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Knives Out Single
The Knives Out single went on sale in Europe on 6th August 2001, and includes the following tracks
01. Knives Out
02. Fog
03. Worrywort
04. Cuttooth
05. Life in a Glasshouse (Full Length)
knives out
Often introduced as a "song about cannibalism, at the
Newport concert it was described as "a song about making a meal out of your
friends". It was first heard on a live webcast in December 1999, and in
London in September was dedicated to "all those who tune in on the
web". The lyrics to this song can be found 
both in the 'hidden' booklet to
Kid A, and formerly on the outta juice
page at the official site.
The lyrics, though ostensibly referring to cannibalism, probably deal with the way we forget our friends, and kick them when they're down. It is reminiscent of 'London' by the Smiths (one of the band's teen idols).
In an interview with the (gulp) NME, Thom said this: ""It's partly the idea of the businessman walking out on his wife and kids and never coming back. It's also the thousand yard stare when you look at someone close to you and you know they're gonna die. It's like a shadow over them, or the way they look straight through you. The shine goes out of their eyes."
On "Later with Jools Holland" this song was dedicated to all the journalists who slagged them off after one listen to Kid A.
I want you to know
he’s not coming back
look into my eyes
I’m not coming back
so knives out
catch the mouse
don't look down
shove it in your mouth
if you’d been a dog
they would have drowned you at birth
look into my eyes
it’s the only way you’ll know I’m telling the truth
so knives out
cook him up
squash his head
put him in the pot
I want you to know
he’s not coming back
he’s bloated and frozen
still there’s no point in letting him go to waste
so knives out
catch the mouse
squash his head
put him in the pot
fog
A song only performed once (at Caesaria). Thematically it fits in with the concept of Kid A. Stories of alligators (even albino ones) living in the New York sewers form one of the most enduring urban legends. They appear in Thomas Pynchon's classic novel "V". The words to this song could be found on the self explanatory page at the official site.
there’s a little child
running round this house
and he never leaves
he will never leave
and the fog comes up from the sewers
and glows in the dark
baby alligators in the sewers
grow up fast, grow up fast
anything you want
it can be done
how, how did you go bad?
did you go bad?
did you go bad?
some things will never wash away
did you go bad?
did you go bad?
worrywort
This song came from nowhere. There was no mention of it until the announcement of the tracks on Knives Out. It deals with the futility of regret. The line 'sprawling on a pin' is from TS Eliot.
A couple of the lines in this transcription are incomplete.
don't talk to me
don't say a word
try and get off the hook
try and get off the hook
sprawling on a pin
hanging off a hook
try and get yourself away
try and get yourself away
it's no use dwelling on
on what might have been
just think of all the fun
you could be having
you know the way you talk
you know what you want
you know what you want
what you really want
take a look around
there's candles on the cake
I'm what might have been
the road you should have took
mistakes mistaken
it's no use dwelling on
no use dwelling on
such a beautiful day
such a beautiful day
find yourself a
go and get some rays
such a beautiful day
such a beautiful day
go up to the mike, go up to the mike
go and get some rays
cuttooth
This song was heard on the Bernard Lenoir Show on French radio, incorrectly called 'Hunting Bears'. The band later confirmed that it is the long-awaited Cuttooth. The song was often referred to in Ed's diary, during the recording of Kid A.
I would lead a wallpaper life
or run away to the foreign legion
I would lead a wallpaper life
or run away to the foreign legion
and as the tanks roll into town
as the tanks roll into town
a little bit of knowledge will destroy you
and as the tanks roll into town
as the tanks roll into town
a little bit of knowledge will destroy you
I don't know why I feel so tongue-tied
I don't know why I feel so skinned alive
run until your lungs are sore
until you cannot feel it any more
run until your lungs are sore
until you find an open door
I build you up to pull you down
tie you to your feet, and watch you drown
a little bit of knowledge will destroy you
a little bit of knowledge will destroy you
I build you up to pull you down
tie you to the stake, and watch you burn in hell
I don't know why I feel so tongue-tied
I don't know why I feel so skinned alive
I'll find another skin to wear
I'll find another skin to wear......
life in a glasshouse
The main difference between this version of the song and the one on Amnesiac is a one-minute trumpet solo at the beginning.
The song deals simultaneously with the break-up of a relationship, and the media's intrusions into people's personal lives. There is a possible echo here of How to Disappear, which is also about the loss of a private life. Interestingly, Thom quotes from Miles Davis' autobiography thus:
"by now they had made me a star, and people were coming just to look at
me, to see what i was going to do, what i had on, whether i would say anything
or cuss somebody out, like i was some kind of freak in a glass cage at the
motherfucking zoo. man that shit was depressing. "
Most of the lyrics used to be on the somepeoplelikewatchingotherssqwirm page at the official site, including the following:
.
The 'someone listening in' part perhaps also alludes to Thom's paranoia about the British Secret Service.
The line 'don't talk politics and don't throw stones your royal highnesses' achieved an unintended topicality in the first week of April, when Sophie, wife of Prince Edward was forced to resign from her job in a PR company for making disparaging remarks about the government and Royal Family. The Royal Family have made several PR gaffes in the past, for example Prince Charles' various soap-boxes, and Prince Phillip's astonishing use of the word 'slit-eyes' to describe the local people on a visit to China.
It goes without saying that people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
The song was also possibly influenced by the death of Princess Diana, which occurred at the time it was being written.
once
again
I’m
in trouble with my only friend
she
is papering the window panes
she
is putting on a smile
living in a glass house
once again
packed like frozen food and battery hens
think of all the starving millions
don't talk politics and don't throw stones
your royal highnesses
of course I'd like to sit around and chat
well of course I'd love to stay and chew the fat
of course I'd like to sit around and chat
but someone's listening in
once again
we are hungry for a lynching
that's a strange mistake to make
you should turn the other cheek
living in a glass house
well of course I'd like to sit around and chat
well of course I'd love to stay and chew the fat
well of course I'd like to sit around and chat
only, only, only...
there's someone listening in