind of like a painting but there is a story behind it whether or not the artist wants to really explain the story or not is up for grabs. Either way I was looking for any "meaning" to these lyrics because I am in that same predicament......
It's been 2 years since you posted this so I don't know if you'll ever get this response but this is absolutely what I get from reading the lyrics and the way you interpret it seems to ring very true. I once believed that artists would leave a song open for interpretation kind of like a painting but there is a story behind it whether or not the artist wants to really explain the story or not is up for grabs. Either way I was looking for any "meaning" to these lyrics because I am in that same predicament... I'm dating this girl who i haven't seen in years. We kinda picked up where we left off and I felt my wanting to be around her "clingy-ness" grow strong. But I know myself enough to recognize it's not love... it's just not wanting to be alone. I even was going to post this video to her and i stopped to question what the hell did he mean by saying "I dressed like your neice?" That's ridiculous but when you put it into this context, I'm simply blown away. When I was feeling upset that I was losing control of the situation I would listen to this song... not really understanding the lyrics. And now that I have a better understanding of it... it really hits home and I feel empowered that I shouldn't be with this woman for the sake of "being with someone." So to you rthmjohn my hat is off to you. For taking your time to explain to us a more unique interpretation of the song and not to mention your very well observation. You have helped me in ways that I can't explain... many thanks!