| Thom Yorke – Harrowdown Hill Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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If you haven't read the comments I have summed up most of the facts people have posted about Thom's words on the song and the facts of David Kelly's death. If you have read the comments, it has been reiterated many times that Thom Yorke confirmed that this song is “about” David Kelly. Now that we’ve established that, we can get into the real heart of the song, which not many, if any, have ventured to do so far. Now, with lines like “you will be dispensed with when you’ve become inconvenient” and “ask the ministry,” I think that it is safe to assume that Thom believes it was murder. Which brings us deeper into the point of the song. Since Thom himself said that this is one of the angriest songs he has ever written, he is obviously very passionate about this. But we must ask ourselves: why he would be so passionate about a guy he didn’t know getting murdered? I think that it’s because he is using Kelly as an example, or an instance. An instance of what? Of someone being “dispensed with” by the government when they become “inconvenient.” He says that there are “so many of us —“ so many of who? People who stand up for themselves, for a cause, any cause. And they can’t stand up, or else they will “be dispensed with.” They “just can’t do anything about it.” Kelly did stand up. A few days earlier he had leaked information the government didn’t want leaked. And they killed him. Earlier I said it was murder. Perhaps this isn’t completely true. The truth is that he was a victim of the government. Either they murdered him, or they drove him to murder himself. Either way, it was the government’s fault, wouldn’t you agree? Overall I think this song is Thom’s way of expressing his anger and frustration that we are all powerless under the boot of the government and there’s nothing we can do. I would be interested in hearing what other people have to say about this, providing that it is about the meaning of the song and not “Thom Yorke is a GOD man.” |
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| Thom Yorke – Harrowdown Hill Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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I would like to start out by saying that this song is written with the opinion that Kelley was murdered, whether he truthfully was or not. If he committed suicide, it was probably because of the overwhelming stress he underwent. The government caused his death either way. I think the line about being dispensed with when you become inconvenient is the main idea of the song. Thom is using the murder/suicide to deliver the point that we are helpless in the hands of the government. The "we think the same things at the same time, we just can't do anything about it" and "there are so many of us" show that there are a lot of people who are not okay with the government's overwhelming power, but they are powerless to stop it. i think a lot of the time people shrug songs off and say they're about a book, about a movie, an event. Song writing is another form of expression. If songs were movies, books, or events made into listening material, then they wouldn't be art. Songwriters use these things to inspire and influence them, and to help them make their own point. I assure you my friends, Thom is an artist. He was trying to make a point, and in my opinion, he nailed it. |
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| Radiohead – Fitter Happier Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| yes. idealism. | |
| Radiohead – Fitter Happier Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| this is the american dream, which was once thought of freedom. now it's been warped and mutilated into this - the exact opposite. how ironic. | |
| Incubus – Megalomaniac Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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i recognize that this song is probably about someone the lead singer of incubus met, or it might just be speaking to all americans. but, when i hear this song, i think of charles manson. in 1969, he was all over the news, and the radio. a lot of people were frightened they they might be his next target - therefore, permeating their screens. Manson often had delusions that he could fly. He thought he was jesus, and the greatest singer/songwriter to have ever lived. He thought he was going to rule the world, and even after he was arrested he still believed he was some kind of supreme being. He organized the ruthless killings of seven people, and believed that the blacks were going to win over the whites in a race war, and that he alone would be spared and would rule over them. it all fits to me. although charles manson was probably never even thought about when this song was written, it at least gave me something to think about. and you too, if you care. =) |
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