Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses
Thom Yorke Lyrics

The opening line of "Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses" immediately creates an image of violence and pain. Being pulled apart by horses is a medieval torture technique that involved tying a person's limbs to four horses and driving them in separate directions, eventually tearing the person apart. This sets up a feeling of being torn apart by external forces, which is reinforced by the next lines. Insect bites could represent something small and insignificant, yet still painful, like the little daily irritations we all deal with. Machine gun cameras could represent the overwhelming and constant surveillance that we all face in modern life. The line "fobbed off with lame shite excuses" is a clear response to someone or something that is not meeting expectations. The repetition of "no sons" and "no daughters" could represent a sense of loss or a lack of connection to the future, and being pulled apart by horses could be a metaphor for feeling disconnected from everything around you.

Overall, the lyrics seem to be about feeling overwhelmed and disconnected from the world around you. There's a sense of being pulled in too many directions at once, whether it's from external forces or internal emotions. The repetition of the opening line at the end of the stanza reinforces the feeling of being stuck in a vicious cycle. The final line of "Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses" is a powerful one because Yorke doesn't provide any resolution. We don't know if the feeling ever goes away or if the singer is stuck in a state of being pulled apart forever.