Yorke formed Radiohead with schoolmates at Abingdon School in Oxfordshire. Their 1992 debut single, "Creep", made Yorke a celebrity, and Radiohead went on to achieve critical acclaim and sales of over 30 million albums. Yorke's early influences included alternative rock acts such as Pixies and R.E.M. With Radiohead's fourth album, Kid A, Yorke moved into electronic music, influenced by Warp acts such as Aphex Twin. With the artist Stanley Donwood, Yorke creates artwork for Radiohead albums and his other projects. He often incorporates "erratic" dancing into his performances.
Yorke's solo work comprises mainly electronic music. His debut solo album, The Eraser, was released in 2006. To perform it live, in 2009, he formed a new band, Atoms for Peace, with musicians including the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and the Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. They released an album, [album artist=Atoms for Peace Amok[/album], in 2013. Yorke's second solo album, Tomorrow's Modern Boxes, was released in 2014, followed by Anima in 2019. In 2021, Yorke debuted a new band, the Smile, with the Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood and the jazz drummer Tom Skinner. Yorke has collaborated with artists including PJ Harvey, Björk, Flying Lotus and Modeselektor, and has composed for film and theatre. His first feature film soundtrack, Suspiria, was released in October 2018.
Yorke is an activist on behalf of human rights, animal rights, environmental and anti-war causes, and his lyrics incorporate political themes. He has been critical of the music industry, particularly of major labels and streaming services such as Spotify. With Radiohead and his solo work, he has employed alternative release platforms such as pay-what-you-want and BitTorrent. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Radiohead in 2019.
After the Gold Rush
Thom Yorke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In armor coming,
Saying something about a queen.
There were peasants singing and
Drummers drumming
And the archer split the tree.
There was a fanfare blowing
To the sun
Look at Mother Nature on the run
In the nineteen seventies.
Look at Mother Nature on the run
In the nineteen seventies.
I was lying in a burned out basement
With the full moon in my eyes.
I was hoping for replacement
When the sun burst thru the sky.
There was a band playing in my head
And I felt like getting high.
I was thinking about what a
Friend had said
I was hoping it was a lie.
Thinking about what a
Friend had said
I was hoping it was a lie.
Well, I dreamed I saw the silver
Space ships flying
In the yellow haze of the sun,
There were children crying
And colors flying
All around the chosen ones.
All in a dream, all in a dream
The loading had begun.
They were flying Mother Nature's
Silver seed to a new home in the sun.
Flying Mother Nature's
Silver seed to a new home.
The lyrics to Thom Yorke's song "After the Gold Rush" describe a dream that the singer is having which revolves around themes of environmentalism and social upheaval. In the first verse, the singer speaks of a medieval-type scenario, where knights in armor arrive and talk about a queen. The peasants are singing and drumming while the archer splits a tree. The singer sees Mother Nature on the run in the nineteen seventies, which may be a comment on the environmental destruction that was happening at the time. The singer may be suggesting that people in the seventies were not doing enough to protect nature.
In the next verse, the lyrics describe the singer lying in a burned-out basement with the full moon in his eyes, hoping for a replacement. The sun then bursts through the sky, and the singer hears a band playing in his head. He's thinking about what a friend had said, hoping it was a lie. This may suggest that the singer is feeling disillusioned or disconnected from the world around him.
In the final verse, the lyrics describe a dream where silver spaceships are flying in the yellow haze of the sun. Children are crying and colors are flying all around the chosen ones. The loading had begun, and they were flying Mother Nature's silver seed to a new home in the sun. The singer seems to be suggesting that humans need to find a new way to exist on this earth, as the current way is not sustainable.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I dreamed I saw the knights
The singer had a dream where they saw knights in armor coming.
In armor coming, Saying something about a queen.
The knights were discussing a queen or had something to do with a queen.
There were peasants singing and Drummers drumming And the archer split the tree.
In the dream, peasants were singing and drummers were drumming while an archer split a tree.
There was a fanfare blowing To the sun That was floating on the breeze.
A fanfare was being played for the sun, which was floating in the breeze.
Look at Mother Nature on the run In the nineteen seventies.
The artist contemplates the state of Mother Nature in the 1970's and how it is rapidly changing.
Look at Mother Nature on the run In the nineteen seventies.
This line is a repetition from the previous line to emphasize the severity of the situation.
I was lying in a burned out basement With the full moon in my eyes.
The singer was lying in a basement that had been burned out while looking at the full moon.
I was hoping for replacement When the sun burst thru the sky.
The artist was hoping for something new to replace the old when the sun rose in the sky.
There was a band playing in my head And I felt like getting high.
A band was playing in the artist's head and they felt like getting high.
I was thinking about what a Friend had said I was hoping it was a lie.
The artist was thinking about something a friend had said and hoping that it wasn't true.
Thinking about what a Friend had said I was hoping it was a lie.
This line is a repetition from the previous line to emphasize the singer's doubts and fears.
Well, I dreamed I saw the silver Space ships flying In the yellow haze of the sun,
The artist had another dream where they saw silver spaceships flying in the yellow haze of the sun.
There were children crying And colors flying All around the chosen ones.
In this dream, children were crying and there were colors flying all around the chosen ones.
All in a dream, all in a dream The loading had begun.
This dream was surreal and the loading process had already begun.
They were flying Mother Nature's Silver seed to a new home in the sun.
The silver spaceships were flying Mother Nature's silver seed to a new home in the sun.
Lyrics © Broken Arrow Music, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: Neil Young
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind