3 of Thom Yorke’s Most Heartbreaking Lyrics

For all the ways Radiohead has changed rock music—or altogether abandoned it—great songwriting remains at the heart of this iconic band. Lyrically, Thom Yorke often writes in abstract ways, where a song’s meaning isn’t immediately obvious. However, beginning with the band’s breakout single “Creep”, Thom Yorke has allowed himself to be vulnerable and pen some heartbreaking lyrics.

Videos by American Songwriter

Beneath the anti-rock contrarianism, the glitchy beats, and classical orchestrations lay profoundly heartbreaking lyrics you’ll see in the three songs by Thom Yorke below.

“Fake Plastic Trees”

“He used to do surgery / For girls in the eighties / But gravity always wins.”

During the sessions for The Bends, Radiohead went to see Jeff Buckley perform in London. Yorke said the show “reminded me of this vulnerable part of me that I was choosing to hide.” Buckley inspired him to sing in falsetto, and soon after, Yorke recorded a solo acoustic version of “Fake Plastic Trees”. He said he cried when he listened back to the recording.

“You’re not even aware of your own vulnerability, you’re just off somewhere, and then you come back,” Yorke said. “It’s like seeing yourself in the mirror for the first time, catching yourself unaware.”

“Videotape”

“This is my way of saying goodbye / ’Cause I can’t do it face to face / I’m talking to you before.”

Yorke sings about someone saying goodbye to loved ones through a recorded video. He can’t bear to say these things face to face. So he commits his thoughts in a prerecorded message, making the whole thing even sadder.

It imparts a unique kind of loneliness and the chasm between the land of the well and the occupied territory of terminal illness. For all the groundbreaking experimentation Radiohead is famous for, many of Yorke’s most powerful moments happen when he’s left alone with old technology like a piano.

“Lucky”

“Kill me Sarah / Kill me again with love / It’s gonna be a glorious day.”

This song first appeared on The Help Album, which raised money for the War Child charity and featured contributions from Paul McCartney, Oasis, and others. Recorded in 1995, “Lucky” was, according to producer Nigel Godrich, the creative starting point for what became OK Computer.

It describes holding on to a partner while navigating a chaotic and unpredictable world. Yorke uses a superhero metaphor as he’s rescued from a plane crash, and the lonely narrator that inhabits much of OK Computer finally finds a connection on the album’s penultimate track.

Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage