My Iron lung – Rachael Davis
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47x7dC_nXKw&w=740&h=422]
When I first started listening to Radiohead, something really drew me towards ‘My Iron Lung’, from 1995 album The Bends. Perhaps it was Thom Yorke’s beautifully seductive vocals, emphasised by the drawling introductory verse, or the cumulative climactic bridge that epitomises the talents of Yorke, Greenwood, and O’Brien. Maybe it was the lyrics, capturing the nihilistic attitude felt on the brink of adulthood when you’re “too young to fall asleep/ too cynical to speak.” Or it could have been the chaotic, anarchic centrepiece which left my stomach in knots and my ears in ecstasy. Really, it was a combination of all of these and more, owed purely to the genius of the band as a whole.
What’s so special about ‘My Iron Lung’ is that at first it seems like a fairly generic, mid-90s alt-rock track, nestled comfortably among the likes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. As the track progresses, it gets turned on its head, with climactic guitar solos and the iconic throaty screaming of the lyrics “if you’re frightened/you can be frightened/you can be, it’s okay” in the final minute of the track. It’s haunting, demanding of your attention, and hard-hitting, both musically and lyrically.
A musical masterpiece and a poem in its own right, ‘My Iron Lung’ has always been, and always will be, an ultimate favourite Radiohead song.