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The Tourist
Radiohead
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- Album
- OK Computer
- Released
- 1997
- Genres
- art rock, alternative rock
- Length
- 5:27
- Tempo
- 114 BPM
- Label
- XL Recordings
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About this song
"The Tourist" is the final track on OK Computer and closes the album with soaring guitar solos and ethereal vocals. Jonny Greenwood wrote it after seeing a group of tourists rush through a town in France, and Thom Yorke later added lyrics he had written on holiday in Prague. The song ends with a triangle chiming prominently.
What it's about
The song is about enjoying life and not rushing through it. It imagines a tourist who hurries to take in every sight, and Thom Yorke tells him to slow down.
Fun facts
- Sampled in 6 other songs, like “EXTRACTED DREAM 2 by death’s dynamic shroud”.
- Covered 6 times, including “The Tourist by Paolo Benvegnù”.
- Written by Philip Selway, Ed O’Brien, Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Colin Greenwood.
- Produced by Radiohead and Nigel Godrich.
- Recorded at Canned Applause? Mobile and St. Catherine's Court.