The Present Tense Lyrics

Lyric discussion by mk99 

Cover art for The Present Tense lyrics by Thom Yorke

This could be about the difficulties of a long-term relationship. Or, it could be about having a fragile relationship with happiness. Or finally it might be about wanting or not wanting to be in a band.

There's been a lot of sunk effort and emotion ("all this love will be in vain") and he's telling himself to stick with it, despite his tendency to freak out.

"This dance is like a weapon against the present tense" is very evocative but I don't know what it means. It sounds reminiscent of Fela Kuti's album title, "Music is the weapon of the future" but probably not related.

The dance could be a literal dance, or it could be sex, or it could be a relationship, or it could just be some sort of back-and-forth situation, or it could be his aforementioned tendency to freak out.

I think it's a stretch to say that the line 'or all this love will be in vain' is about his love for performing, no matter how much he loves music and being in front of an audience. I think the song is about escaping a difficult present life through music and maybe other pleasurable things... it's about escaping so that he can continue carrying on since he seems to feel the future is worth looking out for, and things will get better.