I jumped in the river and what did I see?
Black-eyed angels swam with me
A moon full of stars and astral cars
And all the figures I used to see
All my lovers were there with me
All my past and futures
And we all went to heaven in a little row boat
[Refrain]
There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt
[Verse]
I jumped into the river
Black-eyed angels swam with me
A moon full of stars and astral cars
And all the figures I used to see
All my lovers were there with me
All my past and futures
And we all went to heaven in a little row boat
[Refrain]
There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt
There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt
There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt
About
Malevolent, moving, epic, this sets the stage for the rest of Amnesiac. It has spooky piano chords, Thom Yorke singing beautifully, and strings that evoke being pulled into a vortex.
John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats writes: “Our opinion on this question is that “Pyramid Song” is actually a hand reaching out of a rabbit hole proffering delicious candy, only the candy is drugged and there are no rabbits in the hole: just ghosts and the promise of bad times ahead.”
The song has a remarkably unusual rhythm; it’s even a point of debate among fans. One theory about it is that the song’s name is geometrically derived from the length of its notes, as illustrated below:
Despite the unusual rhythm, the song does in fact use a 4/4 time signature when viewing the song’s sheet music.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Colin has said in an interview in Sundance, in 2000:
The inception of the song was when we were in Copenhagen, and Thom went ‘round the museum of culture. And there was an exhibition of Egyptian underworld and tomb art. Of people being ferried across the river of death, I don’t know what it’s called in Egyptian mythology, and he was very effected by it and he went back and sat behind the piano and wrote it.
- 2.Pyramid Song
- 6.Knives Out
