Hey do you remember my Paranoid Android song interpretation page?  Well I this is something I found.  Even if you don't like Radiohead, or the song, it is interesting, so read it.

After listening to "Paranoid Android" lots of times, an interpretation of what the song is meant to be about has struck me, which I thought I'd share with all of you. It's all a bit overblown and prog-rocky, but it *is* feasible, and all the lyrics seem to fit, which is more than most people seem to be able to get out of the song.

The interpretation came together after piecing together the title with the line "When I am king, you will be first against the wall", both of which come from the Douglas Adams book "The Hitch-Hikers Guide To The Galaxy". The link between the two comes in the form of the Cyrius Cybernetics Corporation, the creators of Marvin the
Paranoid Android, who are said to be "first against the wall when the revolution comes".

In a nutshell, the song is about a revolt, in which common human beings, opressed by large corporations and dehumanized technology, overthrow these established corporations and technocrats. The first person character in the story is one example of a person seizing the initiative and railing against the system. In the end, though, there's a definite hint that it was all in vain, and the status quo present at the beginning of the song is resumed.

In more depth now: The music begins with a feel which is both sweet and dark, restrained and yet on edge.

"Please could you stop the noise I'm trying to get some rest" The narrator can find no respite from the continuing hum of late 20th century urban life. Machines everywhere buzz around him. The noise of progress disturbs his sleep.

"From all the unborn chicken voices in my head" And the noises aren't just external. Every egg eaten is an unborn chicken. Everything mankind does seems to destory a part of the natural balance. This thought plagues our hero as he tries to deal with the world and his place in it.

"Huh, what's that?" ("I may be paranoid, but no android") Something in the back of his mind is offering an alternative, but he can't quite catch what it is. The undercurrent seems to be that the paranoia offered up by his humanity at least
means he isn't a machine himself. Indeed, in this case the words "paranoid" and "android", rather than going together as an expression, seem to be offered up as two alternate states (so should maybe be read Paranoid/Android).

"When I am king, you will be first against the wall" Referring back to THHGTTG (see above), the narrator addresses these giant corporations, either run by technology or running it. He imagines himself as king, having led the revolution.

"With your opinions which are of no consequence at all" He has no respect for the shallow, corporate, bottom-line driven attitudes of the heads of these companies. No amount of material wealth can excuse the damage they're doing to the planet.

"Huh, what's that?" ("I may be paranoid, but no android") As above.

At this point, the music assumes a more sinister and driving air, as if action of a nasty nature is being taken. Here it would seem our hero has made a decision that it's time for action, and he faces his employer (or oppressor).

"Ambition makes you look pretty ugly / Kicking screaming gucci little piggy"
Facing his foe, perhaps with weapon in hand, he insults him/her for their hollow interest in climbing the ladder and pursuing ever greater amounts of money. There's a sense of panic and desperation in the music, but the vocals remain calm; perhaps the panicking, kicking, screaming yuppie knows that their time is up, and certainly don't seem to be at their most attractive.

The suddenly - "BLAM" - the guitar launches its attack, and the first shot is fired. To rub it in: "You don't remember, you don't remember, why you don't remember my name"

This calls to mind the "Who Shot Mr. Burns" episode of The Simpsons, where Homer is so incensed by his boss's inability to remember his name that he threatens to kill him. In a more general sense, the facelessness of the employee to the bigwig is quite evident here; the fellow on top doesn't care who his employees are. Their only purpose is to make him more money, another machine that he can use, as disposable as his PC - probably moreso.

"Off with his head, off with his head man, why won't he remember my name?" The execution is dealt.

"I guess he does." The boss's dying words - he screams our hero's name out.

There follows a period of frenetic reinstatement of the "violent theme", suggesting perhaps this activity being repeated, perhaps right across the country or the world. The people are rising, violently, smashing their automated machines and dealing harshly with their yuppie masters.

Then, suddenly, peace.

"Rain down, come on rain down on me, from a great height." The battle has been won. The bourgeois class have been defeated, the machines with which they keep us all in line destroyed. Humanity is given a chance to breathe in nature again. The heavens have opened, the world is filled with harmony and beauty.

"That's it sir, you're leaving. The crackle of pig skin." The first signs of defection from the new state. The power's back with the little people, but they still can't agree what to do. The new little piggy is showing its hide.

"The dust and the screaming. The yuppies networking." Either the remnants of the old ruling class, or a whole new breed of yuppies - possibly both - are gathering their forces. This nature just won't do. We need *tools*, damn it.

"The panic. The vomit." People everywhere are lost without their guidance systems.
Many are unable to cope physically. Others have nothing left of the world they'd come to trust.

"God loves his children. God loves his children - yeah!" Religion again becomes the refuge of the masses, and then, the opiate of the masses.

And with humanity at a loose end, the battle resumes (instrumentally this time). The suggestion is that the networking yuppies are now resuming their place of power,
preying on the beliefs and lack of direction of the people to steer them to the situation we began with. The revolution has been won and lost again.

Apologies if I've misquoted any of the lyrics from memory. I'd be very interested to hear what y'all have to say about this reading of the song. I'm not suggesting it's *correct*, or what Thom neccessarily had in mind, but I have a feeling I'm pretty close to that.

Thanks for reading this far,
Wok.