Radiohead is an English alternative rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshi… Read Full Bio ↴Radiohead is an English alternative rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass); Ed O'Brien (guitar, backing vocals); and Philip Selway (drums, percussion). They have worked with the producer Nigel Godrich and the cover artist Stanley Donwood since 1994. Radiohead's experimental approach is credited with advancing the sound of alternative rock.

Radiohead signed to EMI in 1991 and released their debut album, Pablo Honey, in 1993; their debut single, "Creep", became a worldwide hit. Radiohead's popularity and critical standing rose with the release of The Bends in 1995. Radiohead's third album, OK Computer (1997), brought them international fame; noted for its complex production and themes of modern alienation, it is acclaimed as a landmark record and one of the best albums in popular music.

Radiohead's fourth album, Kid A (2000), marked a dramatic change in style, incorporating influences from electronic music, jazz, classical music and krautrock. Though Kid A divided listeners, it later attracted wide acclaim. It was followed by Amnesiac (2001), recorded in the same sessions. Hail to the Thief (2003), with lyrics addressing the War on Terror, was Radiohead's final album for EMI.

Radiohead self-released their seventh album, In Rainbows (2007), as a download for which customers could set their own price, to critical and chart success. Their eighth album, The King of Limbs (2011), an exploration of rhythm, was developed using extensive looping and sampling. A Moon Shaped Pool (2016) prominently featured Jonny Greenwood's orchestral arrangements. Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Selway, and O'Brien have released solo albums; in 2021, Yorke and Jonny Greenwood debuted a new band, the Smile.

By 2011, Radiohead had sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. Their awards include six Grammy Awards and four Ivor Novello Awards, and they hold five Mercury Prize nominations, the most of any act. Seven Radiohead singles have reached the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart: "Creep" (1992), "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" (1996), "Paranoid Android" (1997), "Karma Police" (1997), "No Surprises" (1998), "Pyramid Song" (2001), and "There There" (2003). "Creep" and "Nude" (2008) reached the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Rolling Stone named Radiohead one of the 100 greatest artists of all time, and Rolling Stone readers voted them the second-best artist of the 2000s. Five Radiohead albums have been included in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time lists. Radiohead were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiohead

Studio albums
Pablo Honey (1993)
The Bends (1995)
OK Computer (1997)
Kid A (2000)
Amnesiac (2001)
Hail to the Thief (2003)
In Rainbows (2007)
The King of Limbs (2011)
A Moon Shaped Pool (2016)

06 Knives Out
Radiohead Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I want you to know
He's not coming back
Look into my mouth
I'm not coming back

So knives out
Cut him up
Don't look down

Shove it in your mouth

If you'd been a dog
They would have drowned you at birth
Look into my mouth
It's the only way you'll know I'm telling the truth

So knives out
Cut him up
Squash his head
Put him in the pot

I want you to know
He's not coming back
His blood is frozen
Still there is no point letting it go to waste

So knives out
Catch the mouse

Squash his head
Put him in the pot

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Radiohead's song "Knives Out" are dark and haunting, as they depict a violent and disturbing scene. The singer tells the listener that the person they are waiting for is not coming back and that they themselves are not returning either. The second stanza indicates that if the person at the center of the story were a dog, they would not have been spared from drowning at birth. The violence of the scene continues to escalate as the singer instructs the listener to cut up the absent person, shove their body parts in their mouth, squash another person's head, catch a mouse, and put it all in a pot.

Line by Line Meaning

I want you to know
I need you to understand

He's not coming back
He won't return

Look into my mouth
Pay attention to my words

I'm not coming back
I won't return either

So knives out
Get ready for action

Cut him up
Hurt him badly

Don't look down
Don't feel sorry

Shove it in your mouth
Live with the consequences

If you'd been a dog
You'd be treated differently

They would have drowned you at birth
They would have killed you when you were young

It's the only way you'll know I'm telling the truth
Trust me, this is true

Squash his head
Crush his skull

Put him in the pot
Dispose of him

His blood is frozen
He's lifeless

Still there is no point letting it go to waste
Might as well use what we have

Catch the mouse
Take care of the small things

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COLIN CHARLES GREENWOOD, EDWARD JOHN O'BRIEN, JONATHAN RICHARD GUY GREENWOOD, PHILIP SELWAY, PHILIP JAMES SELWAY, THOMAS YORKE, THOMAS EDWARD YORKE

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