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, Bjƶrk, 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.
Suspirium
Thom Yorke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What they mean for our salvation
With only the clothes that we stand up in
Just the ground on which we stand
Is the darkness ours to take?
Bathed in lightness, bathed in heat
All is well, as long as we keep spinning
Hear the old songs and laughter within
All forgiven, always and never been true
Oh, when I arrive, will you come and find me?
Or in a crowd, be one of them?
Mother wants us back beside her
No tomorrows, at peace
Thom Yorke's Suspirium is a hauntingly beautiful song that speaks volumes about the human experience. The opening lines, "This is a waltz, thinking about our bodies/What they mean for our salvation," seem to suggest that the song is an introspective reflection on what it means to be human and how our physical bodies shape our existence. The use of the waltz, a traditional dance form, adds to the poignancy of the lyrics, as it is a dance that can be both elegant and mournful.
The first verse of the song also hints at an underlying sense of fragility and vulnerability. The fact that we have only "the clothes that we stand up in" and "the ground on which we stand" speaks to the transient nature of our lives and how easily it can all be taken away. The following lines ask a fundamental question about the human condition: "Is the darkness ours to take? Bathed in lightness, bathed in heat." This could be interpreted as a reference to the duality of good and evil, and how we are constantly struggling to find balance.
The chorus of the song brings a sense of comfort and hope, as Yorke sings, "All is well, as long as we keep spinning/Here and now, dancing behind a wall/Hear the old songs and laughter within/All forgiven, always and never been true." The idea of "dancing behind a wall" suggests a kind of hidden joy or freedom that can only be found by letting go of our fears and inhibitions. The phrase "all forgiven, always and never been true" seems to suggest that forgiveness is always available to us, and that our past mistakes and regrets do not define us.
In summary, Thom Yorke's Suspirium is a song that examines the human experience in all its beauty and complexity. It speaks to our vulnerability, our struggles, and our capacity for compassion and forgiveness.
Line by Line Meaning
This is a waltz, thinking about our bodies
The song is a waltz and it emphasizes on the importance of our bodies
What they mean for our salvation
Our bodies can immensely impact our salvation
With only the clothes that we stand up in
We only have what we are wearing on our bodies
Just the ground on which we stand
We are only grounded by the ground beneath us
Is the darkness ours to take?
We wonder if the darkness is something we possess
Bathed in lightness, bathed in heat
We are surrounded by light and heat
All is well, as long as we keep spinning
Everything is fine as long as we keep moving forward
Here and now, dancing behind a wall
We are currently dancing behind a protective wall
Hear the old songs and laughter within
We hear old songs and laughter from deep within ourselves
All forgiven, always and never been true
Everything is forgiven, even if it wasn't true to begin with
Oh, when I arrive, will you come and find me?
When I arrive, will you come seek me out?
Or in a crowd, be one of them?
Will you blend into the crowd and not recognize me?
Mother wants us back beside her
Our mother wants us to come back to her
No tomorrows, at peace
There are no more tomorrows, only peace
Lyrics Ā© Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Thomas Edward Yorke
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@AdamCarter765
This is a waltz thinking about our bodies
What they mean for our salvation
With only the clothes that we stand up in
Just the ground on which we stand
Is the darkness ours to take?
Bathed in lightness, bathed in heat
All is well, as long as we keep spinning
Here and now, dancing behind a wall
When the old songs and laughter we do
Are forgiven always and never been true
When I arrive, will you come and find me?
Or in a crowd, be one of them?
Wore the wrong sign back beside her
Know tomorrow's at peace
@simonpivovarov5957
[Verse 1]
This is a waltz thinking about our bodies
What they mean for our salvation
With only the clothes that we stand up in
Just the ground on which we stand
Is the darkness ours to take?
Bathed in lightness, bathed in heat
[Verse 2]
All is well, as long as we keep spinning
Here and now, dancing behind a wall
When the old songs and laughter we do
Are forgiven always and never been true
[Verse 3]
When I arrive, will you come and find me?
Or in a crowd, be one of them?
Wore the wrong sign back beside her
Know tomorrow's at peace
@pucktheblackswordsman999
(Suspirium Lyrics)
This is a waltz thinking about our bodies
What they mean for our salvation
With only the clothes that we stand up in
Just the ground on which we stand
Is the darkness ours to take?
Bathed in lightness, bathed in heat
All is well, as long as we keep spinning
Here and now, dancing behind a wall
When the old songs and laughter we do
Are forgiven always and never been true
When I arrive, will you come and find me?
Or in a crowd, be one of them?
Wore the wrong sign back beside her
Know tomorrow's at peace
@emirhan2660
I want to live inside this song forever
@HotTakeHQ
Emirhan if you dance to it in the middle of the nite you all alone it fills the room
@davidci
Every Suspiria listener who dies gets added to the dancing silhouettes.
@zenithquasar9623
It is such an "on repeat" type of song!
@gregshafer6863
Itās so beautiful and haunting
@emirhan2660
@@gregshafer6863 This song is a masterpiece
@danieljamesmead
I literally bumped into Thom Yorke in 2003 in a charity shop doorway in Oxford. We did the little synchronised left-right, no you go first shuffle. He was very short and looked pretty annoyed by the interaction. I fucking loved it.
@DanielDamiens
danieljamesmead maybe you are very tall, or medium height
@joelwoods7149
Yeah he's a small guy.
@MrSwiket
I saw Thom Yorke in a grocery store in LA today. I told him how cool it was to meet him in person, but I didn't want to be a douche and bother him and ask him for photos or anything.
He said, "Oh, like you're doing now?" I was taken aback, and all I could say was "Huh?" but he kept cutting me off and going "huh? huh? huh?" and closing his hand shut in front of my face. I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard him chuckle as I walked off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw Thom trying to walk out the doors with like fifteen Milky Ways in his hands without paying. The girl at the counter was very nice about it and professional, and was like "Sir, you need to pay for those first." At first he kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter.
When she took one of the bars and started scanning it multiple times, he stopped her and told her to scan them each individually "to prevent any electrical infetterence," and then turned around and winked at me. I don't even think that's a word. After she scanned each bar and put them in a bag and started to say the price, he kept interrupting her by yawning really loudly.