According to band singer Thom Yorke, the song was recorded as the band had just been to see Jeff Buckley play a set at The Garage in London; when they got back into the studio, Yorke recorded the vocals in one take and broke down in tears at the end.
The song's lyrics are about Canary Wharf in London and about the world of mass marketing and mass consumption. One source of frustration for the band at the time was their US record label, Capitol, who wanted a strong track for American radio to follow the success of their previous hit single, "Creep". Surprised that the slow paced "Fake Plastic Trees" was seen as a potential single to follow up "Creep" , Yorke ultimately realized the label had remixed the track without his approval: "Last night I was called by the American record company insisting, well almost insisting, that we used a Bob Clearmountain mix of it. I said 'No way'. All the ghost-like keyboards sounds and weird strings were completely gutted out of his mix, like he'd gone in with a razor blade and chopped it all up. It was horrible."
Fake Plastic Trees
Radiohead Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For a fake Chinese rubber plant
In the fake plastic earth
That she bought from a rubber man
In a town full of rubber plans
To get rid of itself
It wears her out
It wears her out
It wears her out
It wears her out
She lives with a broken man
A cracked polystyrene man
Who just crumbles and burns
He used to do surgery
For girls in the eighties
But gravity always wins
And it wears him out
It wears him out
It wears him out
It wears
She looks like the real thing
She tastes like the real thing
My fake plastic love
But I can't help the feeling
I could blow through the ceiling
If I just turn and run
And it wears me out
It wears me out
It wears me out
It wears me out
And if I could be who you wanted
If I could be who you wanted
All the time
All the time
Oh
Fake Plastic Trees is a song that speaks to the illusion that we sometimes create in order to cope with life's difficulties. At its core, the song is about the desperation to feel authentic in a world that appears fake and hollow. The image of a green plastic watering can for a fake Chinese rubber plant in the fake plastic earth is a metaphor for this idea. The fact that the main character bought this from a rubber man in a town full of rubber plans to get rid of itself is a commentary on consumer culture and our tendency to create illusions for ourselves in order to stay comfortable.
The song goes on to describe a broken man who is unable to maintain his identity and crumbles under the pressure of life. This man used to do surgery for girls in the eighties, but gravity always wins, which could be seen as the physical and emotional toll of addiction. This man and the woman he lives with are both struggling to maintain a sense of authenticity in a world that appears fake and illusory. The singer of the song is also struggling with similar feelings of inauthenticity, as he describes his relationship as a "fake plastic love."
Overall, the song is a powerful and insightful commentary on modern life and our struggle to remain authentic in the face of so much superficiality and illusion.
Line by Line Meaning
A green plastic watering can
Talking about a cheap watering can made of plastic
For a fake Chinese rubber plant
Watering a fake plant made of rubber that was probably manufactured in China
In the fake plastic earth
The plant is placed in artificial soil, adding to the general sense of fakeness
That she bought from a rubber man
The artificial soil was purchased from a seller who sold rubber products
In a town full of rubber plans
The town is full of factories that produce rubber items
To get rid of itself
The town wants to eliminate its identity by focusing solely on rubber production and forgetting other things
It wears her out
The artificiality of her surroundings and life is tiring for her
She lives with a broken man
She lives with a man who is emotionally or psychologically damaged
A cracked polystyrene man
The man is fragile and easily broken, symbolized by the use of polystyrene
Who just crumbles and burns
He is self-destructive and incapable of dealing with his own problems
He used to do surgery
The man used to have a successful career in the past
For girls in the eighties
He used to perform cosmetic surgeries for women back in the 80s
But gravity always wins
However, he has now lost his youthful looks and charm due to aging, and this realization affects him negatively
And it wears him out
The man is also tired of his life and situation
She looks like the real thing
Describing how the woman appears genuine and authentic on the surface
She tastes like the real thing
Even her love seems real and genuine
My fake plastic love
However, the reality is that their love is also artificial and not genuine
But I can't help the feeling
The person singing admits to knowing that their love might not be genuine, but they can't stop feeling it
I could blow through the ceiling
The feeling of their love is so intense that it can almost make them transcend to a higher level
If I just turn and run
However, the person is considering ending the relationship and walking away from everything
And it wears me out
The artificiality of everything in their lives is also exhausting for the person singing
And if I could be who you wanted
The person would change themselves if it meant being what their partner wanted them to be
All the time
Permanently
All the time
Repeated twice for emphasis
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood, Colin Charles Greenwood, Edward John O'Brien, Philip James Selway, Thomas Edward Yorke
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@xxCasanova98xx
Lyrics:
[Verse 1]
A green plastic watering can
For a fake Chinese rubber plant
In a fake plastic earth
That she bought from a rubber man
In a town full of rubber plans
To get rid of itself
[Chorus 1]
It wears her out
It wears her out
It wears her out
It wears her out
[Verse 2]
She lives with a broken man
A cracked polystyrene man
Who just crumbles and burns
He used to do surgery
For girls in the eighties
But gravity always wins
[Chorus 2]
And it wears him out
It wears him out
It wears him out
It wears
[Verse 3]
She looks like the real thing
She tastes like the real thing
My fake plastic love
But I can't help the feeling
I could blow through the ceiling
If I just turn and run
[Chorus 3]
And it wears me out
It wears me out
It wears me out
It wears me out
[Outro]
And if I could be who you wanted
If I could be who you wanted
All the time
All the time
@petersmith6248
Heard this blasting out of my teenage daughters room last night. My work is done here
@LoneShot95
well done you should check on her though
@KJ-je9pm
She got good taste
@ScorpionGaming5
This is both a great and very concerning thing...
@edgargomez66
Smart kid
@Snowcrash777
Good show Sir! lol True though! Radiohead has some great lessons/observations. ;)
@Sbibb27
I’m jealous of anyone who listens to this tune for the first time.
@caseyinmi1315
Hi I am Casey . . . Close but just listened yesterday . . Really stopped to listen . . Thanks
@Sbibb27
Casey In MI 😊🙌🧡
@abrahamfrancis2394
Listening these lyrics for the first time. I'd kill for that.