The more and more I listen to this album, the more parallels I find with the Buddhist spiritual cycle of life, death, and rebirth. I believe this song is about the cleansing rebirth in spiritual death, in that exploring the unfamiliar within ourselves and abandoning our previous shells.
If anyone has ever read Siddhartha, after a traumatic event that seems to have scarred the titular character, water usually symbolizes some form of cleansing and rebirth, paralleling baptism - hence "the water is clear and innocent". In that, by "jumping off the end into a clear lake", we shed our previous skin and the burdens of our soul brought about by our mistakes ("you've done nothing wrong"). "No one around" reminds us that this entire process is a personal, spiritual experience, and is wholesome within ourselves.
Immediately after, you have "Give Up The Ghost", which is a song about how despite cleansing, it is our previous mistakes that define who we are as people, and how reflecting and dwelling on it is the only way to truly "move on" (which parallels the entire concept of the album in that each song has a short repetitive rhythmic/harmonic idea that evolves over time, staying the same, but different in the end now that it is given new perspective in the end). Then in "Seperator", you have the acknowledgment of this cycle of spiritual life, turmoil, death, and rebirth; even though looking back on the journey makes it feel "like a long and weary dream", the cycle is never-ending, and that "if you think this is over, then you're wrong".
Really a fantastic album. Perhaps I'm making these connections because it's associated with my personal perspective on life, but with the title of "The Lotus Flower" being one of the most significant symbols of Buddhism, along with a tracks hinting at cyclical nature of reincarnation: "Bloom" (birth), "Feral" (turmoil), "Give Up The Ghost" (death/rebirth), "Separator" (reflection); I honestly feel like the theme and the message of all of Radiohead's albums has never been so focused.
Finally, someone who agrees with me. I've been telling this to everyone, but no one listens. I thought Thom has been practicing Transcendental Meditation or has looked into Buddhism because that is the central theme of this album. It's all about realization, letting go, separating the ego from the super ego, and death/rebirth (metaphorically) or reincarnation.
Finally, someone who agrees with me. I've been telling this to everyone, but no one listens. I thought Thom has been practicing Transcendental Meditation or has looked into Buddhism because that is the central theme of this album. It's all about realization, letting go, separating the ego from the super ego, and death/rebirth (metaphorically) or reincarnation.
That's also why I believe this album is most powerful because it's more focused on the natural process of living. They started doing this with some of their other songs from In Rainbows, like Reckoner, Faust Arp, etc. telling the story of selling...
That's also why I believe this album is most powerful because it's more focused on the natural process of living. They started doing this with some of their other songs from In Rainbows, like Reckoner, Faust Arp, etc. telling the story of selling the soul to the devil as well as life/rebirth and then they continued by using it as the central theme of this album. That's also why the sounds are similar with those songs.
I love how each song is like an episode of the entire story of the album. It bothers me that so many people are complaining about this wild, repetitive, and boring sound, but if you just analyze the context of the songs more, you can see that this dreamy/experimental/ambient sound all makes sense with the message they are trying to convey and make the songs more meaningful and beautiful to listen too.
Oh and would you mind explaining a more in depth analysis of "Bloom" because before I thought the song should come after "Codex", since he already loses himself by allowing the ocean to swallow him and then as he watches the jellyfish go by, he realizes how important the process of life is and is living for the first time doing somersaults.
i totally agree with the buddhist angle, a lot of his unrecorded songs recently touch on this (present tense, skirting on the surface, open the floodgates)
his new found inner peace shines through on this album.
i totally agree with the buddhist angle, a lot of his unrecorded songs recently touch on this (present tense, skirting on the surface, open the floodgates)
his new found inner peace shines through on this album.
@nobrainpain, in "Bloom", it's the beginning of a new cycle (hence the title), and the references to water. He has found new life in water.
@nobrainpain, in "Bloom", it's the beginning of a new cycle (hence the title), and the references to water. He has found new life in water.
"And while the ocean blooms
It's what keeps me alive
So why does it still hurt?
Don't blow your mind with why."
"And while the ocean blooms
It's what keeps me alive
So why does it still hurt?
Don't blow your mind with why."
I'd say the last two lines are most explicit in referencing rebirth from a previous cycle. The entire idea of letting go or dwelling on an idea until it is finished makes its real first appearance in the lyrics there. Like any process of mourning or recovery, it ends...
I'd say the last two lines are most explicit in referencing rebirth from a previous cycle. The entire idea of letting go or dwelling on an idea until it is finished makes its real first appearance in the lyrics there. Like any process of mourning or recovery, it ends when it has been dwelt upon to the point that although there are remnants of pain, it no longer deserves reflection.
"I'm moving out of orbit
Turning in somersaults
A giant turtle's eyes
Jellyfish swim by"
This entire verse is about newfound fascination with life associated with rebirth, and the final reference to water before "Codex". I think life really starts in "Good Morning Mr. Magpie" when he confronts his past with his new perspective.
I share your opinion! and respect and admire you knowledge, words and awareness!
More and more I enjoy anyones projection on the lyrics. Through Radiohead people get creative. speaking about buddhism!
I share your opinion! and respect and admire you knowledge, words and awareness!
More and more I enjoy anyones projection on the lyrics. Through Radiohead people get creative. speaking about buddhism!
@matchboxmatt I think it may even be moreso in line with Hinduism, possibly? The lotus flower could arguably have more relevance to Hindus. Though many people speculate that King of Limbs got its name from an ancient tree that exists in the proximity of where the album was recorded, I think it could also serve as a reference to the many-limbed Hindu gods.
@matchboxmatt I think it may even be moreso in line with Hinduism, possibly? The lotus flower could arguably have more relevance to Hindus. Though many people speculate that King of Limbs got its name from an ancient tree that exists in the proximity of where the album was recorded, I think it could also serve as a reference to the many-limbed Hindu gods.
@matchboxmatt Thank you so much for this. I love this explanation. It makes me appreciate the song so much more. It always triggered an existential sadness in me… but there is hope and lightness in it after all.
@matchboxmatt Thank you so much for this. I love this explanation. It makes me appreciate the song so much more. It always triggered an existential sadness in me… but there is hope and lightness in it after all.
The more and more I listen to this album, the more parallels I find with the Buddhist spiritual cycle of life, death, and rebirth. I believe this song is about the cleansing rebirth in spiritual death, in that exploring the unfamiliar within ourselves and abandoning our previous shells.
If anyone has ever read Siddhartha, after a traumatic event that seems to have scarred the titular character, water usually symbolizes some form of cleansing and rebirth, paralleling baptism - hence "the water is clear and innocent". In that, by "jumping off the end into a clear lake", we shed our previous skin and the burdens of our soul brought about by our mistakes ("you've done nothing wrong"). "No one around" reminds us that this entire process is a personal, spiritual experience, and is wholesome within ourselves.
Immediately after, you have "Give Up The Ghost", which is a song about how despite cleansing, it is our previous mistakes that define who we are as people, and how reflecting and dwelling on it is the only way to truly "move on" (which parallels the entire concept of the album in that each song has a short repetitive rhythmic/harmonic idea that evolves over time, staying the same, but different in the end now that it is given new perspective in the end). Then in "Seperator", you have the acknowledgment of this cycle of spiritual life, turmoil, death, and rebirth; even though looking back on the journey makes it feel "like a long and weary dream", the cycle is never-ending, and that "if you think this is over, then you're wrong".
Really a fantastic album. Perhaps I'm making these connections because it's associated with my personal perspective on life, but with the title of "The Lotus Flower" being one of the most significant symbols of Buddhism, along with a tracks hinting at cyclical nature of reincarnation: "Bloom" (birth), "Feral" (turmoil), "Give Up The Ghost" (death/rebirth), "Separator" (reflection); I honestly feel like the theme and the message of all of Radiohead's albums has never been so focused.
I think you nailed it. The whole album flows together, and the mood and everything seems to fit this perfectly.
I think you nailed it. The whole album flows together, and the mood and everything seems to fit this perfectly.
Finally, someone who agrees with me. I've been telling this to everyone, but no one listens. I thought Thom has been practicing Transcendental Meditation or has looked into Buddhism because that is the central theme of this album. It's all about realization, letting go, separating the ego from the super ego, and death/rebirth (metaphorically) or reincarnation.
Finally, someone who agrees with me. I've been telling this to everyone, but no one listens. I thought Thom has been practicing Transcendental Meditation or has looked into Buddhism because that is the central theme of this album. It's all about realization, letting go, separating the ego from the super ego, and death/rebirth (metaphorically) or reincarnation.
That's also why I believe this album is most powerful because it's more focused on the natural process of living. They started doing this with some of their other songs from In Rainbows, like Reckoner, Faust Arp, etc. telling the story of selling...
That's also why I believe this album is most powerful because it's more focused on the natural process of living. They started doing this with some of their other songs from In Rainbows, like Reckoner, Faust Arp, etc. telling the story of selling the soul to the devil as well as life/rebirth and then they continued by using it as the central theme of this album. That's also why the sounds are similar with those songs.
I love how each song is like an episode of the entire story of the album. It bothers me that so many people are complaining about this wild, repetitive, and boring sound, but if you just analyze the context of the songs more, you can see that this dreamy/experimental/ambient sound all makes sense with the message they are trying to convey and make the songs more meaningful and beautiful to listen too.
Oh and would you mind explaining a more in depth analysis of "Bloom" because before I thought the song should come after "Codex", since he already loses himself by allowing the ocean to swallow him and then as he watches the jellyfish go by, he realizes how important the process of life is and is living for the first time doing somersaults.
i totally agree with the buddhist angle, a lot of his unrecorded songs recently touch on this (present tense, skirting on the surface, open the floodgates) his new found inner peace shines through on this album.
i totally agree with the buddhist angle, a lot of his unrecorded songs recently touch on this (present tense, skirting on the surface, open the floodgates) his new found inner peace shines through on this album.
@nobrainpain, in "Bloom", it's the beginning of a new cycle (hence the title), and the references to water. He has found new life in water.
@nobrainpain, in "Bloom", it's the beginning of a new cycle (hence the title), and the references to water. He has found new life in water.
"And while the ocean blooms It's what keeps me alive So why does it still hurt? Don't blow your mind with why."
"And while the ocean blooms It's what keeps me alive So why does it still hurt? Don't blow your mind with why."
I'd say the last two lines are most explicit in referencing rebirth from a previous cycle. The entire idea of letting go or dwelling on an idea until it is finished makes its real first appearance in the lyrics there. Like any process of mourning or recovery, it ends...
I'd say the last two lines are most explicit in referencing rebirth from a previous cycle. The entire idea of letting go or dwelling on an idea until it is finished makes its real first appearance in the lyrics there. Like any process of mourning or recovery, it ends when it has been dwelt upon to the point that although there are remnants of pain, it no longer deserves reflection.
"I'm moving out of orbit Turning in somersaults A giant turtle's eyes Jellyfish swim by"
This entire verse is about newfound fascination with life associated with rebirth, and the final reference to water before "Codex". I think life really starts in "Good Morning Mr. Magpie" when he confronts his past with his new perspective.
great analysis and very well said indeed. This makes complete sense!
great analysis and very well said indeed. This makes complete sense!
matchboxmatt,
matchboxmatt,
I share your opinion! and respect and admire you knowledge, words and awareness! More and more I enjoy anyones projection on the lyrics. Through Radiohead people get creative. speaking about buddhism!
I share your opinion! and respect and admire you knowledge, words and awareness! More and more I enjoy anyones projection on the lyrics. Through Radiohead people get creative. speaking about buddhism!
THX And Enjoy Being!
THX And Enjoy Being!
@matchboxmatt I think it may even be moreso in line with Hinduism, possibly? The lotus flower could arguably have more relevance to Hindus. Though many people speculate that King of Limbs got its name from an ancient tree that exists in the proximity of where the album was recorded, I think it could also serve as a reference to the many-limbed Hindu gods.
@matchboxmatt I think it may even be moreso in line with Hinduism, possibly? The lotus flower could arguably have more relevance to Hindus. Though many people speculate that King of Limbs got its name from an ancient tree that exists in the proximity of where the album was recorded, I think it could also serve as a reference to the many-limbed Hindu gods.
@matchboxmatt Thank you for this.
@matchboxmatt Thank you for this.
@matchboxmatt Thank you so much for this. I love this explanation. It makes me appreciate the song so much more. It always triggered an existential sadness in me… but there is hope and lightness in it after all.
@matchboxmatt Thank you so much for this. I love this explanation. It makes me appreciate the song so much more. It always triggered an existential sadness in me… but there is hope and lightness in it after all.