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)
What Is That You Say
Radiohead Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Big church wall
Makin' some noise with a pair of drums
Lying your thoughts out over the sky
Spinning around as you gaze at the sun
(What is that you say?)
Why don't you talk to me?
(What don't you talk to me?)What is that you say?
(What is that you say?)
Wrapping your fingers 'round my neck
I see the grass is still when we made our beds
I see the thin weed boy ride at this edge
I see the holy Jesus and the Pharoah and the Venus
And the ghost of you and me
Gagged and given up for dead
(What is that you say?)
Why don't you talk to me?
(What don't you talk to me?)
What is that you say?
(What is that you say?)
Wrapping your fingers 'round my neck
There's something up there but I
Don't know what the hell it is
There's something up there
As you guessed
Like the sun
(What is that you say?)
Why don't you talk to me?
(What don't you talk to me?)
What is that you say?
(What is that you say?)
Wrapping your fingers 'round my neck
In this song, Radiohead paints vivid imagery that is open to interpretation. The lyrics appear to be about a person who is no longer restrained by the confines of their past, as evidenced by the first line - "no longer caught up". They seem to be in a religious setting ("big church wall"), potentially at a funeral, as they mention being "gagged and given up for dead". They then go on to describe a scene in which they and someone else are lying in the grass, seeing "the holy Jesus and the Pharaoh and the Venus".
The chorus of the song repeats the line "what is that you say?" while asking the person they are addressing why they won't talk to them. The image of "wrapping your fingers 'round my neck" could either symbolize figurative suffocation or a more intimate moment between two people. The song ends with the singer acknowledging that there is something up there in the sky, but they can't identify what it is.
Overall, the lyrics to "What Is That You Say?" are somewhat enigmatic and open to interpretation. The song appears to be about someone who has broken free from their past and is trying to connect with another person, possibly in a religious or spiritual setting.
Line by Line Meaning
No longer caught up
Free from being trapped or tangled up in something
Big church wall
The wall of a large religious building
Makin' some noise with a pair of drums
Playing loud music using a pair of drums
Lying your thoughts out over the sky
Expressing your thoughts and feelings openly and freely
Spinning around as you gaze at the sun
Rotating while looking intently at the sun
(What is that you say?)
Questioning someone's statement or opinion
Why don't you talk to me?
Asking someone to communicate with you
(What don't you talk to me?)
Questioning why someone is not communicating with you
Wrapping your fingers 'round my neck
Holding onto someone's neck tightly
I see the grass is still when we made our beds
Observing the stillness of the grass when we lay down
I see the thin weed boy ride at this edge
Seeing a thin boy riding at the edge of something
I see the holy Jesus and the Pharoah and the Venus And the ghost of you and me Gagged and given up for dead
Visualizing religious figures and the past, and feeling like parts of ourselves have been silenced or lost
(What is that you say?)
Questioning someone's statement or opinion
Why don't you talk to me?
Asking someone to communicate with you
(What don't you talk to me?)
Expressing confusion about the person's lack of communication
Wrapping your fingers 'round my neck
Holding onto someone's neck tightly
There's something up there but I Don't know what the hell it is
Uncertain about something in the sky
There's something up there As you guessed Like the sun
Confirming that there is something in the sky that is like the sun
(What is that you say?)
Questioning someone's statement or opinion
Why don't you talk to me?
Asking someone to communicate with you
(What don't you talk to me?)
Expressing confusion about the person's lack of communication
Wrapping your fingers 'round my neck
Holding onto someone's neck tightly
Contributed by Bella O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Eiron
niuce
@BoazMoerman
Yeah, i think the uploader made a mistake.
@richardmoore3982
no man it's son of radiohead I'Lov....................