I do not /
understand /
what it is /
I've done wrong /
full of holes /
check for pulse /
blink your eyes /
one for yes /
two for no //
I've no idea what I am talking about /
I'm trapped in this body and can't get out //
you killed the sound /
removed the back bone /
a pale imitation /
with the edges sawn off //
I've no idea what you are talking about /
your mouth moves only with someone's hands up your ass //
has the light gone out for you /
because the light's gone out for me /
it is the 21st century /
it is the 21st century /
it can follow you like a dog /
it brought me to my knees /
they got a skin and they put me in /
they got a skin and they put me in /
on the lines wrapped around my face /
on the lines wrapped around my face /
are for anyone else to see /
are for anyone else to see /
I'm a lie //
I've seen it coming /
I've seen it coming /
I've seen it coming /
I've seen it coming
In 2003, the song title could be found in the artwork of the Special Edition of Hail To The Thief:
A line from the lyrics appeared in the Scrapbook section of radiohead.com:
Since 2004, these lines could be seen in the Scrapbook section of radiohead.com, and they suggest that there is some kind of a connection between 'Bodysnatchers' and another song which would appear on the September 2005 blackboard, 'Skirting On The Surface':
On august 23rd 2005, Thom made a post on Dead Air Space. The last sentence in this post is a reference to the song's lyrics:
The official 2006 Radiohead calendar contained a page which featured related lines (click to enlarge):
On september 30th 2005, 'Bodysnatchers' was one of the titles that appeared on the blackboard the band used during two weeks of rehearsals from September 19th to 30th 2005. At the end of that session, Colin posted a picture of this board on Dead Air Space on september 30th, unfortunately (and probably intentionally) in rather low resolution, so that some of it can't be deciphered:
On october 22nd 2005, Ed first mentioned the song in Dead Air Space at the end of their two-week session:
On february 27th 2006, 3 photos were posted on Dead Air Space. The titles of the photos indicate they are related to the recording of 'Bodysnatchers' (click to enlarge):
On march 1st 2006, Jonny posted this on the official message board:
"We're just finishing (Famous Last W's) Bodysnatchers. ather good so far....better not turn my guitar down."
On march 8th 2006, shortly after sessions with Mark Stent had come to an unfruitful end, another photo of a blackboard (and a perhaps slightly worried Ed) was posted on Dead Air Space. A tour had been scheduled for may and june to escape the frustration of the recent sessions and to breathe new life into the project. Rehearsals for the upcoming dates had begun recently, and this board shows which new songs were at this point considered for inclusion in the setlists. 'Bodysnatchers' was one of these, and would indeed be played (click image for full size):
On may 1st 2006, Thom and Jonny premiered 'Bodysnatchers' acoustically at a Friends Of The Earth benefit gig at the Koko in London. In this performance the "I see them coming" part at the end is missing:
On may 6th 2006, the full-band version was premiered live in Copenhagen. This video was edited for this website from multiple video sources:
In 2006, the song was played on nearly all shows. The band performed a short version or a long one, with the former being the more common one. On eight shows, circa a third of the gigs where the song was performed, they chose the long one: Copenhagen 1, Amsterdam 1, Blackpool 1, Wolverhampton 2, Boston 1, Toronto 1, Bonnaroo and San Diego 2. These are the lyrics, the red section is missing in the short version:
i do not
understand
what it is
i've done wrong
full of holes
check for pulse
blink your eyes
one for yes
two for no
i've no idea what I am talking about
i'm trapped in this body and can't get out
every time, every time...
has the light gone out for you
because the light's gone out for me
you keep following like a dog
and it brought me to my knees
they got a skin and they put me in
they got a skin and they put me in
all the lines run around my face
and for anyone else to see
i'm alive
you kill the sound
move the back bone
a pale imitation
with the edges
sawn off
i've no idea what I am talking about
i'm trapped in this body and can't get out
every time, every time...
has the light gone out for you
because the light's gone out for me
it is the 21st century
it is the 21st century
you keep following like a dog
and it brought me to my knees
they got a skin and they put me in
they got a skin and they put me in
all the lines run around my face
all the lines run around my face
and for anyone else to see
and for anyone else to see
i'm alive
i see them coming
Q: "Tell me about the songs themselves."
Thom: "There's one called 'Bodysnatchers' - it's a little bit like Neu! meets dodgy hippy rock. It sounds like that new Australian band Wolfmother - I really like them actually. They're totally unashamed about what they're doing. They just don't give a fuck - and I really love that."
On september 21st 2006, this image was posted in the Hodiau Direkton section of radiohead.com:
The "worm buffet" symbols are part of a code that was first introduced with the september 20th image, which contained the message "YES WEARE STILL ALIVE". It was then possible to reconstruct the other symbols. Click here for an overview of the complete code.
The symbols here spell out 'Bodysnatchers' lyrics and translate to this:
BLINKYOUR
EYES
ONEFORYES
TWOFORNO
CODE
CODE
CODE
On November 5th 2007, the band opened their 5th webcast with this performance of 'Bodysnatchers':