Radiohead: Creep Meaning
Song Released: 1992
Covered By: Glee Cast
Creep Lyrics
Couldn't look you in the eye
You're just like an angel
Your skin makes me cry
You float like a feather
In a beautiful world
You're so fucking special
I wish I was special
But I'm a creep
I'm a weirdo
What the...
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1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:While the song has been partially explained by the band to be about a drunken student trying to approach a woman he is attracted to, I find the song particularly rich for the way it mirrors the lover and the beloved. Clearly the object of the singer's gaze, the woman also blurs into his insecurities becoming not only his object of desire external to himself, but also a projection of his own inferiority -- of everything within. Thus, her running away indicates a Lacanian rupture whereby the ideal image of perfection represented by the woman (which also represents an ideal self that has on some plane of existence the slightest chance of attaining her love), becomes recognized for what it truly is -- the singer's inability to possess her. Not because of any fault of the woman, but because he's the creep, the weirdo. However, this introspection is incited by sight of her, and by a subconscious propensity to measure his sense of self based on her sense of him -- in other words, her reaction to him becomes a reflection of what he considers to be his true self. The fantasy of the Ideal "I" crumbles on her departure, and he is left no longer singing to her his offers of devotion, but in the last stanza concludes by singing the same words into an introspective void as he tries to locate himself: "What the hell am I doing here? / I don't belong here." But the lonesome echoes of the song leave me with a sense that he continues spiralling downward into his own emptiness, fixated upon his loss, revealing an inability to find himself anywhere else except in his fantasies of perfection.
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2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:When you were here before,
Couldn't look you in the eye
You're just like an angel,
Your skin makes me cry
(This verse explains the love he has for her passionate beauty. She appears so gorgeous to him, and he can't even stand it.)
You float like a feather
In a beautiful world
I wish I was special
You're so fuckin' special
(He compares the woman to something as graceful and beautiful as a feather, in a world that's completely admirable. He wishes he, himself could compare. He wants to be as glorious as her, because he wants her to be his.)
But I'm a creep,
I'm a weirdo
What the hell am I doin' here?
I don't belong here
(He's showing that he's not good enough for her in this verse, doubting himself, and wondering why he's even guessing the chance. He thinks he doesn't deserve her.)
I don't care if it hurts,
I wanna have control
I want a perfect body
I want a perfect soul
(I think that in this verse, the boy is trying to demonstrate how badly he wants the girl. He wants to do everything in his power to make her his. It could also symbolize sex, the first time: "I don't care if it hurts", and that he is fantasizing of the idea of them making love. "I want to have control". After making love, he thinks she would impact him so much as to he would feel as perfect as she is to him.)
I want you to notice
when I'm not around
You're so fuckin' special
I wish I was special
(The boy wants to be as special to the girl. He wants her to always think of him. Notice when he's not there, miss him when he's gone. And that no matter what, even if she leaves him, that she will always remember him. She's so much too good for him, and since he's got her, he wants to have her forever, in a presence, or just as a memory if that's what it comes down to.)
But I'm a creep
I'm a weirdo
What the hell am I doin' here?
I don't belong here, ohhhh, ohhhh
(He's showing that he's not good enough for her in this verse, doubting himself, and wondering why he's even guessing the chance. He thinks he doesn't deserve her. No matter what they've been through at this point. It can also demonstrate how he's begining to mess up all that they've had,shared, loved; up to this point.)
She's running out again
She's running out
She run run run run...
run... run...
(This verse demonstrates that the poor boy is back to the begining. He's got it as good as he did when he only admired her, and now that he has her, he's losing her. She's going to leave him. She's to glorious and beautiful to stay with him, a "creep", a "weirdo". She's broken his heart.)
Whatever makes you happy
Whatever you want
You're so fuckin' special
I wish I was special
(The boy is letting her go, because she wants to, he has no other choice than to let her leave, she doesn't love him anymore. He wants whatever is best for her, because his affection is so strong. He wishes he was a special to her as she was to him, because again, she's the one who's so strongly admired at this point in the relationship.)
But I'm a creep,
I'm a weirdo
What the hell am I doin' here?
I don't belong here
I don't belong here...
(Back to the begining, only to fail at the end. He's admired her, he stole her heart, and no she has left. The "I don't belong here" demonstrates the painful goodbye he had to go through, and alas, after all the time, all of the pain, memories, thoughts shared, she was too good for him, she was an angel, he was just a creep..) -
3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:I think it's just about fulfillment, depression is taking over this persons life, he feels alone and a reject, he doesn't fit the 'perfect person' description and feels that he can't approach this girl, although he wants to go over and say hi, even just to be friends, he thinks about it and thinks 'what the hell am I doing here?'
He doesn't feel worthy enough for this girl that's 'just like an angel' so he thinks 'i don't belong here...'
Here, to me, meaning the world and how he sees it as he knows he is fine but is afraid of being rejected by everyone.
Love this song so much. -
This band claims to be the antenna which picked up a story line in the universe told millenniums ago. Satan influences Eve, but he's a creep and she has to run out of the beautiful world. He doesn't belong here.
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This song speaks volumes to me. My mother is an alcoholic and my father a narcissist. I became codependent because of their abuse. This song speaks to me in a similar way of Yorke's original meaning. It's about the beloved and the belover. I'm the belover, I'm the creep. I'll analyze based off of my codependent tendencies.
"When you were here before
Couldn't look you in the eyes"
This speaks to how I was never able to look my parents in the eyes when they'd say horrific things to me.
"You're just like an angel"
My father always told me how amazing he is and how he thought he was better than everyone.
"Your skin makes me cry"
This reminds me when my dad would lay his hands on me. His skin would strike me and it'd make me cry histerically.
"You float like a feather
In a beautiful world"
This reminds me of how careless and neglectful my parents were to me. They floated in the air, far from the ground where I was abandoned. They lived in their own world.
"I wish I was special"
They always told me how mean and arrogant and egotistical I was. They made me feel worthless because I wasn't those things. They told me I wasn't special and that they were.
"You're so fucking special"
This is me saying angrily and sarcastically how I don't think they're special now. Far from it!
"But I'm a creep
I'm a weirdo"
That's what they wanted me to believe. I am not. I am Sarah and I am beautiful.
"What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here"
This is how I feel right now living with them. I want to get out so badly but fucking money's a huge issue and so are my fears of being independent.
"I don't care if it hurts
I wanna have control"
I have tried everything to help them and it has hurt like a bitch.
"I wanna perfect body
I wanna perfect soul"
I don't care for a perfect body, but I want my brain to not be so miserable and anxious all the time. I want out!
"I want you to notice
When I'm not around"
They never payed attention to me. It was all about them. They'd leave and think nothing about me. Didn't even worry when I overdosed on alcohol and should've died. Didn't even worry when I left the home and called telling them that I was assaulted. Didn't care. Blamed it on me. Said I shouldn't have moved out. They are so wrong.
(More repeated lyrics)
"She's running out the door
She's running out
She's running, run, run, run, run"
Everytime mom left to her fantasy drunk world. Every moment dad existed in only his selfish head. I was all alone. All alone as a helpless confused kid.
"Whatever makes you happy
Whatever you want"
Alcohol for Mom and suffering for dad.
(More repeated lyrics then song ends)
This song is so accurate for codependents. I am shocked that it wasn't specifically about that, but the true meaning isn't that far off. Just my take. This song has helped me so much. My mom overheard me singing and playing it on piano and said "sorry" but I don't care. She won't quit with her abusive words and behavior. I've heard that a million times and seen retribution zero. Those words fall on deaf ears for good reason. I don't wish I was special because I know now that I am and they aren't. They're trash and I must do what you do with trash: throw it away (move out). -
for me its about a guy who got fall in love in the pretty girl at their campus but he couldnt approach her because he's a creep, a weirdo, and a guy like him is not ideal to the most special girl in the worl. but all of us must fight insecurities because we are unique! dont treat your self as a creep nor a weirdo because we posses our own beauty and we are all thesame in the eye of GOD
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The lyrics is about a guy who sees himself as a creep and a weirdo.
From Wikipedia:
According to Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood, Thom Yorke wrote "Creep" while studying at Exeter University in the late 1980s. Guitarist Jonny Greenwood said that the song was inspired by a girl that Yorke had followed around who showed up unexpectedly during a show by the band.
According to Yorke, "Creep" tells the tale of an inebriated man who tries to get the attention of a woman to whom he is attracted by following her around. In the end, he lacks the self-confidence to face her and feels he subconsciously is her. When asked about "Creep" in 1993, Yorke said: "I have a real problem being a man in the '90s... Any man with any sensitivity or conscience toward the opposite sex would have a problem. To actually assert yourself in a masculine way without looking like you're in a hard-rock band is a very difficult thing to do... It comes back to the music we write, which is not effeminate, but it's not brutal in its arrogance. It is one of the things I'm always trying: To assert a sexual persona and on the other hand trying desperately to negate it." Jonny Greenwood said the song was in fact a happy song about "recognizing what you are".
Yeah, nobody is perfect and everyone has insecurities. True, even if one is not perfect, people must accept themselves as they are.
I try to be good but sometimes I'm doing the opposite. I don't want to be admired. I just want to be accepted. But I keep in mind that not everyone will accept me and I have to accept that.
( What is the meaning of WA-BAM ?) -
I find that this song shows what goes on internally in the thought process of insecurity and when you get down to brass tacks, it's that desire to be perfect that hurts us the most because obviously no one can be perfect and we as humans feel the need to be as good as possible for one main reason, to be admired and accepted. This is truly a paradox as no one is perfect and with the rose-tinted glasses we view idols in, it gives us unachievable expectations and corrupts the standard for the way we act, look, and think. Is it depressing that we can never be perfect? A little. But once you can comprehend this, you can learn to accept yourself for who you are. I'm not saying you shouldn't try to better yourself, but you shouldn't beat yourself up because you aren't perfect. Models have insecurities. Celebrities have insecurities. Everyone is insecure about something. If we can understand that, we can move forward with our endeavors in improving.
(Also this song hits me with the feels like WA-BAM.) -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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Sung by a sociopath. Socios fall on a spectrum. THIS one knows he cant feel. He has no remorse. He is only what he mirrors from empaths. He wants a perfect soul. TOmirror. And a perfect body to control because they are so egotistical they deserve no less in their minds. Floating like a feather...her feelings are elusive..he cant get them...her skin makes him cry because socios know two emotions ; lust and anger. He feels her skin, he cries out of anger that that is all he "feels" just skin. He cant feel. It is almost like he met the one, if he could feel love, it would be her. But she sees who he is and she runs. I think watching the Johnny Depp/Charlotte version of this video shows the intensity and draw of a sociopath. How you dont know why but you must have them. Dont give in. Educate yourself. Sociopathfree.com.
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Yes, most agree it is about someone who is looking from afar, unhappy with himself and that may be the correct interpretation, however, it can also go a little deeper.
Supposing all those feeling of himself are true, but consider he has actually "caught" the girl. Instead though, because he feels "unworthy" that he actually resents and hurts her.
He tries to control her. He doesn't trust her to actually like him back and begins to impose that she thinks of herself as "so fucking special." He feels she thinks she is too good for him (because of how he feels about himself) and begins to resent her. Her world is so perfect, he is jealous, which makes him more angry with her.
Her skin makes him cry because he has bruised her and knows he should not have which makes him hate himself more.
Also, the control he wants, the perfect body, the perfect sole, is another aspect of an abuser. Even though on one hand he thinks she is perfect and he doesn't deserve her, he also needs her to be that perfect person, always looking her best no matter what (play her part no matter what, with or without bruises, always happy and beautiful). He needs her to have a perfect sole, to care about and forgive him for what he has done even though he himself doesn't feel like he deserves it. (again making him more angry, resentful and self loathing)
He is a weirdo because he knows he should not be hurting and controlling her, but he cant help it. She is running away because she cant take it anymore. That she is running "again" shows more that it is an abusive relationship because clearly she "cames back" for more. But he treats her badly again and she is running again, out the door.
He will feel badly for a while and despise himself even more for what he has done, once again. Every time it gets worse.
The running again can even be a different person each time, but in his mind, they are all the same one and it makes his feelings (jealousy, loathing, hate, love, wanting, mistrust)stronger each time and making him even more lonely and depressed that he cant get the "perfect" person because deep done he knows he is the weirdo and the fault is with him, not them.
Just another take...
Either way, love the song. Always gives me goose bumps when the wailing part starts. -
"I don't care if it hurts, I wanna have control. I want a perfect body, I want a perfect soul."
I personally think (but I'm not sure) that this part is about self harm. Most people self harm because they feel like its the only thing they can be in control of, unlike the rest of their life. "I don't care if it hurts, I wanna have control." Think about it. -
The you in the song is the person who is considered perfect. The person he and everyone else worships, but he alone hates. This person is himself without the flaws. This person is him but better. He hates that because they are beautiful, and perfect they get what he doesn't they get everything handed to them that he wants. Maybe he deserves it maybe he doesn't, but they might not, and they still get all of it. He wants to be that person, but he knows he can never be that person. They are perfect. He is alone. They have the admiration of the world, and all he wants is to fit in. He is strange and different, and no one loves him because they don't understand what he is, nor who he is. In the end he gives in, and gives up, angry inside and alone. He is different, and he is strange, but in anger it is as everyone else thinks. Whatever makes you happy. Whatever you want. He doesn't matter because no one understands nor cares. This person is perfect they have everything, and he has nothing, and no one understands or cares. This song is his lament, and I relate to it very much. That is how I see it, but it might mean something entirely different to you. What it meant to radiohead I have no idea. But that is the beauty of the song.
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This is one of my favourite songs ever,because it talks about the feelings I've been living with most of my life,it's about an socially awkward person ,who doesn't know quite well how to approach people.This guy is stigmatized by everyone because he probably doesnt fit in the society pattern,no matter how badly he wants to belong to something he doesnt look good enough for them,he's not interesting to people,he's closed in his own world,he's not part of anything,that makes him empty and lonely.Tom ,I suppose,has been through that kind of feeling when you all you want is to be accepted and loved by people,then you go and put all your hopes in a person,you've got a true feeling for them person,and all you want is to be noticed ,that person is so wonderful ,so out of your league,that love turns into a painful feeling,that keeps reminding you how you'll never be good enough for that person,and how you'll never get to feel their love.I can feel the pain throughout the melody,it starts in a quite morbid note,a riff that goes pretty much the same ,it makes me feel how weary and depressed Tom feels ,when it comes to the chorus,you feel the despair and his disappointment everytime he reminds what a misfit he is(what the hell am I doing here,I don't belong here),these thoughts haunt him,because he repeats several times ,then comes the most beautiful and heartfelt lines,when he faces his condition,all getting into to the most heartbreaking part(she runs,runs,runs)you can feel the despair,the raw emotion in it,its so beautiful and heartfelt specially in Tom's voice,I believe he lived each and every part of this song,He definetely sang his heart out,making this song so relatable.
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This is one of my favourite songs ever,because it talks about the feelings I've been living with most of my life,it's about an socially awkward person ,who doesn't know quite well how to approach people.This guy is stigmatized by everyone because he probably doesnt fit in the society pattern,no matter how badly he wants to belong to something he doesnt look good enough for them,he's not interesting to people,he's closed in his own world,he's not part of anything,that makes him empty and lonely.Tom ,I suppose,has been through that kind of feeling when you all you want is to be accepted and loved by people,then you go and put all your hopes in a person,you've got a true feeling for them person,and all you want is to be noticed ,that person is so wonderful ,so out of your league,that love turns into a painful feeling,that keeps reminding you how you'll never be good enough for that person,and how you'll never get to feel their love.I can feel the pain throughout the melody,it starts in a quite morbid note,a riff that goes pretty much the same ,it makes me feel how weary and depressed Tom feels ,when it comes to the chorus,you feel the despair and his disappointment everytime he reminds what a misfit he is(what the hell am I doing here,I don't belong here),these thoughts haunt him,because he repeats several times ,then comes the most beautiful and heartfelt lines,when he faces his condition,all getting into to the most heartbreaking part(she runs,runs,runs)you can feel the despair,the raw emotion in it,its so beautiful and heartfelt specially in Tom's voice,I believe he lived each and every part of this song,He definetely sang his heart out,making this song so relatable.
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Just my opinion but I believe this song to be about a guy who's loaded with mental health issues. Probably antisocial and more. He's eyeing his target. His target knows what he is.
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