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Last Flowers Lyrics

Appliances have gone berserk
I can not keep up
Treading on people's toes
Snot-nosed little punk

And I can't face the evening straight
You can offer me escape
Houses move and houses speak
If you take me there you'll get relief
Relief, relief, relief

And if I'm going to talk
I just want to talk
Please don't interrupt
Just sit back and listen

Because I can't face the evening straight
You can offer me escape
Houses move and houses speak
If you take me then you'll get relief
Relief, relief, relief, relief, relief

It's too much
Too bright
Too powerful

Too much
Too bright
Too powerful

Too much
Too bright
Too powerful

Too much
Too bright
Too powerful
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Cover art for Last Flowers lyrics by Radiohead

It's about depression.

It's a very personal song to Thom, as he wrote it during the OKC sessions, and was prompted by the depression he was suffering through, at the time. Notice how emotive his performances are, every time he plays the song?

I have no doubt that depression was the original 'muse' behind the song. I too (also years ago), went through a period of clinical depression, and he articulates the internal panic one feels, at the possibility of being left alone to wallow in one's own negative thoughts/emotions (in an endless, cyclical nature) in a beautifully heavy-hearted manner, "I can't face the evening straight"

But, he is speaking to someone close to him (probably his partner), asking them to spare him from this moment of pain/weakness, by keeping him company, "You can offer me escape"

All of his surroundings only compound his negative thoughts, "Appliances have gone berserk I can not keep up Treading on people's toes Snot-nosed little punk / Houses move and houses speak"

(notice how the latter line is similar to a line in Street Spirit, "rows of houses, are beraing down on me, I can feel their blue jands touching me" - recalling the types of associations he has with the things that get him down). He pleads with his lover to embrace him, so they can share the burden (which he also imagines she can relate to herself), "If you take me then you'll get relief"

He doesn't care what they talk about, as long as he can keep his mind busy and distracted (the subject is unimportant, he just wants her company, and to show she's there for him), "And if I'm gonna talk I just wanna talk Please don't interrupt Just sit back and listen"

It gets to the point where one becomes unable to ignore the overwhelming sensation, if left to one's own devises, "It's too much Too bright Too powerful".

  • That was all a little rushed, but I hope you get the gist.

Yes, I think your interpretation is spot on!

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Cover art for Last Flowers lyrics by Radiohead

I interpret the song as being about aging, staying stagnant as the world continues to move forward, and the feeling of becoming a burden to loved ones as you get older.

'appliances have gone berserk I cannot keep up' has to do with the person's view that the world is progressing so fast while they are being left behind.

'and if i'm gonna talk.. ...sit back and listen' is the desire of the elderly to share their experience/knowledge and to be heard instead of written off and ignored by others. 'snot nosed little punks' probably the fact that every older generation finds the younger ones to have less respect and discipline.

'If you take me their you'll get relief' refering to a retirement home or hospital perhaps.

To me it just seems like a really sad song about getting closer to the end of your life and feeling confused, unwanted and unfamiliar with the world around you. Also, I don't think it could be about Thom dealing with the media over the popularity of OKC, being that this song was written during the OKC sessions but didn't make the album.

Cover art for Last Flowers lyrics by Radiohead

Goddamn. Radiohead is one of my favorite bands and..

Goddamn. I always hear people talking about how incredible Motion Picture Soundtrack and Street Spirit are, but neither of them have affected me as much as this one. I dunno why, something very dark but very beautiful about it- and I'm only listening to the acoustic live version.

The end where he goes "Toooooo much...toooooooooo bright...too powerful...makes me feel like staring into the sun. Goddamn.

I FUCKING KNOW!!!!!!!!!AWESOME!!!!!

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I FUCKING KNOW!!!!!!!!!AWESOME!!!!!

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Cover art for Last Flowers lyrics by Radiohead

This appears to just be a general reflection on the overwhelming magnitude of trying to survive life on a daily basis by someone who's clearly battling some sort of demon. Yorke is describing trying to cope with life through an escapist mentalitity since this is easy. Could be referring to drugs, sex, or any other type of "relief" that humans tend to gravitate towards in order to numb. That's just my take on it.

Cover art for Last Flowers lyrics by Radiohead

this reminds me of trying to get off the drugs, and then when it comes to the evening you start to worry about what the world is going to look like sober, so you get some more

Cover art for Last Flowers lyrics by Radiohead

The song is actually called "Last Flowers to the Hospital" and I often wondered why it would be called that when there was apparently nothing in the lyrics related to someone being ill or dying. Today I came across an article about a woman with bipolar disorder who suffered a psychotic episode. It said that the woman would hear the house speak to her. Apparently psychosis causes a person to hear voices coming from people or things.

I'm not saying that's what the song is about. It could be just about someone needing to let off steam or something else, but it certainly made sense to me more. The lines about the appliances going berserk and all that now take a different meaning for me.

In my interpretation, the narrator is asking someone to take him to the hospital, perhaps.

The lines 'it's too much, too bright, too powerful' also fit in, I think, and take a new meaning for me.

I read somewhere, I no longer remember where, that the name comes from a sign one of the band members saw. It advertised the last flower stand on the way to the hospital. I also don't see anything in the lyrics about illness, but for me the mood of the song kind of mirrors how I might feel seeing someone profiting off of others' misfortune that way - not exactly angry, but kind of disappointed in the world. Thom seems to be perpetually depressed and this song reminds me of me in some regards. I see "stepping on people's toes/snot...

I read somewhere, I no longer remember where, that the name comes from a sign one of the band members saw. It advertised the last flower stand on the way to the hospital. I also don't see anything in the lyrics about illness, but for me the mood of the song kind of mirrors how I might feel seeing someone profiting off of others' misfortune that way - not exactly angry, but kind of disappointed in the world. Thom seems to be perpetually depressed and this song reminds me of me in some regards. I see "stepping on people's toes/snot...

I read somewhere, I no longer remember where, that the name comes from a sign one of the band members saw. It advertised the last flower stand on the way to the hospital. I also don't see anything in the lyrics about illness, but for me the mood of the song kind of mirrors how I might feel seeing someone profiting off of others' misfortune that way - not exactly angry, but kind of disappointed in the world. Thom seems to be perpetually depressed and this song reminds me of me in some regards. I see "stepping on people's toes/snot...

Cover art for Last Flowers lyrics by Radiohead

"Appliances have gone berserk I cannot keep up Treading on people's toes Snot-nosed little punk"

I think the song is about aging and being around younger whippersnappers who do things different than you, how technology is changing and Thom professes that he simply can't keep up. The younger generation is stepping on people's toes and the final line of that lyric is "snot-nosed little punk" which affirms the point I'm trying to make.

Cover art for Last Flowers lyrics by Radiohead

I really love Radiohead. It's one of the bands I felt like I kinda connected to. It gave me sad comfort that really makes me relieve all my sadness when I'm alone. ESPECIALLY THIS SONG!! So I kinda wanna ramble about the lines that really hit different for me

"I cannot keep up"- This line really shows how depression really makes you feel really slow. It's like you want to do something but you can't no matter how simple they are; brushing your teeth, keeping a healthy sleep schedule, eating properly. And yet time still goes by and you feel like you made no progress. It's almost like the world is moving without you and you "cannot keep up"

"Treading on, people's toes"- I took this line very personally. It explains my struggle with opening up to people that I'm in pain. I feel like whatever I say about myself will spread misery across my loved ones. The last thing I want is for my loved ones to carry my responsibilities and adding my problems into their plates because they probably already have their own problems to catchup to. I feel utterly pathetic and selfish when I worry somebody else.

"Snot-nosed little punk"- The "snot-nosed" says that he's crying. I deeply understand this line as I am sensitive. I cry so easily it makes me feel pathetic. what am I crying for? I hear people say "crying makes you feel better" And yes it's true, but not when it happens so often. The more I cry the more I feel like a little child. It's like I'm a "Snot-nosed little punk" again.

"And if I'm going to talk, I just want to talk, Please don't interrupt, Just sit back and listen."- This whole verse broke me down. If I want to finally open up to someone, I don't want them to give me useless advice or any commentary. I just want their understanding and presence. I want them to listen not hear. I just want them to stay with me until my tears dry.

"It's too much, Too bright, Too powerful"- This is my first time living. I am unexperienced of the dark side of life. This feels too overwhelming and too at-once. I don't know how to progress this or what should I do. But I feel like I can't just sit there and do nothing. Everything is going too fast and I'm not doing anything. I am fragile and all this useless pressure will break me. This is just too much.

This is my way of connecting to this song. Actually I wanted to ramble WAY more but I don't know how to word it since wording feelings is difficult, so I just wanted to simplify the ones I felt most connected to. Thank you for reading this.

My Interpretation
Positive
Subjective
Sadness
Connection
Struggle
Vulnerability
Empathy
Overwhelm
Cover art for Last Flowers lyrics by Radiohead

Also known as Last Flowers or Cogs. Green Plastic for more info.

it's about an OD

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is it..?

I have both this song and a song called "cogs (last flowers till the hospital)" and they're definitely different...

is cogs an instrumental early version of last flowers..?

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Cover art for Last Flowers lyrics by Radiohead

i can only find the instrumental. no vocals. no words. no nothing. sucks man.