8 Mind-Blowing Details In Radiohead Albums You Never Noticed

2. The Water Imagery

Water is used in poetry and literature to suggest many things, but on 'How to Disappear Completely', it was interesting that Thom's desolation and depression manifested in the thought of him floating down a river; later on 'Kid A', he claimed to be "lost at sea". It's the same in 'Like Spinning Plates' and 'Pyramid Song'; though neither of these songs are strictly about depression, it's fascinating that the imagery should carry on through them, in what was a downbeat, introspective and thoughtful record intended to compliment the last one. The ocean is the setting for 'In Rainbows' gem 'Weird Fishes/Arpeggi', too. Only this time, instead of helplessly floating with the tide, Yorke sings about how he wants to "hit the bottom and escape"; it's a much more positive view, and again, he uses water to show the sadder sides of his psyche, as he wants to escape them, and surface from these feelings. The water arc perhaps ends however on 'The King of Limbs', an altogether more comfortable reflection of Thom Yorke. 'Lotus Flower' compares him and his love to the titular plant that actually floats on the surface of water, but has roots deeper in the water; likewise 'Codex' talks of water being "clear and innocent", and about having the choice of swimming, rather than being helpless in the sea. It's an intriguing metaphor to make, and one that Yorke's been making his whole career without us actually realising.