During the recording of OK Computer, this page, titled 'TOOTHPASTE', appeared on radiohead.com :
![]() 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
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
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: