Airbag

I think everyone here except ktims has got the general idea of the meaning.

It is about an immediate AWARENESS of how precious life is at the exact moment right after you avoid an accident, when you realize that you could have died, but didn't. (Technology is the reason he's still alive i.e. the airbag) It is about a feeling of rebirth and being happy to just be ALIVE. I also have a feeling that when he says i am back to save the universe, he means this experience opened his eyes to a greater awarenes of what our existence means, and how he's gonna do things differently now that he has gotten a "2nd chance" at life.

I definitely agree with wilco, ok computer is a concept album, mainly about how technology affects our everyday life. I think that most of this cd (in subtle and not so subtle ways) goes on to point out how conforming we as a society really are to the values and rules set by our government (political leaders) yet we really have no control, or we may not realize how much influence they (the govnmt) really have, but we don't care anyway.

And I definitely agree with davidcoyote, I think the same thing about how Airbag is really the last song. Or should be heard right after the Tourist (please refer to the Tourist page for my explanation.) I see it as a cycle the cd starts out with the realization of being happy to remain alive and slowly progresses to a climactic ending. But because Airbag is the first song, signifying rebirth and second chances, the cycle begins again.