While some of the lyrics make clear references to literature and politics, it is unlikely that Thom intended for the song itself to carry a clear intellectual meaning. The severe distortion applied to the lead vocal track makes understanding the lyrics difficult, a creative choice that removes the emphasis from the words themselves, and places it almost exclusively on the sound the band have created from Thom’s voice. Additionally, “Kid A” is comprised of lines that Yorke selected randomly by writing them on slips of paper and pulling them out of a hat. So while the individual lines clearly held meaning for Yorke, they did so as individual statements rather than parts contributing to a whole.
Instead, it seems like the band's “meaning” for the song arises from their own creative process as well as the emotional experience the music delivers to its audience.
“On ‘Kid A’, the lyrics are absolutely brutal and horrible and I wouldn’t be able to sing them straight. But talking them and having them vocodered through Johnny’s Ondes Martenot, so that I wasn’t even responsible for the melody… that was great, it felt like you’re not answering to this thing.” -Yorke, The Wire, July 2001.
The way they achieved the vocal effect of the track was by putting Thom’s monotone speaking voice through a Vocoder-like filter and using a Ondes Martenot, a keyboard like instrument, to control the pitch of the filter, to simulate singing.
Kid A
Radiohead Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I slipped on a little white lie
We've got heads on sticks
We've got ventriloquists
We've got heads on sticks
We've got ventriloquists
Standing in the shadows at the end of my bed
Standing in the shadows at the end of my bed
Standing in the shadows at the end of my bed
Standing in the shadows at the end of my bed
The rats and the children follow me out of town
The rats and the children follow me out of town
Come on kids
The lyrics above are from Radiohead's song Kid A, which appears on their 2000 album of the same name. The entire album is known for its experimental sound that blends different genres such as electronic, rock, and jazz. The song itself is eerie and cryptic, with the lyrics suggesting a sense of isolation, deception, and confusion.
The opening lines, "I slip away, I slipped on a little white lie" evoke the sense of dishonesty and the burden that it can cause on a person's psyche. This could be interpreted in various ways, such as hiding one's true self or pretending to be someone they are not. The next lines, "we've got heads on sticks, we've got ventriloquists" could be related to the idea of puppetry, where individuals may be controlled by external forces or society. The repetition of these lines adds to the feeling of being stuck and manipulated.
The chorus sings about "standing in the shadows at the end of my bed," which could be interpreted as a suspenseful or threatening dream-like sequence. The repetition of these lines four times adds to the disorienting and uneasy feeling of the song. The last lines, "the rats and the children follow me out of town, come on kids" is a haunting and surreal image, leaving it open to interpretation as to who the rats and children are and where they are going.
Line by Line Meaning
I slip away
I escape reality and my responsibilities
I slipped on a little white lie
I made a small falsehood that snowballed into something bigger
We've got heads on sticks
Society has become mechanical, lacking humanity and empathy
We've got ventriloquists
Those in power control the masses and manipulate them to their own ends
Standing in the shadows at the end of my bed
Fear, anxiety, or uncertainty looms over me
The rats and the children follow me out of town
The helpless and innocent are dependent on me to lead them to safety, although I myself may not know the way
Come on kids
Urging the youth to follow and trust in me, despite my own flaws and shortcomings
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, 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