Separator

To me this song is NOTHING to do with relationships or dreams....

I instantly was convinced that this song is about reincarnation, death and progress to the next stage after this life. Especially when you consider the position of this song on the album, it comes right after "give up the ghost" which seems to be about the actual proccess of dying and saying goodbye. Then we have the reincarnation with this song; it starts off on a completely new, self-assured, uplifting tone.

"It's like I'm falling out of bed From a long, weary dream"

he's falling off this earth, as the long and tiring events of life have come to an end

"The sweetest flowers and fruits hang from trees"

the sweetest things take time to come around. our lives are the fruits, and earth is the tree. we grow larger and more developed over time, eventually our bodies become withered/rotten, and finally we fall off in to the unknown.

"Finally I'm free of all the weight I've been carrying"

All the petty indulgent problems that we see as weight carrying us down are completely meaningless in the big picture. In advancement to the next stage, we are free of these closed-minded "problems."

"As my woman blows her cover In the eye of the beholder I'm a fish now out of water Falling off a giant bird that's been carrying me"

as my guardian angel reveals herself in the eyes of god i'm a human now escaped from earth falling off a a giant ball that flies through the solar system and carries us all

"And if you think this is over Then you're wrong"

If you think death is the end then you're wrong

This song should have played at the ending scene of Inception.

This could just be me injecting my own life into this song (which tends to happen a lot), but I feel like this track might contain some references to addiction and someone who's trying to separate himself from the drug get his life back on track. 'Falling out of bed from a long weary dream' --the person has essentially been living in a dream world or drug-induced haze and is starting to wake up. The 'giant bird' could have to do with highs. I sense there was a relationship or start of one that was cut off by the drug use, and as the addict wakes up he starts remembering the person: "the root," "a heart in cold ground" --a feeling or connection that has the potential to grow into a relationship. Maybe she's been trying to get over him, but when he looks at her he can tell she still cares: "every woman blows her cover in the eye of the beholder." He knows that there's still something there between them: "if you think this is over then your wrong." The rhythmic section sounds like something is building over and over again but with a constant sense of deepening calm. Something is going to happen, things are going to change. The person wants to wake up and try things again. The drug use may be a bit of a stretch, and he could also just be referring to a period of not living in reality. His references to birds and fish seem to indicate that he hasn't been living in the real world for a long time. But now he's fallen off of the bird, he's a fish out of water: on land again. That's my take. I'd be curious to hear what you all think.

Easily one of the most beautiful song my ears have ever heard.

I interpreted this song so that it could relate to me.

I think it's about someone who has been in the dark about love. They finally found someone who they think is worthwhile and are not willing to give up easily.

He's "fallen out of bed from a long weary dream" because now he feels like he's living and found a purpose. Now he's seeing the world through rose-colored glasses when he talks about the trees and fruits. He has been in love before and is now recovered from that loss suggested by the lyrics "falling off the giant bird that's been carrying me" he is finally released from that past. And then just exactly as I remember because it's a similar feeling to when his first love.

Then with his "heart in his mouth" he feels nervous and excited about love like most people do at first when in love. He then says "In the eye of the beholder" which suggests beauty and that this woman is beautiful to him and now he is a fish out of water. He feels nervous and uncomfortable because he's in love.

I think he possibly expressed his feelings to this woman, "I fell open/ I laid under" he made himself vulnerable and she probably rejected him because "I was just your number" (I was thinking like a number line, people waiting to get to her.)

Now he is not going to give up, "if you think this is over then you're wrong" and the echoes of "wake me up" are how he wants to wake up from this lonely slumber and wants to love and be loved again.

Happily, I have no real idea what this song is about. To me, it is beautifully bittersweet, and probably the best song on the new album. Those guitars around 2:30 are serene. Obviously, there is the quite blatant theme of dreams to work around for a meaning. I want to say that it's to do with love, because even though none of the lyrics really hint at that it feels that way to me.

The 'wake me up' section at the end is actually stunning. If this was the last recorded Radiohead song ever, it would be a spectacular end note.

i agree a lot with nobrainnopain as far as the song interpretation, however every tiny thing radiohead does, they do for a reason. there is a dual meaning to the end of the song, "if you think this is over then your wrong" this is clearly not the last that we will have seen from radiohead

First of all, I think these are the correct lyrics, with the changes in asterisks*:

It’s like i’ve fallen out of bed from a long and vivid dream 
the sweetest flowers and fruits were hanging from the trees 
falling off a giant bird that’s been carrying me 
it’s like i’ve fallen out of bed from a long and vivid dream Just exactly as I remember
 Every word, every gesture 
 I’ve my heart in my mouth It’s like I’ve fallen out of bed from a long and vivid dream
 Finally I’m free of all the weight I’ve been carrying

And as that woman blows her cover 
In the eye of the beholder 
I’m a fish now, out of water Falling off a giant bird that’s been carrying me

I fell open, I lay under
 At the tip out 
I lost your number
 I wanna slip over And get back under

If you think this is over, then you’re wrong 
If you think this is over, then you’re wrong 
If you think this is over, then you’re wrong 
If you think this is over, then you’re wrong

It’s like I’ve fallen out of bed from a long and vivid dream
 Finally I’m free of all the weight I’ve been carrying Wake me up When at last you'll give in

I think it's pretty obvious it's a song about a woman. Not exactly a straight-up love song, but sort of a fantasizing song - perhaps about what could have been, or reminiscing about a one night stand or fling that resonated deeply, or about dreaming about someone you want deeply, but only had a bittersweet taste of.

"I wanna slip over and get back under" says it all. I want to go back over to your house and get back under the covers, or under you. Or maybe do so for the first time.

The whole first verse is about recalling the amazing moments they shared together, and how he remembers each nuance of it with clarity. Or, it's a vivid fantasy about the girl whose number he lost. And either the fling or the fantasy was like being carried by a "giant bird," and whatever it is ends abruptly, and he crashes back to earth. It's a harsh reality check. In one sense it's somewhat relieving: "finally I'm free of all the weight I've been carrying." Sometimes relationships with amazing people (or desiring them) can be intense, so finally being free of them is a load off one's mind. But "wake me up when at last you'll give in" implies he wants more. It's the double-edged sword of love and desire.

And, as far as "if you think this is over, you're wrong," it's pretty clear how that applies to that sort of relationship. Certainly it's an elegiac / cheeky / appropriate line to slip into the last song of an album, but I think the band has too much integrity and respect for the music itself to use it as some marketing tease for a part 2, or a hint about their future plans. Not to say they aren't fully aware that it would be eaten up by theorists, and that it wasn't emphasized to mess with peoples' minds, but ultimately it's on topic with the rest of the song. The same can be said about the title of the song.

It's like I'm falling out of bed From a long, vivid dream The sweetest flowered fruits are hanging from the tree Falling off the giant bird that's been carrying me It's like I'm falling out of bed From a long and vivid dream Just exactly as I remember Every word Every gesture

I've a heart in my mouth Like I'm falling out of bed From a long, vivid dream Finally I'm free of all the weight I've been carrying

And as that woman blows her cover In the eye of the beholder I'm a fish now out of water Falling off the giant bird that's been carrying me

I fell open I laid under At the tip out Lost your number I want to slip over And get back under

And if you think this is over Then you're wrong If you think this is over Then you're wrong If you think this is over Then you're wrong

(Wake me up, wake me up) If you think this is over Then you're wrong (Wake me up, wake me up) Like I'm falling out of bed From a long, vivid dream Finally I'm free of all the weight I've been carrying

When at last you give in When at last you give in Wake me up, wake me up Wake me up, wake me up Wake me up, wake me up Wake me up, wake me up

This is what I heard when I listened to it:

It's like I'm falling out of bed From a long, blue dream The sweetest flowers fruits are hang from trees Falling off the giant bird that's been carrying me It's like I'm falling out of bed From a long and weary dream Just exactly as I remember Every word Every gesture

I'm a heart in cold ground Like I'm falling out of bed From a long dreary dream Finally I'm free of all the weight I've been carrying

As that woman blows her cover In the eye of the beholder I'm a fish now out of water Falling off a giant bird that's been carrying me

I fell open I laid under At the tip out Lost your number I wanna slip over And get back under

And if you think this is over Then you're wrong If you think this is over Then you're wrong If you think this is over Then you're wrong

(Wake me up, wake me up) If you think this is over Then you're wrong (Wake me up, wake me up)

Like I'm falling out of bed From a long dreary dream Finally I'm free of all the weight I've been carrying Well at last (incoherent) Well at last (incoherent) Wake me up, wake me up Wake me up, wake me up