Lyrics Decoded - Pyramid Song

This blog has always been about the feelings music instil in you. I have already looked at songs without singers - showing where music begins at words' ends - however, lyrics also provide a great poetry unrivaled by any other medium. I have decided to purely decode a song based on what I, personally, got from it - looking deeply into the background of why I see it in a certain way, and hopefully opening your minds to another view. Everyone's take on a song's lyrics are equally valid as I believe the listener has just as much weight on meaning as the artist does.

Pyramid Song - Radiohead

I jumped in the river and what did I see?
Black-eyed angels swam with me
A moon full of stars and astral cars
All the things I used to see
All my lovers were there with me
All my past and futures
And we all went to heaven in a little row boat
There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt

I jumped into the river
Black-eyed angels swam with me
A moon full of stars and astral cars
And all the things I used to see
All my lovers were there with me
All my past and futures
And we all went to heaven in a little row boat
There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt

There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt
There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt

I thought long and hard about what I would choose to decode first. I eventually chose this because it seems to hold more weight lyrically to me than any other song I have been pleasured with hearing. It doesn't just resonate with me on a physical level - instead it seems to encapsulate my religious and philosophical beliefs more than any organized religion or outdated philosopher ever has.

One aspect I got from this was musings on an afterlife. What is so beautiful about this, to me, is this afterlife doesn't exclude. Radiohead's words are ones of togetherness. 'all my lovers were with me/ all my past and futures/we all went to heaven in a little rowboat/and there was nothing to fear, nothing to doubt'. This song seems to bind together humanity in such a simple way. The imagery of a little rowboat is crucial - we have to move it. We all must come together to row this little boat in order to get to our destination. 'Heaven' here can be subjective. Is heaven actually an afterlife? Or is it an earthly bliss - a world of peace. Either way, it works wonders. We must come together in order to get to heaven. Everyone's personal heaven will be different, but the beauty here lies in togetherness. My personal view on this IS of an afterlife, but of one that transcends all religion. A sort of collective unconscious that pools together a shared knowledge - ultimate togetherness. I came to this conclusion after reading a lot of Carl Jung, who described this theory as: “The third level [of consciousness], the innermost core, is what we are now calling the superconscious mind... [it] houses our real identity, augmented by the subconscious which contains the memories of many….”. Once listening to this song after reading Jung's theories, I began to see the world in a whole new light.

I also found a sense of great comfort from this song. Most hear the drawling piano and decide this song is 'depressing', but this always saddens me. Here is a perfect example of how lyrics can transform a song. The melancholy vocals of this track have the juxtaposition of an isolating comfort. They seem to remove you from the 'real world', having a strange, disconnected sensation with every listen. However, they also seem to envelop you - I fidn myself not caring or feeling lonely in the isolation. Instead, I truly begin to believe 'there is nothing to fear/nothing to doubt'. I don't find this song depressing at all. Instead, I find it strongly comforting and bursting with hope. 

I do hope you enjoyed my viewpoint, and would love to hear any of your takes on the song. I reiterate - there are many ways to view this. This is just a personal discussion, that I think everyone must get involved in when listening to any song.