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Amok Lyrics
A penny for your thoughts love

A penny for your thoughts my love

A swinging door 

A penny for your thoughts 

They try to jump me 

A penny for you thoughts my love

They’re spaghetti
They possess me 

I’m trying to be a thought killer 

They come back to bite me 

A penny for you thoughts my love 

They court disaster 

I’m trying to be a thought killer 

A penny for you thoughts my love 

You’ll forget me

I’m trying to be a thought killer 

A penny for you thoughts 

They distract me 

A penny for you thoughts my love

Tied around pieces of string

I’m sending out choirs of angels 

To run amok run amok run amok 

To run amok 

You got me you got me

Back to bite me 

A penny for your thoughts

A penny for your thoughts my love

A swinging door 

A penny for your thoughts 

They try to jump me 

A penny for you thoughts my love

They’re spaghetti
They possess me 

I’m trying to be a thought killer 

They come back to bite me 

A penny for you thoughts my love 

They court disaster 

I’m trying to be a thought killer 

A penny for you thoughts my love 

You’ll forget me

I’m trying to be a thought killer 

A penny for you thoughts 

They distract me 

A penny for you thoughts my love

Tied around pieces of string

I’m sending out choirs of angels 

To run amok run amok run amok 

To run amok 

You got me you got me

Back to bite me 

A penny for your thoughts
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This could be Thom's mantra against over-thinking. Kill all thought! A constant stream of information, intrusive thoughts and ideas compete with each other and stymie action. Analysing and second-guessing only serve to distract one's self from actually doing - instead, we should act on instinct more often and do what feels right and natural.
Then again, this song could be written from the pov of a romantic partner who fears being left or forgotten by their lover ("a penny for your thoughts my love / they court disaster" & later "you'll forget me... tying round pieces of string").
This is good. I think both interpretations tie together actually.
This is good. I think both interpretations tie together actually.
On the surface it seems to be about romance, but on a deeper level it's about the torture of ruminating over things that are both unknown and out of your control, like someone else's thoughts. Whether someone else feels the same as you feel about them isn't in your control. You can't control falling in and out of love. You can't control what other people think of you. You can't control the fate of humanity, the earth, civilization, etc... If us humans screw it up, they'll screw it up.
On the surface it seems to be about romance, but on a deeper level it's about the torture of ruminating over things that are both unknown and out of your control, like someone else's thoughts. Whether someone else feels the same as you feel about them isn't in your control. You can't control falling in and out of love. You can't control what other people think of you. You can't control the fate of humanity, the earth, civilization, etc... If us humans screw it up, they'll screw it up.
So...
So yea, it's a lot of the same theme that appears on a lot of tracks in The Eraser. It's about all the stuff out of your control. How do you deal with it? Write music about it!
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference."
I think western culture is so focused on the individual and taking action that we forget the serenity part. No matter how much personal "success" you have, there's still things about life / the world you can't change. You can't change other people. So I think the theme is accepting things that are out of control, hence "amok".
Best song on the album. The title song, too
One of the the things I love about this song is how completely unstructured it seems at first - it seem like a big mess of Thom Yorke-vocals, strange lyrics and the a constant beat. This statement is, however, to be shattered as only a very few simple piano chords are applied (approx. 2:40 in the song), which gathers everything up and creates a melody! Absolutley remarkable! (If you understand).
Amazing.
The lyrics seem pretty dark and paranoid. The beats and dissonant vocals to me evoke a lot of anxiety (big time fears of rejection or doomed unrequited love). It's more going with the theme of the album than anything person though. Thom just likes doing what he's good at, which is mostly dark neurotic themes. Art is often about channeling emotions, it doesn't have to be personal.
good as always but I hope, its not about Thom's wife!