The record is seen as a bridge between the relative simplicity of their 1993 debut album Pablo Honey, and the greater sonic depth of Radiohead's later work, beginning with The Bends. The "My Iron Lung" single charted at number 24 in the UK, a decline from "Creep"'s peak of number 7. It also received little radio or MTV attention in the United States, especially as compared with "Creep".
The title track "My Iron Lung" was recorded live, in the same 1994 London concert filmed for Live at the Astoria, with only singer Thom Yorke later overdubbed. The song as it appears on the 1994 singles/EP is virtually identical to the version that appeared the next year on The Bends, with only some barely audible changes in mixing levels.
"My Iron Lung" was Radiohead's reaction to "Creep", their massive hit of 1993 which also became something of a millstone for Yorke. The song's caustic, self-reflexive lyrics used the iron lung as a metaphor for the way "Creep" had both sustained the band's life and constrained them ("this is our new song / just like the last one / a total waste of time / my iron lung"). An acoustic version of "Creep" itself appears at the end of the EP.
Other songs on the EP charted a course away from the emotional grunge-pop of Pablo Honey, toward more layered sounds and more inventive guitar parts from Jonny Greenwood, especially evidenced in the ethereal "Punchdrunk Lovesick Singalong" and the Sonic Youth homage "Permanent Daylight", whose vocals ("the easiest way to sell your soul is to carry on believing that you don't exist / it must be hard with your head on backwards") hide in a wall of noise. "The Trickster", like the title track, approaches heavy metal. "Lewis" is musically a punky sequel to Pablo Honey's "How Do You" but the lyrics may point to "Just" from The Bends, both serving as a warnings to seemingly oblivious friends on the verge of breakdown. The acoustic "Lozenge of Love" uses unusual tonality and lyrics taken from Philip Larkin's poem "Sad Steps", while "You Never Wash Up After Yourself" is a quiet, desolate song for guitar and voice.
In Britain and most of the world, this EP was initially available instead as two singles: the first, with a blue-tinted cover, featured the title track backed by "The Trickster", "Punchdrunk Lovesick Singalong", and "Lozenge of Love"; the second, with a red-tinted cover, had "Lewis (Mistreated)", "Permanent Daylight", and "You Never Wash Up After Yourself" as B-sides. "Creep (Acoustic)" (which had also closed the earlier Japanese Itch EP) only appears on the EP release.
My Iron Lung
Radiohead Lyrics
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You do it everyday
You don't mean it but it hurts like hell
My brain says I'm receiving pain
A lack of oxygen from my life support
My iron lung
We're too young to fall asleep
Too cynical to speak
We are loosing it, can't you tell?
We scratch our eternal itch
Our twentieth century bitch and we are grateful for our
Iron lung
Suck, suck your teenage thumb
Toilet trained and dumb
When the power runs out we'll just hum
This this is our new song
Just like the last one
A total waste of time
My iron lung
If you're frightened
You can be frightened
You can be, it's okay
If you're frightened
You can be frightened
You can be, it's okay
The lyrics of Radiohead's "My Iron Lung" convey a sense of oppression and frustration that is directed outward, primarily at the state of the world, but also inward toward the singer's own emotional state. The song begins with an accusatory tone, as the singer accuses 'Faith' of driving him away every day. The repetition of this line serves to reinforce the sense of frustration and emotional pain that the singer is feeling. However, the line that follows - "You don't mean it but it hurts like hell" - suggests that the singer may be recognizing that the source of his frustration is not external. In other words, the singer may be struggling with his own emotional state, projecting his feelings outward onto someone else...
As the song continues, the perspective shifts, becoming more introspective. The lyrics use the metaphor of an "iron lung" to describe the singer's emotional state. The lack of oxygen and life support referenced here suggests that the singer is struggling to maintain his emotional wellbeing, relying on external support (in this case an iron lung) to survive. This metaphor is particularly striking given that an iron lung is typically associated with physical, rather than emotional, disability. This use of metaphor serves to highlight the difficulty that the singer is having in articulating his emotional pain.
The song's final lines, "If you're frightened / You can be frightened / You can be, it's okay," suggest that the singer has come to a place of acceptance. Although the world is still difficult to navigate and his emotional state continues to be challenging, there is perhaps some solace in recognizing that it is okay to be afraid.
Line by Line Meaning
Faith, you're driving me away
You, my beliefs and convictions, are pushing me off every day
You do it everyday
You keep doing it persistently
You don't mean it but it hurts like hell
Despite not intending to harm, it causes immense pain to me
My brain says I'm receiving pain
My mind conveys the distress I go through
A lack of oxygen from my life support
The life-sustaining mechanism is deprived of air
My iron lung
The device that aids in breathing and provides respite
We're too young to fall asleep
We are too youthful and energetic to rest our eyes
Too cynical to speak
We are too pessimistic and skeptical to communicate openly
We are loosing it, can't you tell?
We are gradually losing our minds, can't you see?
We scratch our eternal itch
We aggravate our infinite craving
Our twentieth century bitch and we are grateful for our
Our modern-day complexities and challenges that are favorable to us
Iron lung
The breathing apparatus that is a boon and helps us battle
Suck, suck your teenage thumb
Indulge in foolish activities rather than being productive
Toilet trained and dumb
Trained to be civilized yet lack common sense or intelligence
When the power runs out we'll just hum
When everything fails, all we can do is find some solace in music
This this is our new song
This new composition is similar to all our past creations
Just like the last one
As identical to the one we had just stomached
A total waste of time
It's an utter squander of our energy and time
My iron lung
The device that is our savior when everything else is futile
If you're frightened
In case you're scared
You can be frightened
It's okay to be terrified
You can be, it's okay
Don't stress, it's totally fine to feel that way
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Colin Charles Greenwood, Edward John O'Brien, Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood, Philip James Selway, Thomas Edward Yorke
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind