Bodysnatchers Lyrics
Understand
What it is
I’ve done wrong
Full of holes
Check for pulse
Blink your eyes
One for yes
Two for no
I am trapped in this body and can’t get out
Ooooohhhh
removed backbone
A pale imitation
With the edges
Sawn off
Your mouth moves only with someone’s hand up your ass
Ooooohhhh
Because the light’s gone for me
It is the 21st century
It is the 21st century
It can follow you like a dog
It brought me to my knees
They got a skin and they put me in
They got a skin and they put me in
All the lines wrapped around my face
All the lines wrapped around my face
And for anyone else to see
And for anyone else to see
I’ve seen it coming
I’ve seen it coming
I’ve seen it coming
It's about feeling like one's skin doesn't fit, in 'bodysnatchers' there's the realization that this skin doesn't fit because he's been forced to hide his true self i order to fit into the acts he's been playing. It's about the roles we take in life, and finding out that wearing any kind of skin that's not our own is going to rob us of our identity and our soul. it's about being trapped by a role that doesn't fit him and that he doesn't want. He realizes he is playing this role badly and tries to get out. He feels dead inside because he cannot be himself and get out of this artificial role (skin) he's been given. He realizes he was in denial at first, and thought he was fooling everyone, but he can't hide anymore. It is too obvious... there are lines on his skin because it's not his... and it doesn't fit him. So it's about the roles we are forced to play in society... any role, whether it be personal or not.
The second verse goes like this:
You killed the sound Removed backbone A pale imitation With the edges sawn off
I've no idea what you are talking about Your mouth moves only with someone's hand up your ass
and the bridge:
Has the light gone out for you? Because the light's gone out for me It is the 21st century It is the 21st century It can follow you like a dog It brought me to my knees They've got a skin and they've put me in They've got a skin and they've put me in On the lines wrapped around my face On the lines wrapped around my face Are for anyone else to see Are for anyone else to see
I'm a lie
thank you! The lyrics shown here are way off!
thank you! The lyrics shown here are way off!
@brospec I believe you are very close to the meaning but missing the mark just a bit. We are now in the age of technology. And bit by bit we use more and more and get sucked in further and furter.......until one day we are finally made one with it.. We are now the instrument we took a liking too. . Mo longer a need for the limbs,(sawed off edges) full of holes checking pulse (the connections between body and machine) and( checking for an electric current)and stuffed inside the machines shell . There is no need to hear as...
@brospec I believe you are very close to the meaning but missing the mark just a bit. We are now in the age of technology. And bit by bit we use more and more and get sucked in further and furter.......until one day we are finally made one with it.. We are now the instrument we took a liking too. . Mo longer a need for the limbs,(sawed off edges) full of holes checking pulse (the connections between body and machine) and( checking for an electric current)and stuffed inside the machines shell . There is no need to hear as everything is being processed directly to it.(so you no longer speak as before and only regurgitate information you no longer comprehend. And only move your mouth when you are used as a type.of puppet. ( robot) or it is not saying I AM A LIE, The lines on my face for the benefit of other, (are the words that run across the face of the screen that others read. I believe the intent of the line was I AM Al. And our life light has gone out.or our soul is lost (what did I do wrong). What we possibly did that was wrong was to believe in object or machines more so than in the individual people. And became that which we faithfully followed, the machine.
MOST KICK ASS GUITAR RIFF EVER.
That's all I can think of right now. My favourite Radiohead song aside from Lozenge of Love.
@RadioheadxxSlave they should stick with you....as they are the writings of a prophet telling the a story of what my come to be.. They are in a way...a warning to get our attention before the end.
@RadioheadxxSlave they should stick with you....as they are the writings of a prophet telling the a story of what my come to be.. They are in a way...a warning to get our attention before the end.
Refer back to the song Kid A on Kid A.
A lyric from the song is 'we've got heads on sticks, you've got ventriliquists'
The meaning of this i think is the same as bodysnatchers.
It isn't that we can't express ourselves, it is that we've lost ourselves. Even our thoughts and emotions are conrolled by society (the bodysnatcher or the ventriliquist)
THis fits with the fact that Hail to the thief was an album very Orwellian in meaning: It essentially said that Orwell's Thought police in 1984 are very much a part of reality: We are born and raised to love our culture, we are a part of it as much as it is imposed on us.
The conflict in the song then is not a war between the body and the mind, it is a war for control of the mind between society and individual, and society is much much stronger but the indiviual is determined not to be erased.
This song is about feeling desensitized, dehumanized and marginalized in the modern world. I also think it speak of the causes of this, living in nanny states like Britain, being bombarded by the media, and always being told what to think and believe by the government and corporations.
"I do not Understand What it is I've done wrong"
I think this is a direct reference to our world and society becoming more and more restrictive on the freedoms and choice of the individual. For instance, in a large number of western countries more and more legislation and policies are brought to bear that restricts the freedom of the an individual to make choices that affects only herself. This includes things like smoking laws, high 'sin taxes' on items like tobacco and alcohol, laws against recreational drug use, prostitution, etc...
Also, we are often told by 'what to think' and which opinions we should have against certain ideas and stereotypes, like the 'arab terrorist', unpatriotic citizen, the racist, etc, by politicians and the media.
Increasingly, we are being monitored and under surveillance. This leads to a sentiment of having done something wrong and feeling like a suspect for no reason.
"Full of holes Check for pulse Blink your eyes One for yes Two for no"
All these forces in our daily lives cause us to feel empty and confused, "full of holes". We are all brushed by the same stroke, no one, or very few can be unique. There is no room for the individual. This leaves us feeling like Zombies with no pulse.
We are unable to decide for our self how to live our lives, we have no power. We can only blink, our only choices are yes and no. Either you choose to accept this life, or you will live in misery and be rejected and dismissed by society.
"You killed the sound Removed backbone A pale imitation With the edges Sawn off"
I think 'sound' refers to our will to live, sort like the 'music within us', that is killed by 'you', referring to all the agents that supress us. Our will to stand up and rebel against it, our backbone, is pacified and controlled. We as people and our lives are just 'pale imitations', the edges sawn off so that we'll fit the mould.
"I have no idea what you are talking about Your mouth moves only with someone's hand up your ass"
I have no control over my thoughts and opinions, I can only regurgatate what is being force fed to me.
"Has the light gone out for you? Because the light's gone for me"
I think this refers to dissociation that we feel towards each other. We all experience the emotions referred to in the song, but we don't share it with each other, we are in fact disunited by it.
"It is the 21st century It is the 21st century It can follow you like a dog It brought me to my knees"
But this is just the world and times that we live in, I have no control over it. It follows me like a dog, it's everywhere I go. I also think that "being followed like a dog" refers to being under constant surveillance and suspicion. "It brought me to my knees", I had submit to it.
"They got a skin and they put me in They got a skin and they put me in All the lines wrapped around my face All the lines wrapped around my face And for anyone else to see And for anyone else to see
I'm a lie"
This again refers to the hollowed shell of an individual, a zombie. I think "The lines wrapped around my face" refers to a sort of marionette. The strings control our "faces", or emotions.
In the end, everyone knows that you are a lie and you can't stop it.
@cypreziod I wrote something very similar but both our comments are near the bottom :( still, a great analogy of this song
@cypreziod I wrote something very similar but both our comments are near the bottom :( still, a great analogy of this song
Have the lights gone out for you? Because the lights gone out for me.
Oh, they're out alright...
Oh, they're out alright...
"you gotta close your eyes... and groove out to this one. And think of uhh trying to escape from the Stepford Wives. That's what I think of" -Thom Yorke
it's just meant to convey a sort of atmosphere of tension and paranoia. which this band is quite good at doing.
I thought this song was about spirits. 'They got a skin and put me in'. The 21st century kills that spirit. I could have sworn 'I'm a lie' was actually 'and for anyone else to see, I'm alive' and I am going to keep believing it! :)
I do not understand What it is I've done wrong Full of holes, check the pulse Blink your eyes One for yes, two for no
I have no idea what I am talking about I'm trapped in this body and can't get out
Make a sound Move back home Get an invitation With the edges sawn off
I have no idea what you are talking about Your mouth moves only with someone's hand up your ass
Has the light gone out for you? 'Cause the light's gone out for me It is the twenty first century It is the twenty first century It can follow you like a dog It brought me to my knees They got a skin and they put me in They got a skin and they put me in On the lines wrapped around my face On the lines wrapped around my face Are for anyone else to see Are for anyone else to see I'm a lie
I've seen it coming I've seen it coming I've seen it coming I've seen it coming
Okay, my friends tell me this is an intense interpretation but I truly believe this is the ultimate message Radiohead is trying to convey with this song - not only because of the lyrics but also because of Radiohead's history of pointing out the emptiness of modern life and the helpless frustration it creates in anyone mindful and brave enough to realize its flaws ... Because of the lyrics and the way all the musical elements work together to invoke the emotions of the lyrical message - this is one of my favorite Radiohead songs ....
"I do not, understand, what it is, I've done wrong, Full of holes, check for pulse, Blink your eyes, one for yes, two for no"
-I think this verse refers to a man (or woman for the PC among us) who can't understand what it is he did wrong to get himself into the empty, disconnected life he is living (pointless, shallow, unrewarding 9-5 job) in comparison to his dream-filled, "alive" childhood - I think most of us can relate to that. I also think it could be interpreted that he has questioned the status quo and is now being held in an asylum or something like it and he doesn't understand that he did anything wrong by questioning his life... Full of holes, check for pulse... etc. - Could indicate that he is being drugged and poked with needles for questioning his life and not being satisfied with it - wanting something more - and that all our society cares about are biological vital signs rather than emotions - that in this society if we can blink for yes and no that is enough to make us functional in our mindless, pointless work. That's all we need to be robots.
"I've no idea what I am talking about, I'm trapped in this body can't get out"
- I believe this refers to the man succumbing to society telling him that he's crazy for questioning this modern life - or perhaps he is speaking satirically - because oftentimes others will call you crazy for questioning the way of the world because it threatens their comfort. Sometimes even though one knows something is wrong, they still feel crazy because most people's minds are not strong enough to overcome societal brainwashing making people who do feel isolated and unsure of themselves- unable to connect with others, the world or themselves. As far as being trapped in this body I think body may not only be physical but just attached to his life, his name, his role, his job and not knowing how to escape it.
"You killed the sound, Removed backbone Pale imitation with the edges sawn off"
- I think "you" may be referring to a "big brother" idea - society killed the sound - the sound of nature, the sound of a person's dreams and aspirations, the sound of realness and life - "removed backbone" - refers to taking a person's ability to go after their dreams, to fight against this shallow, empty, lethal society whether through forcing them to succumb for the need to survive or mentally filling their brains with mush via advertisements and mass media - "pale imitation with the edges sawn off" - I think this not only refers to himself but all members of society - all of us are just imitations and reflections of what we're told - commercials, television, etc. and that are uniqueness gets smothered away by society because its threatening to people - hence the sawn off - because this is not always a process but people's unique qualities are often violently destroyed
"You've no idea what you are talking about - your mouth moves only with someone's hand up your ass"
- I think this could go two ways
- the man is retaliating and saying "NO you dont know what you're talking about, I do, forget what I said before - you're the puppets, you other people think I'm crazy but its you who are crazy - and none of you think for yourselves"
- or this is "big brother" society, whatever, almost poking fun at the man, saying you don't know what you're talking about because you only talk when we puppeteer you, when we allow it, and your words are ours, not your own.
Then the bridge - my favorite
"Have the lights gone out for you? Because the light's gone out for me"
- this could refer to two things again -
- The light inside of us, our spirit, being washed out -or-
- The lights i.e. electricity, the light society tries to put in our minds - has gone out - he no longer wants to live this life - personally I think its more #1
"It is the 21st century, it is the 21st century" - direct reference to modern world "It will follow you like a dog, it brought me to my knees, It got a skin and it put me in, it got a skin and it put me in, all the lines wrapped around my face, all the lines wrapped around my face, and for everyone else to see, and for everyone else to see, I'M A LIE"
- Okay, totally love this - but anyway, I think this refers to modern day life spreading its poison everywhere - "it will follow you like a dog" - you can't escape the pressures, the responsibilities, the media, the expectations, no matter where you go. Its viral. The world puts us all in a "skin", forces us into doing what is expected, and to not expressing emotions, just doing what you're told and that's it - brings us to our knees - we need to live by societal standards to survive and society makes it nearly impossible for those choosing an alternative to survive so it can gain full sovereignty over humanity. I think the lines and everyone can see part refer to how this person knows he is completely manufactured by others, and because he is aware of it and ashamed of it, he thinks everyone else can see it - how much of a lie he is - how he is just a tub of manufactured bullshit and unable to escape it because he's trapped in his physical body - but his consciousness wishes to escape to connect to the world, himself and others again on a real, primitive, genuine level -
as for the "I've seen it coming.. "
I think we all know Radiohead has definitely seen it coming for a long time. I love them. <3 Hope you guys liked my interpretation. I know it may be extreme (I think that's the brainwashed part of me saying that) but I think most people in the world can relate to much of their dreams, enthusiasm and connection to the world being squashed out by a 9-5 brainless job, and a world that is getting further and further from nature where we are exposed to on average over 1000 advertisements a day... It's just gross. And this song does an amazing job shouting about how fucked up it is. and it is. We're all lies.
oops at one point i said "are" instead of "our" -
oops at one point i said "are" instead of "our" -