This song was premiered in Lisbon, Portugal on July 24, 2002. The alternate title is "The Sky is Falling In."
Where I End and You Begin
Radiohead Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's a gap where we meet
Where I end and you begin
And I'm sorry for us
The dinosaurs roam the earth
The sky turns green
Where I end and you begin
I am up in the clouds
I am up in the clouds
And I can't, and I can't come down
I can watch and not take part
Where I end and where you start
Where you, you left me alone
You left me alone
X will mark the place
Like the parting of the waves
Like a house falling in the sea
In the sea
I will eat you alive
I will eat you alive
I will eat you alive
I will eat you alive
And there'll be no more lies
There'll be no more lies
There'll be no more lies
There'll be no more lies
I will eat you alive
I will eat you alive
I will eat you alive
I will eat you alive
And there'll be no more lies
There'll be no more lies
There'll be no more lies
There'll be no more lies
I will eat you alive
I will eat you alive
I will eat you alive
I will eat you alive
And there'll be no more lies
There'll be no more lies
There'll be no more lies
There'll be no more lies
I will eat you alive
I will eat you alive
I will eat you alive
The song "Where I End and You Begin" by Radiohead expresses a sense of separation between the self and the other that cannot be fully overcome, culminating in a desire for complete absorption. The repeated refrain of "there's a gap in between, there's a gap where we meet, where I end and you begin" sets up a dichotomy between the self and the other, but also acknowledges that there is some overlap or intersection where the two meet. The gap implies a certain degree of distance, a sense that these two entities will never be completely unified.
The second verse seems to suggest that the singer has tried to bridge this gap, but to no avail. "I am up in the clouds, and I can't come down" suggests a feeling of detachment or disconnection from reality. The third line, "I can watch and not take part", implies that the singer is observing the other without interacting with them, reinforcing the idea of a separation between them. The final lines of this verse, "Where you, you left me alone, you left me alone", show a sense of abandonment or betrayal by the other.
The chorus takes on a darker tone, with the repeated line of "I will eat you alive". This could be interpreted as a desire for complete absorption, a way to overcome the separation between self and other. The final lines, "there'll be no more lies", suggest that this desire is driven by a desire for honesty, as though complete unity would eliminate any need for deception or secrets.
Overall, the song seems to suggest that while attempts may be made to bridge the gap between self and other, there will always be some element of separation that cannot be overcome. The desire for unity may become all-consuming, but ultimately the self must be accepted as separate from the other.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a gap in between
There's a physical and emotional emptiness between us
There's a gap where we meet
The place where we come together is a void
Where I end and you begin
Our individual identities are isolating us from one another
And I'm sorry for us
I regret the state of our relationship
The dinosaurs roam the earth
The past is still present and affecting us
The sky turns green
The world around us is changing in bizarre and unsettling ways
I am up in the clouds
I am disconnected from reality
And I can't, and I can't come down
I am trapped in my own thoughts and emotions
I can watch and not take part
I am too disconnected to engage with what's happening around me
Where I end and where you start
The line between us is blurred and hard to define
Where you, you left me alone
You abandoned me emotionally
X will mark the place
Something significant is about to happen
Like the parting of the waves
Something momentous and disruptive is coming
Like a house falling in the sea
A catastrophic event is imminent
I will eat you alive
I will consume you completely and without remorse
And there'll be no more lies
I will remove all the deception between us
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Colin Charles Greenwood, Edward John O'Brien, Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood, Philip James Selway, Thomas Edward Yorke
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind