I Slipped On A Little White Lie
We've Got Heads On Sticks
You've Got Ventriloquists
We've Got Heads On Sticks
You've Got Ventriloquists
Standing In The Shadows At The End Of My Bed
Standing In The Shadows At The End Of My Bed
Standing In The Shadows At The End Of My Bed
Standing In The Shadows At The End Of My Bed
Rats And Children Follow Me Out Of Town
Rats And Children Follow Me Out Of Their Homes
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These lyrics could be open to many interpretations, for example the ‘I slipped away, I slipped on a little white lie’ line could be interpreted as something morally deemed ‘wrong’ you do, represented by the ‘lie’ that you can go out of control with, and it could make you ‘slip away’ and you could throw your life away with it. It could be interpreted as a lie that you tell yourself at first, however it takes you away and becomes part of your life. The theme of the song is supposed to be of life between the age of 5 and 10. One link between the ‘white lie’ idea and the ‘standing in the shadows at the end of your bed’ idea is the idea of Santa Claus.
There is also a politics theme in the lyrics, as with most Radiohead tracks, this could be shown with ‘We’ve got heads on sticks, you’ve got ventriloquists’. This could be plainly connoting the fact that people have different things; it could also be a reference to the music industry, for example with the sort of music they appreciate being like a head on a stick, music with a brain and thoughts, however no image, and the music they aren’t part of, shown with ‘you’, as a ventriloquist. Which is something holding a puppet, referencing the whole business aspect of that side of the music industry, of the artists being the puppets of record labels and big businesses. Also it could be a reference of the action of ‘miming’, something which involves no originality or creativity.
The ‘standing in the shadows at the end of my bed’ could be a reference to a fear, a fear of somebody sinister watching you as you are most vulnerable, when you aren’t completely part of the real world. It relates to childhood, and how we believed in the surreal when younger, and how as we grow older we become more aware that there isn’t anything mysterious about the world.
The ‘Rats and children follow me out of town’ line could be a reference to the Pied Piper, and how people have to follow something to feel like their life is safe, even if they don’t know where the person is going. It could also reference the music industry also, and how people follow artists without really knowing what they might be trying to say in their music. This relates to this song because really what the song is about is a mystery, this is one interpretation, and the music video is just another interpretation through images. The music video is also an interpretation of the music.
(Apologies for the capitalized font throughout)
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