Jigisaw Falling Into Place
Radiohead Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Just as you take my hand
Just as you write my number down
Just as the drinks arrive
Just as they play your favorite song
As your bad day disappears
No longer wound up like a spring
Before you had too much
Come back in focus again

The walls are bending shape
They've got a Cheshire cat grin
All blurring into one
This place is on a mission
Before the night owl
Before the animal noises
Closed circuit cameras
Before you're comatose

Before you run away from me
Before you're lost between the notes
The beat goes round and round
The beat goes round and round
I never really got there
I just pretended that I had
Words are blunt instruments
Words are sawed-off shotguns

Come on and let it out
Come on and let it out
Come on and let it out
Come on and let it out

Before you run away from me
Before you're lost between the notes
Just as you take the mic
Just as you dance, dance, dance

Jigsaw falling into place
So there is nothing to explain
You eye each other as you pass
She looks back, you look back
Not just once
Not just twice
Wish away the nightmare
Wish away the nightmare
You've got a light, you can feel it on your back




A light, you can feel it on your back
Jigsaw falling into place

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Radiohead's "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" are somewhat cryptic, prompting multiple interpretations depending on the listener's perspective. However, at its core, it appears to be a song about seizing the moment and living in the present. The first section of the song describes a moment in which everything seems to align for the singer - a person they are interested in takes their hand, writes down their number as if to call them later, and the drinks arrive at the perfect moment. It seems as though the singer has found some respite from a trying day and is able to "come back and focus again."


The second section of the song takes a darker turn, as the walls of the room begin to bend and blur together. The idea of the walls having a "Cheshire cat grin" invokes a feeling of unease, as if the room itself is conspiring against the singer. Before the night becomes overwhelming and the animal noises and closed-circuit cameras become too much to handle, the singer urges someone else not to run away and become "lost between the notes." The beat of the song goes "round and round," mimicking the cyclical nature of life and music.


The final section of the song returns to the chorus of "Jigsaw falling into place," suggesting that the moments of alignment and feeling like everything is coming together are indeed fleeting and must be appreciated for what they are. The song closes with the singer urging someone to "come on and let it out," perhaps a plea to truly live in the present moment rather than getting lost in regrets over the past or worries about the future.


Line by Line Meaning

Just as you take my hand
Right as we make physical contact, connect with each other


Just as you write my number down
When you immortalize my contact information


Just as the drinks arrive
As soon as the alcoholic beverages are delivered and starting to influence us


Just as they play your favorite song
At the exact moment that the music that you love starts


As your bad day disappears
As soon as the negativity and troubles of earlier start dissipating


No longer wound up like a spring
No longer tense, like a tightly coiled metal spring


Before you had too much
Before the drinking and partying goes overboard


Come back and focus again
Return to being present in the moment and concentrate on what's going on


The walls are bending shape
The surroundings start changing and melting due to the effects of the drugs and alcohol


They've got a Cheshire cat grin
The walls express joy and a mischievous grin, like in the Alice In Wonderland story


All blurring into one
Everything mixed up and becoming indistinguishable


This place is on a mission
The venue or environment is purposefully designed to serve a particular agenda


Before the night owl
Before the person who stays awake all night and sleeps during the day


Before the animal noises
Before the vocal sounds made by wild creatures


Closed circuit cameras
Surveillance equipment used for monitoring and recording events


Before you're comatose
Before you lose your senses and consciousness


Before you run away from me
Before you escape or avoid me


Before you're lost between the notes
Before you get lost in the melody and rhythm of the music


The beat goes round and round
The rhythm of the music repeats over and over


I never really got there
I never really attained that level of euphoria or happiness


I just pretended that I had
I only acted as if I was feeling great, but it was fake


Words are blunt instruments
Communicating through language is clumsy and often ineffective


Words are sawed-off shotguns
The power of words can be very destructive and dangerous


Come on and let it out
Express yourself and let your emotions out


Jigsaw falling into place
The pieces of life's puzzle are falling into position and making sense


So there is nothing to explain
There's no need to justify or clarify things


You eye each other as you pass
You look at each other as you cross paths


She looks back, you look back
Both of you turn your heads to look at each other even after passing by


Not just once
More than once, repeatedly


Not just twice
Even more times than twice, possibly dozens of times


Wish away the nightmare
Hope that the bad experiences and bad memories disappear


You've got a light, you can feel it on your back
You have an inner light, a guiding force that you can sense


A light, you can feel it on your back
The light is something that can be physically felt and sensed


Jigsaw falling into place
The puzzle pieces of life are aligning and forming a coherent picture


Just as you take my mic
As you steal my microphone, potentially attempting to grab the spotlight in a performance or event


Just as you dance, dance, dance
As you groove and move your body to the rhythm of the music




Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Philip James Selway, Edward John O'Brien, Colin Charles Greenwood, Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood, Thomas Edward Yorke

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@donutsbyjdilla9708

i feel like this song, and music video in particular, marks a key moment in radiohead history.

since the bands creation, they’ve always only wanted to make music. they didn’t care about stardom or anything like that, but upon ok computers release and phenomenal success, they couldn’t avoid it. their touring of ok computer was incredibly stressful and challenging, and left yorke’s mental health in a terrible state, which was what their song “how to disappear completely” was based on.
once they released their 6th studio album, their record contract was over. they were free. they tried to retire, but even just not working felt weird to them.
so they got back together to make “In Rainbows”.

many of the songs from “In Rainbows” were recordings from years previous, that they wanted to release, but weren’t able to due to their record label. when creating “In Rainbows” they didn’t have these limitations. they were free, which was what they always wanted.
and i feel like this video represents that.
this video doesn’t have any special meaning behind it, it’s just the band members having a blast recording the masterpiece of a song they always wanted to record.
freedom and happiness.

this sounds pretentious as fuck but i just wanted to write this comment to say what i thought about this.



@EALFS

Just as you take my hand
Just as you write my number down
Just as the drinks arrive
Just as they play your favorite song
As your blather disappears
No longer wound up like a spring
Before you've had too much
Come back and focus again

The walls abandon shape
You've got a Cheshire cat grin
All blurring into one
This place is on a mission
Before the night owl
Before the animal noises
Closed circuit cameras
Before you're comatose


Before you run away from me
Before you're lost between the noise
The beat goes round and round
The beat goes round and round
I never really got there
I just pretended that I had
Words are blunt instruments
Words are sawed off shotguns

Come on and let it out
Come on and let it out
Come on and let it out
Come on and let it out

Before you run away from me
Before you are lost between the notes
Just as you take the mic
Just as you dance, dance, dance

Jigsaw falling into place
So there is nothing to explain
You eye each other as you pass
She looks back, you look back
Not just once
Not just twice
Wish away the nightmare
Wish away the nightmare
You've got a light you can feel it on your back
A light you can feel it on your back
Jigsaw falling into place



@tayzatun6351

Lyrics:
Verse 1
Just as you take my hand
Just as you write my number down
Just as the drinks arrive
Just as they play your favorite song
As your bad day disappears
No longer wound up like a spring
Before you had too much
Come back in focus again
The walls are bending shape
They've got a Cheshire cat grin
All blurring into one
This place is on a mission
Before the night owl
Before the animal noises
Closed circuit cameras
Before you're comatose

Verse 2
Before you run away from me
Before you're lost between the notes
The beat goes round and round
The beat goes round and round
I never really got there
I just pretended that I had
Words are blunt instruments
Words are sawed-off shotguns
Come on and let it out
Come on and let it out
Come on and let it out
Come on and let it out
Before you run away from me
Before you're lost between the notes
Just as you take the mic
Just as you dance, dance, dance....

Verse 3
Jigsaw falling into place
So there is nothing to explain
You eye each other as you pass
She looks back, you look back
Not just once
Not just twice
Wish away the nightmare
Wish away the nightmare
You've got a light, you can feel it on your back
A light, you can feel it on your back
Jigsaw falling into place



All comments from YouTube:

@zero-kr4cp

dad: let's buy a gopro
me and the boys:

@camel-ot80espana72

mateo rancio absolutely👍🙏

@MerkinMuffly

In 2007, not everyone and their granny had GoPros, just sayin'

@deadchannel2024_

MerkinMuffly r/wooooooooosh

@certifiedchamp7564

@@MerkinMuffly shut up

@dwaynecrosby5738

My friend's lil brother invented the GoPro

24 More Replies...

@dijjidog

I love how mostly, the other band members are trying not to make awkward eye contact with the camera, while thom is just staring into your soul half the time

@_graznan_4648

While also looking stoned

@dijjidog

​@@_graznan_4648 tbh he probably was (that may be why has such a gruff voice and sharp inhalations in this song)

@_graznan_4648

@@dijjidog my man had some Shrooms

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