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The Bends
Radiohead
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- Album
- The Bends
- Released
- 1995
- Genres
- art rock, alternative rock
- Length
- 4:06
- Tempo
- 92 BPM
- Label
- XL Recordings
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About this song
Thom Yorke first described the track as being about knowing who your real friends are and whether they will come to your gigs, later simplifying the idea to knowing who your friends are. Yorke has said the opening sound was recorded outside a hotel in the United States, where a man was training eight-year-old children who were parading around with instruments.
What it's about
The song is about knowing who your friends are, and it is laced with ridiculous lines about the CIA and the Marines. The title refers to decompression sickness, which happens when dissolved gas forms bubbles in the blood during rapid pressure changes.
Fun facts
- Sampled in 2 other songs, like “False Flags by Massive Attack”.
- Covered 2 times, including “The Bends by Rosie Carney”.
- Written by Philip Selway, Ed O’Brien, Colin Greenwood, Jonny Greenwood and Thom Yorke.
- Produced by John Leckie.
- Recorded at The Manor Studio.