Closing out Radiohead’s 6th studio album ‘Hail To The Thief’, this track is based around an arpeggio figure. The song is in the key of D minor and is comprised of guitars and keyboards playing in unison throughout the track. For the majority of the track, Thom Yorke approaches the vocals in a lower range than normal and delivers them somewhat as a rap.
The melody was originally a sweet and sincere affair which Jonny Greenwood composed on the acoustic guitar. A contrasting, softer section (from 1:23) allows for a more reflective feeling before a crescendo tears down its intent and is taken back into its original intensity. A further drop in dynamics (around 2:51) brings the track into its conclusion, with Thom finally reaching his falsetto.
This song has a powerful live feeling to it: the drums most notably, with drummer Phil Selway playing stretched out and powerful fills. The lyrics match the powerful delivery with some of the more violent imagery being projected into our minds. “I keep the wolf from the door, but he calls me up, calls me on the phone. Tells me all the ways that he’s gonna mess me up. Steal all my children if I don’t pay the ransom… and ill never see them again if I Squeal to the cops.”
Yorke wrote the lyrics during a period when he felt he was going insane. The band almost cut the song from the album but eventually decided to conclude the 6th album with it.