A Rat's Nest Lyrics
I think it is inspired by the Dr. Kelley incident. To me this song is about something hidden and unspeakably evil. A conspiracy against you that no outsider will ever believe. Being trapped in a surreal situation that is almost too horrible to believe and impossible to escape. The mood is so menacing.
Yes, you are right about the mood. It's a beautiful song but I find it incredibly difficult to listen to it. I think it's supposed to be about politics mostly, but also about the idea that people are bought off so easily because they get accustomed to the material things in life. We know this is wrong but it is so difficult to escape, even though deep inside this way of life is going to destroy our future and that of future generations. We tell our children to value people over money, but then by example we are teaching them...
Yes, you are right about the mood. It's a beautiful song but I find it incredibly difficult to listen to it. I think it's supposed to be about politics mostly, but also about the idea that people are bought off so easily because they get accustomed to the material things in life. We know this is wrong but it is so difficult to escape, even though deep inside this way of life is going to destroy our future and that of future generations. We tell our children to value people over money, but then by example we are teaching them that ones' worth is about how much money we can bring home.
That's a pretty good interpretation but I get something more personal out of this song. It can definitely apply to politics and world events but ultimately it has to do with a lack of support in general.
Within the context of the entire album, I find it difficult not to associate it with Harrowdown Hill and how Dr. Kelly must have asked for support for what he was doing and at the end he found none because we all feel we are trapped in a rat's nest... we all have to survive and make money and get all the trappings we get used to. And so we attach ourselves to those things and are unable to escape the rat's nest even though we know we are ultimately contributing to our extinction.
On a very personal level I feel it's related to the rest of the songs in the album which could have to do with so many things... love being one of them. If we interpret the rest of the songs as being about finding love in someone outside of our present relationship, then this one is where the guy who's already attached to someone else, suddenly starts doubting that going into a new relationship will actually make him happier and he decides to go back to his former relationship. That's why I think it's connected with Harrowdown Hill which can also be interpreted as a song about slipping along the way and going back to the reality we don't really like... and we know it's destroying us and will ultimately kill even our children. Say it's about a bad marriage. We know we are giving our children the wrong example by staying in a bad marriage but we succumb to society's dictates and stay in one because we are made to feel guilty. This is about being trapped in a bad marriage because leaving would mean sacrificing the material comforts we are used to having and it also means going into another relationship that might ultimately end up the same as our current bad one. We never know... we either choose to trust our instincts or we stay where we are... caught in a rat's nest.
But it can also be about what Dr. Kelly did. For a moment (or many) he listened to his intuition and his conscience and decided that no matter how much he had to lose, what his government and the US government were doing is morally wrong... it will destroy us in the end. So he chose to listen to his instincts and say the truth... and he was killed... whether a suicide or whatever it doesn't matter... it killed him. He could've escaped, I'm sure, but he felt it was morally wrong to 'spill the beans' and run away. We all feel that way at some points in our lives but then we weigh what we have to gain against what we have to lose and we normally back out. Because what we have to lose are the material things we and those around us have become accustomed to.
So the song can be applied to a lot of things. I just find it difficult to listen to because it captures the moment when the narrator decides to back out and not believe. Definitely not what Dr. Kelly did. In my eyes he is a hero. This is not a song about him. This is a song about a coward who chooses to slide back into the rat's nest because he is unable to believe in what he's doing.
Your argument is eaten by worms :)..."We know we are giving our children the wrong example by staying in a bad marriage but we succumb to society's dictates and stay in one because we are made to feel guilty. " The statistic support that most marriages that end are not necessarily "bad." They have do with arguments over money, feeling bored, and feeling our partner does not give us enough attention. Most marriages end not out of the marriage being intollerable, but because couples spend more time finding a way out than on trying to rebuild the relationship. The guilt...
Your argument is eaten by worms :)..."We know we are giving our children the wrong example by staying in a bad marriage but we succumb to society's dictates and stay in one because we are made to feel guilty. " The statistic support that most marriages that end are not necessarily "bad." They have do with arguments over money, feeling bored, and feeling our partner does not give us enough attention. Most marriages end not out of the marriage being intollerable, but because couples spend more time finding a way out than on trying to rebuild the relationship. The guilt is normal; if we are loving, caring, decent human beings we feel guilt whenever we hurt someone, especially when children are involved. Let's face it, most people do not take the time to work on the relationship for the sake of themselves or the children. We are a quick-fix-mentality society with a "give me me me me" attitude. The rats nest is one of our own making usually. Did you know that 80% of men do not leave a relationship (marriage, etc) unless there is another woman already in the wings. The 'rat" doesn't usually leave for sexual reasons (it's very low on the statistical list); he leaves for the excitement of new love. That silly ideal is also probably why most second marriages end. Anyway, your interpretation was quite interesting, but your comments about marriage/staying/guilt was flawed.
BTW, in the case of my marriage my three children were blindsided. They had no clue their mother had been unhappy for a very long time. And they were not prepared for her selfishness. Their young worlds were ripped apart in an instant. So sometimes those "bad" marriages are not bad for everyone. In my case, my children had benefited from that marriage. The guilt arises from choosing not to do whatever it takes to make the union a better and happy one.
BTW, in the case of my marriage my three children were blindsided. They had no clue their mother had been unhappy for a very long time. And they were not prepared for her selfishness. Their young worlds were ripped apart in an instant. So sometimes those "bad" marriages are not bad for everyone. In my case, my children had benefited from that marriage. The guilt arises from choosing not to do whatever it takes to make the union a better and happy one.
heard it first time-just loved the mood....and conveys a much deeper meaning....it conveys too many things together...apart from what has been already said about this song..it also speaks about the lack of personal space that people nowdays find..neglecting their loved ones..neglecting their health & being too caught up in stressful situations .Running after materialism and money -'Rat Race' -Notice: 'Clicks on the phone I cannot help you Caught by your work Caught in a rat's nest'
The song also speaks on addiction and abuse ruining people everyday in modernday life.Notice: Eat our young Chew through wires Sewn up in stitches, stitches.. One Gr8-gr8song.....
pretty sure this is about big brother/totaliterianism guys
and no, i am not talking about the thing you watch on channel four
think about it, 'clicks on the phone' - a phone tap
thom is saying that he 'cannot help you', we are already too deep into the big brother state in the west that there is no real help for us (look at the patriot act in america, the fact the UK is the most CCTV watched country in the world)
the rats nest he talks about is possibly the central hub of the totaliterianism...for example, CIA/MI5/governments watching over the population from an ivory tower/rats nest (look at platos ship for where thom got the inspiration for the society as a ship)
the chewing at wires...possibly the wires and connections between citizens in society/the health of society...with the obvious stereotype of the rat chewing at the wire and recieving an electric shock (the shock being the society fighting back at big brother)
deny all knowledge...knowledge of a totaliterian take over
paragraph 5, subsection B, committee is content, content....decisions made in dark, smokey rooms that fundamentally challenge basic rights (patriot act destroys...in some subsections....much of the US constitution)
Bless you Thom Yorke you bitter disgruntled little man
The stench of progress like moldy cheese, modern life is rubbish & the end is nigh.
Over populating & polution of terra firma, frolicking in filth, women & children first. Everywhere consumption & endless gnawing pointless hunger, with glowing red eyes that watch from a distance. Glowing
Stitches Stitches
No way home, no path back, Nothing left to do but sharpen yellow teeth & consult reams of contradictory protocol on best solution to mend broken wires that snap crackle & pop like singed chicken bones, the high cheetering that makes sing-song around our funeral pyre (Children make the best meal). Always.
(eyes, red eyes in the dark)
rustling, pulsating piles of indistinguishable vermin
S titches
Even his b-sides are powerful and moving \0/
These are the correct lyrics from the Japanese edition of Spitting Feathers: clicks on the phone. I cannot help you. caught by own worm. caught in a rat's nest. eat own young. chew through wires sewn up in stitches, stitches. deny all knowledge. paragraph 5. subsection b. the comittee is content. content. to live in a rat's nest. rat's nest
I wish this was heard more. Incredible and strong. It's hard to tell, The "Paragraph 5, Subsection B, the committee is content...." part makes me think it's about politics
This is such an amazing song. I'm surprised it wasn't included on the album, the mood & atmosphere go along with the rest of the album perfectly. The only reason I can think of was maybe because this song only has two verses, and no chorus, but still...