Initially this song striked me as one about divorce. The lyrics "cut the kids in half" meant shared custody and "you can keep the furniture" seemed to be about who gets what in the divorce. Then, "release me" was an homage to ending the terrible relationship that needed release.
Turns out none of this was true. Yorke had never been divorced and only remarried after his wife Rachel Owen passed away. In an interview about the song, Yorke stated that he basically came up with the words impromptu and recorded it on his MiniDisc when he moved into a new house that was "haunted" and came up with violent lyrics. The MiniDisc was wiped out due to a storm and only recoveres the song after waking up from a flight. He denied that is was ever about divorce.
This song is much like other Radiohead songs where there is no explicit meaning behind the lyrics, but more themes. The themes here are a haunting, violent tone. Yorke had potentially subconsciously thought of Morning Bells as a sort of haunting sound that is almost like torture and the need to be released from it. The song is basically Thom Yorke's nightmare that could not be explained in plain English (like most dreams) other than being a nightmare of living in a haunted house.
Initially this song striked me as one about divorce. The lyrics "cut the kids in half" meant shared custody and "you can keep the furniture" seemed to be about who gets what in the divorce. Then, "release me" was an homage to ending the terrible relationship that needed release.
Turns out none of this was true. Yorke had never been divorced and only remarried after his wife Rachel Owen passed away. In an interview about the song, Yorke stated that he basically came up with the words impromptu and recorded it on his MiniDisc when he moved into a new house that was "haunted" and came up with violent lyrics. The MiniDisc was wiped out due to a storm and only recoveres the song after waking up from a flight. He denied that is was ever about divorce.
This song is much like other Radiohead songs where there is no explicit meaning behind the lyrics, but more themes. The themes here are a haunting, violent tone. Yorke had potentially subconsciously thought of Morning Bells as a sort of haunting sound that is almost like torture and the need to be released from it. The song is basically Thom Yorke's nightmare that could not be explained in plain English (like most dreams) other than being a nightmare of living in a haunted house.