(The Boney King of Nowhere)
"There there." is track nine on Hail to the Thief by Radiohead, as well as the first UK single released off that album, with the B-sides Paperbag Writer and Where Bluebirds Fly. It lasts 5m24s.
It's a song with real depth of sound; An intro of drums and an intense bass-line provide a rhythm that sets the tone for the song, continuing for fully 30 seconds before the guitars come in. If fact, when played live, Ed O'Brien and Jonny Greenwood switch to playing drums. Then a rich guitar part, a long and complex riff - I think it's a riff, though it may never actually repeat exactly the same. Very softly, quite high, barely audible, in typical Thom Yorke fashion, lyrics come in.
In pitch dark I go walkin' in your landscape
Broken branches trip me as i speak
Just 'cause you feel it doesn't mean it's there
Just 'cause you feel it doesn't mean it's there
The drums and bass are still dominant, the guitar pushed into the background, the lyrics an afterthought. For the second verse, the guitars are more assertive. A second voice softly sings the bracketed parts, and a third does something between a wail and a hum in the background.
There's always a siren singing you to shipwreck (Don't reach out, don't reach out {x2})
Steer away from these rocks we'd be a walking disaster (Don't reach out, don't reach out {x2})
Just 'cause you feel it doesn't mean it's there (there's someone on your shoulder {x2})
Just 'cause you feel it doesn't mean it's there (there's someone on your shoulder {x2})
Sung in one breath, like a scream, extended and trailing off for want of oxygen, is the comfort/lament:
There there
Then a bridge of sorts, which sounds like the song broke and had to be fixed back together again; twisting guitar sounds emerge at a new point of stability, with more energy but more danger too.
Why so green
And lonely {x3}
And it all falls apart, like Karma Police and No Surprises, the end tune repeats with different lyrics, but gradually degenerating, words becoming less distinct, more slurred, one voice splitting into two harmonising voices. It's been remarked that the lyrics in this song are only there to provide shape to the music; certainly, they don't make a lot of sense, and one gets the feeling that this song has a message, but you won't find it in the words.
Heaven sent you
To me {x3}
We are accidents waiting
Waiting to happen
We are accidents waiting
Waiting to happen
Finally, everything is stripped back to the drums we started with, playing out 'There there' and leaving the listener in the tranquil and disturbing I Will.
CST Approved