In early 1996, during the initial OK Computer demo sessions, 'Nude' made its first appearance. This version was released in 2017 on the cassette that was part of the OKNOTOK 20th anniversary release of OK Computer:
An early link to the lyrics of the song can be seen in a page, that appeared in the first version of radiohead.com in 1996. The line 'don't go, you'll only want to come back again' was part of a verse that would be added circa late 1997/1998, but ultimately taken out:
advice for robots
if you feel that/low again.
please try. remain
inside/circleof
friends./see next instruction
softness
shaking
all in its right being
it willpass
onlypart/not last
saltwater good for cleaning
snapshots.
sentient beings/cold(soothing)
dont.
go.
will only want to come back.
not just circle
not just being
(our radiance/andmeaning.)
sorry that didnt write(be there)
when you wanted(be there)
now writing
now saying
please remember all the good things
now
File/Print.../Print(on my wall stuck for remembering)message ends
if you feel that/low again.
please try. remain
inside/circleof
friends./see next instruction
softness
shaking
all in its right being
it willpass
onlypart/not last
saltwater good for cleaning
snapshots.
sentient beings/cold(soothing)
dont.
go.
will only want to come back.
not just circle
not just being
(our radiance/andmeaning.)
sorry that didnt write(be there)
when you wanted(be there)
now writing
now saying
please remember all the good things
now
File/Print.../Print(on my wall stuck for remembering)message ends
As a sidenote, the above piece of text is related to the artwork for an anorak sold by w.a.s.t.e., as the description to this item, which apparently was written by Stanley Donwood, included this: "Featuring the growth of a scary bear and a message written for suicidal robots". The text from radiohead.com posted above is headlined 'advice for robots', and the anorak features the words "don't go", which are part of a line included in both the 'advice for robots' and early versions of 'Nude' (in the verse that was later omitted).
What makes the connection to this song even stronger, is that the artwork features the line "Your home is at risk if you do not keep up with everyone else", which is highly similar to the original working title Thom mentioned in an april 1998 for MTV's 120 Minutes: 'Your Home Is At Risk If You Do Not Keep Up Repayments":
What makes the connection to this song even stronger, is that the artwork features the line "Your home is at risk if you do not keep up with everyone else", which is highly similar to the original working title Thom mentioned in an april 1998 for MTV's 120 Minutes: 'Your Home Is At Risk If You Do Not Keep Up Repayments":
In late 1996/early 1997, during the recording of OK Computer, this page, titled 'stuck in a frozen lake', appeared in radiohead.com. It features a text by Thom with notes about songs that were around then. It confirms that 'Nude' was the song's initial title when recording OK Computer, and that doubts about the title only arose subsequently. (The relevant section was not highlighted in red letters in the original page.)
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.
The band continued working on the song during the following tour. On september 7th 1997, 'Nude' was soundchecked in Blackpool. This clip shows that Thom is still using the early "thin stewardess" lyrics from the intial studio demo, but the chorus already has progressed to "just when you found it/it's gone/just when you feel it/you don't". This full band arrangement closely resembles both the 1996 studio demo and the later 1998 performances:
On january 23rd 1998, Thom premiered the song live at the Akasaka Blitz in Tokyo as a solo acoustic renditon. At this point it still features another chorus after the "you'll go to hell..." line and an additional verse, that will be taken out later and probably explains the title 'Nude', a connection which is not apparent anymore in the following incarnations of the song, which miss these lines:
they're not gonna happen
you paint your house white and fill it with noise
but there'll be something missing
and now that you've found it, it's gone
and now that you feel it, you don't
you've gone off the rails
she stands stark naked and she beckons you to bed
don't go, you'll only want to come back again
so don't get any big ideas
they're not gonna happen
you'll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking
and now that you've found it, it's gone
and now that you feel it, you don't
you've gone off the rails
In april 1998, the song was played four times with the full band at the end of touring for OK Computer. This arrangement featured Thom on Fender Rhodes and Jonny on Organ and Glockenspiel.
On april 2nd 1998, the song was performed in San Francisco. For the presentation here the audio of the original video was substituted by a better recording:
Among other minor differences, the first line of the verse, that would later be taken out, has been rewritten since the acoustic premiere in january. There's also still a second chorus at the end.
they're not gonna happen
you paint your house white and fill it with noise
but there'll be something missing
and just when you've found it, it's gone
just when you feel it, you don't
you've gone off the rails
she kisses you with tongues and pulls you to the bed
don't go, you'll only want to come back again
don't go, you'll only want to come back again
so don't get any big ideas
they're not gonna happen
you'll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking
and now that you've found it, it's gone
now that you feel it, you don't
you've gone off the rails
now that you feel it, you don't
you've gone off the rails
On april 17th 1998, the song was soundchecked at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. Footage which shows the band fine-tuning the arrangement appeared in Meeting People Is Easy:
The soundcheck clip seemlessly segues into footage from that night's performance of the song:
