Please excuse me but I got to ask
Are you only being nice
Because you want something?
My fairytale arrow pierces
Be careful how you respond
Because you'd not end up in this song
I never gave you an encouragement
And it's doing me in
Doing me in
Doing me in
Doing me in
Doing me in

The more you try to erase me
The more, the more
The more that I appear
The more, the more
The more you try the eraser
The more, the more
The more that you appear

You know the answer so why do you ask?
I am only being nice
Because I want someone, something
You're like a kitten with a ball of yarn
And it is doing me in
Doing me in
Doing me in
Doing me in
Doing me in

The more you try to erase me
The more, the more
The more that I appear
The more, the more
The more I try to erase you
The more, the more
The more that you appear

No, you're wrong, you're wrong
You're wrong, you're wrong
You're wrong, you're wrong
You're wrong


Lyrics submitted by black_cow_of_death, edited by masanbol, BIRDDUDE830, casiopt1

The Eraser Lyrics as written by Thomas Edward Yorke

Lyrics © Springstoff GmbH, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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The Eraser song meanings
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  • +6
    My Interpretation

    I love the image of a kitten with a ball of string. From my perspective, this is a love song about a woman who seems soft, wide-eyed, playful and innocent but is capable of completely unraveling a man and his tightly bound life. Maybe these are two people who had an attraction to one another in the past and but now maintain a friendship. He's questioning why they are still being "nice": is it really just a facade masking stronger feeling? What do they both really want from one another? The more that they try to "erase" or suppress this undercurrent of desire for each other, the more that they keep thinking of one another.

    befuddledon May 06, 2009   Link

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