how to disappear completely

By Vic

This song appeals to me largely as a musician. I mean. For I think all songwriters this is the case. Not being able to connect with your surroundings at times. And then just imagine you are not really there, more seeing things in a virtual reality kind of way. That`s what it`s all about actually.
By CrazyPretzel

I believe this song to be a factual realisation of something surreal, not to be contemplated or rewarded...a certain place of escape like being dead in a place full of living creatures and beings, not knowing who or where you are...but at the same time in a split level of conciousness feeling big in a little world full of life but the others that suuround you seem to be void of life and eyes that feel and seek emotive waves...are you the the one who sees or are your eyes closed...beauty...harmony...color...

they do exist, dont they?

mmmmmm.............

lost...found...escape...
By AlexL

This song is, in some ways, not really a song at all; it is more of a state of mind. The idea that 'I'm not here' brings to mind all sorts of ideas; Wells' 'The Invisible Man', on a purely literal level, but there are also undertones of alienation and fear. The notion of 'I float down the Liffen' is interesting, as the idea of floating, rather than drowning (not waving, but...) implies an almost transcendent awareness of mortality, brought about by the acceptance of the cult of the pop star, and the immortality that it brings; your image cannot die, only your body. That image may be forgotten, it may be immortal. It is impossible to tell. What the song is certainly about, as can be seen by the beautiful orchestral arrangement, is the beauty of moving away from your fellow man, and of taking oneself to a Karmic higher level of conciousness. Yet there is also an undercurrent of fear; the menacing swoops of the strings, while not quite sounding the last Trump, certainly bring to mind Mozart's Requiem. In many ways, especially given the song's positioning halfway on the album, one can see it as being Radiohead's own Requiem Mass. The feelings of death, alienation and fear are all eventually cancelled out, as in Mussorgsky's 'Night on Bare Mountain', by the final, soothing, antiseptic swell of the orchestra.
By JayC

Didn't you ever think you would like to disappear completely? You're in the middle of an embaressing situation and you just want to vanish. That's what the songs about. I'm not here, that's not me... Maybe you just want to escape from the whole world and it's crimes and disasters. No suicide but simply BE somewhere else... This world sucks big time in some ways.
By David

This song is pretty much in the vein of No Surprises, and I think it is about the pressures of fame on the group, and Thom particularly during and after the OK Computer tour. He wants to disappear completely from the limelight, and for two years he did. "This isnt happening" is disbelief at the elevation of the band members to the world stage in 97/98, and it seems as though he doesnt enjoy that sensation at all.
By supernaut84@home.com

This is one of Radioheads most touching songs. And he wrote it in my birthplace TORONTO:) Anyways this song is about the people who you see everyday and are never noticed. For instance school, you see kids that are very quiet, they aren't great at socialism. And we all forget them. They get depressed. They then dissapear(suicide). We have to give everyone a chance in this world. This song is intreprets what it is to be alone. It is to dissapear, especially when you see all the others live and well, while you are there by yourself no one talking to you. But then again dissapearing is good in a sense also. Notice how Thom says,"I walk through walls, I flow down the Liffey" You have your head straight when you are by yourself you become independent. But still when you have no one you dissapear, you need someone in your life. This is what this song tells you or the consequences are dissapearing.
By Herb

this is my first favorite song from kid A....

its about leaving your body, letting your spirit free during the awesome yet scary stage of sleep where you feel numb...you're paralized...but you can actually leave your body... and see anywhere you want to go within reasonable limits i suppose
you even have a guardian whom you can feel his prescence
he might be frightening to those who don't understand what's happening, but he IS there to pretect you

thom saw the title of the book "how to disappear completely and never be found"

this title fits perfectly, although it's not about the book, it's stating that the better alternative to changing identities is to just live in your own world
i wish, and i think thom wishes, that ppl could just leave their bodies completely and still 'funtcion normally'
that would be the ultimate escape

i feel no need to quote lyrics...if you're already here you can look them up