Main Index Pablo Honey The Bends OK Computer Kid A Amnesiac Hail to the Thief In Rainbows The King of Limbs A Moon Shaped Pool Thom Yorke Jonny Greenwood Ed O'Brien Colin Greenwood Philip Selway
During the recording of OK Computer, this page, titled 'TOOTHPASTE', appeared on radiohead.com :

toothpaste

an indifferent voice
cuts life or death like margarine
appliances in a bezerk frenzy
smash up my kitchen
i sit here feeling my pulse
wondering what it would feel like if it stopped
i write a list of stuff i need

ice cubes

neil young

toothpaste

In 2004 the same text appeared in a different design in the 'scrapbook' section of radiohead.com:

During the OK Computer period, this piece, which contains a line from the song, appeared on radiohead.com:
three hundred million people

all with the same face

everything i say/do is suspect

take me and you'll get relief

there

numbers mean nothing

god blessed you with a pretty face

right school

right parents

jellydogs jellied eels

we go to a restaurant there is meat in the bread there is not enough seats for everyone there is meat in everything jellylikefat pink slices pink/climbing up fire escapes/very poisoned
The original full title 'Last Flowers Till The Hospital' comes from a sign on the way to Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
The song was part of the OK Computer recording sessions. Thom apparently didn't like the resulting recording a lot. As Ed said, "It was one that we actually tracked and it sounded shite." The song, as described by the band, had elements of David Bowie in it, and was a favorite of Colin's, who explained that while he knows all band members must be in agreement before a track is used on an album, he was still upset to see this one left off.
The song originally had the working title of 'Not All Angels Have Wings'. The release of 'MiniDiscs [HACKED]' let us hear many work in progress versions of the track, such as these two acoustic demos:
'MiniDiscs [HACKED]' contains a few other arrangements the band were trying, all with early lyrics.
During the recording of OK Computer, this page, titled 'stuck in a frozen lake', appeared on radiohead.com and features a text by Thom with notes about songs that were around then. This is further evidence that 'Last Flowers' has been attempted by the band when recording OK Computer. The relevant section has been highlighted for emphasis:


an airbag saved my life* in an interstella burst i am back to save the universe computer drums bass wrong lift* is hard work you been stuck in a lift we been trying to reach you thom the belly of the whale (thanks Rei xxxx) paranoid android* get busy with the shakers while im fast asleep could you stop the noise im trying ta get some rest this the place it wont hurt ever again karma police* girl with hitler hairdo everybodys friend life in a glasshouse phew for a minute there i lost myself i lost myself sit down your safe now polyethelene*will never break down swirly self announcements. stuck in a frozen lake. the penultimate place in dante's hell. last flowers till the hospital*is a sign discovered in oxford -my unhealthy obsession with these institutions. analysts may get the connection. ambulances scream past my house at all hours of the day and night like the confessionals of Larkin's "Ambulan s." let down*in the midst of monster tour the momentum getting drunk to talk bombarded by dangerously high levels of radiation from xray machines. one day, one day... climbing up the walls*both managers and record company are nervous about such a nasty sound coming out of the speakers. this is a good sign. dogwander* bring on another take better than another cake. nude* it is a mans world. and this one is very confused and will have sex with anything woman who comes within a mile radius. but feels bad about it. so doesnt. exit song (for a film)* cannot be listened to more than once in a row. which made recording it easy. or not. but what film? big boots* it was a long time ago and i cant remember. a whole orchestra watching the film and playing along. real life is dull. i am i the white lotus flying off the quay with barbara bach.
(information incomplete)


....>>>>i like the idea of you listening to our recordings with your head resting gently in emptiness. or before going out. or when you've come back. i dont like the scientists breaking down its molecular structure and teaching it in O level chemistry i ont want to have expain it but it worries me stupid. there is a lot of crying goes into making things.<<<<.... the masters tell us that there is an aspect of our minds that is its fundamental basis, a state called "the ground of the ordinary mind." It functions like a storehouse, in which the imprints of past actions caused by our negative emotions are all store like seeds. when the right conditions arise, they germinate and manifest as circumstances and situations in our lives. if we have a habit of thinking in a particular pattern, positive or negative, then these tendencies will be triggered and provoked very easily and recurr and go on recurring. With constant repetition our inclinations and habits become steadily more entr ched and continue, increasing and gathering power even when we sleep. This is how they come to determine our life, our death our rebirth.
Within Thom's notebook written in during the OK Computer sessions, there's a brief snippet of related lyrics (click below to view the full image):

In 2024, a studio recording of 'Last Flowers' was leaked as part of a collection called 'OK OUTTAKES'. This recording notably has a lack of the "relief" chorus, indicating that portion was likely written sometime after the release of OK Computer:
appliances have gone berserk
I cannot keep up
treading on people's toes
snot-nosed little punk

I can't face the evening straight
you could offer me escape
houses move and houses talk
touch me and you'll get a spark

and if you're gonna lie
please leave the room now

and if I'm gonna talk
I just wanna talk
no deliberations
no incriminations

they're tearing it to bits
before it's even started

it's too much, too bright, too powerful
On september 8th 1997, the song was briefly played during a soundcheck:
On december 19th 1997, "Last Flowers" was soundchecked for the MTV 10 Spot show. This is the earliest available full live rendition of the song, and the lyrics are virtually identical to the studio version on In Rainbows Disk 2:
On September 27th 2000, an html page was created on radiohead.com. This new working title can be seen in this page, called 'climatecontrolled' from radiohead.com. The original html file was created :

how could you be so naive?

 


cogs sarcy cogs swrking round .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Say, Mister!

Uh-huh?

You a poet/man?

Uh-huh, uh-huh.

Me too.

Uh-huh, uh-huh!

The new title also appeared in another page from the Kid A period, titled 'Little Crocodiles!':

flies are buzzing round my head flies are buzzing round my head picking up every last crumb the big fish eat the little ones the big fish eat the little ones not my problem give me some. not my problem give me some. you can try the best you can try the best you can money for the generals. how could you be so naive? digging deep into your pockets the will of allah the word of god you can try the best you can try the best you can
the best you can is good enough. why dont you stop beating yourself up? this one isnt jesus turn that hippy bullshit off. i find it difficult to be optimistic. id really like to help you but its just not convenient call me back
some other time. burnt spaghetti wires i am an optimist the best you can is good enough this will not save you will not put the world to rights will not solve your
marriage this wont be on sky tv i dont believe you you you mean it the best you can is good this wont tell you what you need to know optimistic foolish
arseholes tell you what you want to know this one drops a payload this wont cure your loneliness this wont bring the disappeared fodder for the animals living on animal farm
you can try the best you can you can try the best yo can the best you can is flies are swarming round my face. flies are swarming round my face. not now man i got problems of my own. howd i ever get into this mess? unless ofcourse youre trying to hide something. the flies buzz around me picking up evry last crumb when will you ever get out of bed? the optimist will drink and drive the really nervous wont survive optimistic auto-suggestion. hello hello made no difference at all nothing has changed at all this is the new cold war same as the cold old war the names have changed the innocent the innocent have been used to thicken the soupy the soupy can be used to feed the troops from tin cans food is food and sex is sex ivehadmy fill i want to defect. dinosaurs roam the earth shot by monks diplomatic answers to diplomatic questions. the murdered will come back to life tthe blind will cut you with a carving knife the evidence is there too see if you turned a blind eye now your not even human whats your real motivation? cnsequences ff your actions. red ants black ants no idea what your doing viruses mutating mind constipation turn that hippy bullshit off. cogs sarcy cogs swrking round
On April 16th 2005, 'Last Flowers' has its live debut at the Trade Justice vigil in London. It's noticeable that more than 7 years after the soundcheck in late 1997 the song hasn't changed, which raises the question what Thom meant in 1999 when he wrote that he and Jonny had rewritten the second verse. Maybe it was a change that was later discarded:
'Last Flowers' 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:
'Last Flowers' was notably absent on the second blackboard posted on march 8th 2006, which contains songs considered for the upcoming tour. Indeed it would not be played yet during that year.
In November 2005, Thom performed the song for the first episode of Nigel Godrich's From The Basement programme. This piano based arrangement would also be the basis for the studio recording that was done during the In Rainbows sessions at some point from september 2006 to april 2007:
This solo piano performance of 'Last Flowers' was released as a b-side on the Jigsaw Falling Into Place single on january 14th 2008.
'Last Flowers' was not performed during the touring for The King of Limbs.