Everyone
Everyone around here
Everyone is so near
It's holding on
It's holding on

Everyone
Everyone is so near
Everyone has got the fear
It's holding on
It's holding on

It's holding on
It's holding on
It's holding on


Lyrics submitted by Vache, edited by TheAmazingSoundsOfGreenwood

The National Anthem Lyrics as written by Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood Philip Selway

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

The National Anthem song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

67 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +11
    General Comment

    The reason that this song is so good is not cause of the lyrics, but because the music itself captures the essence of the song's meaning. The song's climax of the horns and synthesizer (last min.) and york's screaming of holding on...it builds up to show that the song is now out of control and one big mess (atleast its a beautiful mess)

    DHess7on April 20, 2002   Link
  • +7
    General Comment

    I think this is more specifically about the culture of fear in our society and how politicians have created it. We are all so close to each other (geographically, socially) and yet we are scared of pulling back and being seen as individuals. The brass section reflects the different noises (soundbites) that we hear from politicians through the media which on their own might make sense yet because they are all contradictory (arguing among themselves) the result is utter confusion. I think the title refers to the fact that most of the UK (and elsewhere) is homogenised and therefore the message applies to EVERYONE. It reminds me of a Radiohead tee-shirt I have which is the UK map on its side with crying minotaurs all over it.

    derykon November 09, 2004   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    woooooooaaaaaaaaahhhh this song is like so SPACY makes me all float and stuff it takes me to the elfworld radiohead rocks

    orange solitudeon April 12, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    Well, noting the name of the song it's probably about government (national anthem?). "Everyone is so near"-everyone is use to each other, easy to control. "What's going on?"-I don't believe he says this, maybe it's just me. "Everyone has got fear"-either means the citizens suspect something of their government or are ruled by fear (common in most societies). The sudden trumpet is when things start going wrong. Soon other instruments begin to join, and the drums begin to change: riots, mayhem, chaos; people are overthrwoing government. He screams "It's holdin' on" to signify that there is still some control. The 3rd time he is drowned out. the instruments still play and take on their own rythms. Soon the bass guitar stops-government is no longer present. The instruments play freely and horribly. Society has fallen apart. (grin)...maybe there's more to this song, but that's the basic of what I got. And the album version is better. Like the live recording though.

    CutSlanon April 09, 2004   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    Fuck, every countries anthem should be replaced by this. The bass-line is so fucking bad ass. And the brass at the end just...I dunno makes me all disoriented, but in a good way, of course. I can just imagine Radiohead playing this at the beginning of a baseball game or something. That would make my day.

    RadioheadxxSlaveon February 11, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    this song is so chill....pretty much like all of KID A best freakin radiohead album, everyone loves OK Computer but i like the experimental style much better on kid a.

    bluekitty2on April 16, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    The driving bass line in this song has so much violent energy, it gives me the impression of an angry crowd on the brink of rioting. The lyrics seem to support this to me, giving voice to the sort of 'mob mentality' that causes these things in the first place - group confusion and spreading fear reach the boiling point.

    ledzeprulon May 06, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    fear overwhelming people, drawing them close and throwing them into confusion, living a life of confusion and chaos, and not understanding why.

    our lovely national anthem.

    Alcatraz_Escapeeon August 21, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    this song is fucking AMAZING i love how its so experimental and just....incredible the sampling of trumpets....they way they start in the background and slowly become the main sound....they way they individually are chaotic but work together in a cohesive way.....kind of like democracy (it IS the naitonal anthem, after all)....it's just incredible. Thom Yorke is GOD

    mrguy6on November 18, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This is the sound of the world coming to an end...

    I downloaded an MP3 of the SNL version and have barely listened to the studio version since. f'ing amazing.

    half_duprasson May 26, 2008   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.