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Climbing Up the Walls
Radiohead
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- Album
- OK Computer
- Released
- 1997
- Genres
- art rock, alternative rock
- Length
- 4:45
- Tempo
- 78 BPM
- Label
- XL Recordings
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About this song
The track is one of the first by Radiohead to be described as scary, and it relies heavily on strings. Jonny Greenwood composed the string section alone, with 16 violins playing quarter tones apart from one another. It is the 16th track in the 01 10 playlist and serves to complement "Reckoner" from the album In Rainbows.
What it's about
The song is sung from the perspective of paranoid fear itself, giving voice to the English expression for worry and doubt. Thom Yorke's lyrics address the relentless internal demons people face.
Fun facts
- Sampled in 11 other songs, like “BREAKUP/BREAKDOWN by RAWINTHEVOID”.
- Covered 8 times, including “Climbing Up The Walls by The Anchoress”.
- Written by Ed O’Brien, Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Thom Yorke and Philip Selway.
- Produced by Nigel Godrich.
- Recorded at St. Catherine's Court and Abbey Road Studios.