Covid Island Discs

Day 182: Creep, Radiohead

A dark song from Radiohead. To me the meaning of this song is ambiguous. I guess the simple interpretation is that he thinks he is a creep as he looks upon the woman he loves who he knows he is totally unworthy of.

Yet another interpretation is one of deep sarcasm where he is processing how a woman has made him feel in terms of the way she has treated him and he is taking on that persona. An interesting song either way although a strong language warning for those who are sensitive to swearing.

Another very clever thing about this song is the musical progression. The music in the verses is very smooth but at the point in the chorus where Thomas sings “I’m a creep” a very dissonant out of time guitar chord is struck which really matches the dystopian meaning of the words that are being sung at that point. Such a very creative use of rock music matching it to the overall theme of the song.