Listening to Radiohead as a non-native speaker of English...

[hmpf]

is weird. Of course, years ago I simply didn't understand a thing. I still find lyrics more difficult to understand than normal, spoken language, a lot of the time, but more and more often, I'm having these moments where I feel like I understand something, only to think, "wait a sec, that *can't* be it..." ("Fingers in the blackbird pie?") - and then I go and check it on some lyrics website or other, and it turns out to be right...

Comments

[svilleficrecs.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, as a native english speaker (and big radiohead fan), I can't understand what they're saying much of the time too.

I'm actually really beginning to be able to understand them a lot better now.

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

My listening comprehension in general has progressed by leaps and bounds in recent years.

But... a lot of the lyrics just *are* very... difficult. I mean, the blackbird pie isn't exactly easy to make sense of!

Hey. Don't you live in Japan? Or am I getting you mixed up with someone else here? If you are in Japan, or have family there (sorry, my memory's a bit vague), I hope everything's okay with you and/or them.

Re: I'm actually really beginning to be able to understand them a lot better now.

[svilleficrecs.livejournal.com]

Nope, in NYC, actually.

And re the random lyrics, yes, LOL. Sometimes you're like "He didn't just say 'upside down coconut rabbit*', right?" Then you find out he did.


* not an actual radiohead lyric. ;)

Re: I'm actually really beginning to be able to understand them a lot better now.

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

*snerk*

Yeah. Though actually I find many of the lyrics less bizarre than those of some other bands. They're usually not all *that* absurd.

Re: I'm actually really beginning to be able to understand them a lot better now.

[herdivineshadow]

With the "blackbird pie" thing, it's probably harder if you're not familiar with the nursery rhyme that mentions it because, without it, a "blackbird pie" is a really really odd kind of pie to come up with.

Re: I'm actually really beginning to be able to understand them a lot better now.

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

Thanks! That actually helps.

I should probably get me a copy of Mother Goose, sometime - for reference purposes.

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

As a native English speaker, lyrics have me scratching my head and saying, 'what!??!' a lot of the time.

Yeah...

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

Same for me in German, really. And there's some bands with pretty impenetrable lyrics in Germany, too... :-)