House of Cards
Radiohead (live at Toronto 6/8/06 3 Source Matrix) Lyrics
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I just want to be your lover
No matter how it ends
No matter how it starts
Forget about your house of cards
And I'll do mine
Forget about your house of cards
Fall off the table
Get swept under
Denial, denial
The infrastructure will collapse
Voltage spikes
Throw your keys in the bowl
Kiss your husband goodnight
Forget about your house of cards
And I'll do mine
Forget about your house of cards
And I'll do mine
Fall off the table
And get swept under
Denial, denial
Denial, denial
Your ears should be burning
Denial, denial
Your ears should be burning
The lyrics to Radiohead's song "House of Cards" speak to a kind of fraught, unstable relationship between two people. The singer "just want[s] to be [the other person's] lover," rather than their friend, despite knowing that this kind of love is risky and uncertain. The repetition of "forget about your house of cards, and I'll do mine" suggests that the two people may have conflicting priorities or agendas.
The metaphor of a "house of cards" is particularly apt here, as it represents a fragile structure that can easily fall apart if one wrong move is made. This image is reinforced by the lines "fall off the table and get swept under / denial, denial." It's as if the relationship is teetering on the edge of collapse, but both parties are in denial about its fragility.
The final lines of the song ("your ears should be burning / denial, denial") underscore this tension and suggest that something has gone wrong. The imagery of burning ears has connotations of malicious gossip and rumors, adding to the sense of instability and uncertainty that pervades the song.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't want to be your friend
I don't desire the platonic love of companionship
I just want to be your lover
I only desire to have romantic love with you
No matter how it ends
The eventual outcome does not affect my desire
No matter how it starts
The beginning of our romantic relationship does not affect my desire
Forget about your house of cards
Disregard the facade you've constructed to hide your problems and issues
And I'll do mine
I will also ignore the false image I've created
Fall off the table
Experience failure and suffering
Get swept under
Be forgotten or ignored in the aftermath
Denial, denial
Refusing to acknowledge one's problems or troubles
The infrastructure will collapse
The foundation of our relationship will fail
Voltage spikes
Tensions and conflicts will arise
Throw your keys in the bowl
Give up control and surrender to the inevitable end of our relationship
Kiss your husband goodnight
Say goodbye to your current partner and start anew with me
Your ears should be burning
You should be feeling guilt or shame for your actions
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
@ryansample6016
Lyrics:
I don't want to be your friend
I just want to be your lover
No matter how it ends
No matter how it starts
Forget about your house of cards
And I'll do mine
Forget about your house of cards
And I'll do mine
Fall off the table
Get swept under
Denial, denial
The infrastructure will collapse
Voltage spikes
Throw your keys in the bowl
Kiss your husband goodnight
Forget about your house of cards
And I'll do mine
Forget about your house of cards
And I'll do mine
Fall off the table
And get swept under
Denial, denial
Denial, denial
Your ears should be burning
Denial, denial
Your ears should be burning
@fahimfaysal7934
I don't wanna be your friend
I just wanna be your lover
No matter how it ends
No matter how it starts
Forget about your house of cards
And I'll do mine
Forget about your house of cards
And I'll do mine
Fall off the table,
And get swept under
Denial, denial
The infrastructure will collapse
From voltage spikes
Throw your keys in the bowl
Kiss your husband 'good night'
Forget about your house of cards
And I'll do mine
Forget about your house of cards
And I'll do mine
Fall off the table,
And get swept under
Denial, denial
Denial, denial
Your ears are burning
Denial, denial
Your ears should be burning
Denial, denial
@Strog_23
The good thing about Radiohead is they put you in touch with your feelings, the bad thing about Radiohead is they put you in touch with your feelings
@ashleyjohnson325
Exactly.
@javiivergaraa8542
Don't forget that they put you in touch with your feelings
@rayl2468
@@javiivergaraa8542 like deep feelings
@lucasc5622
wow so deep
@clairehansberry5137
Yep, absolutely but also the great thing about Radiohead, is when you feel neutral about things. Life isn’t fantastic but it’s not shit either, you can really appreciate how beautiful some of the songs are.
@tobiwilliams5294
Thom Yorke has the most fascinating, ethereal sounding voice I've ever heard
@redskies4530
Hi I recommend a new indie song and video called 'Looking Into The Mirror' By Robert Nix
@tobiwilliams5294
@@redskies4530 thank you!
@emamendez2321
That is called heavy reverb in post processing