Harrowdown Hill

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In one of his most direct (and directly angry) songs, Thom Yorke sings about Dr. David Kelly, a weapons inspector who was responsible for raising questions about the… Read More

Aug. 21, 20061 viewer25.1K views

Harrowdown Hill Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Don't walk the plank like I did, you will be dispensed with
When you've become inconvenient
Up on Harrowdown Hill, near where you used to go to school
That's where I am, that's where I'm lying down
Did I fall or was I pushed? Did I fall or was I pushed?
And where's the blood? And where's the blood?

[Chorus]
I'm coming home, I'm coming home
To make it all right, so dry your eyes
We think the same things at the same time
We just can't do anything about it
We think the same things at the same time
We just can't do anything about it
So don't ask me, ask the Ministry
Don't ask me, ask the Ministry
We think the same things at the same time
There are so many of us so you can't count
We think the same things at the same time
There are too many of us so you can't count

[Verse 2]
Can you see me when I'm running? Can you see me when I'm running?
(Dry your eyes)
Away from them, away from them
(Dry your eyes)
I can't take the pressure, no one cares if you live or die
(Dry your eyes)
They just want me gone, they want me gone

[Chorus]
Now I'm coming home, I'm coming home
To make it all right, so dry your eyes (Dry your eyes)
We think the same things at the same time
We just can't do anything about it
We think the same things at the same time
There are too many of us so you can't
There are too many of us so you can't count

[Outro]
It was me led into the backroom, Harrowdown Hill
It was me led into the background, Harrowdown Hill
It was a slippery, slippery, slippery slope
It was a slippery, slippery, slippery slope
I feel me slipping in and out of consciousness
I feel me slipping in and out of consciousness
I feel me—

About

In one of his most direct (and directly angry) songs, Thom Yorke sings about Dr. David Kelly, a weapons inspector who was responsible for raising questions about the invasion of Iraq and who committed suicide on Harrowdown Hill in Oxfordshire.

The song is told from the point of view of Kelly, who warns the listener to avoid being the whistle-blower like him. Thom reckons that Kelly was “dispensed with” by the Ministry of Defense and the media.