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Dollars And Cents
There are many things to talk about
Be constructive
Bear witness
We can use
Be constructive
With yer blues
Even when the walls cave in
*
Even when you turn the water green
Why don't you quiet down
Why don't you quiet down
Why don't you quiet down
Why don't you quiet down
Burn down the neighbourhood
You sing songs but you never stay*
We'll have goals in a liberal world
Living in times when I could stand it, babe
It's all over the neighbours houses*
Oh then maybe I could see out of here
All of the planets dead
All over the planet so let me out of here
All over the world
(Why don't you quiet down) - We are the Dollars and Cents
(Why don't you quiet down) - and the Pounds and Pence
(Why don't you quiet down) - the Mark and the Yen
(Why don't you quiet down) - You know we're going to crack your little souls
We're going to crack your little souls
We are the Dollars and Cents
And the Pounds and Pence
And the Pounds and Pence
And yeah we're going to crack your little souls
Crack your little souls
We are the Dollars and Cents...
Perhaps the most difficult Radiohead song to lyrically decipher. There are many variants to the above all over the net but this is my attempt. I have gathered information from various sources and listened to the song many times. The lyrics vary during live performances and everybody is going to have an opinion and hear different things when they listen. Basically, just enjoy the song for what it is and don't anaylise it too much. The lines marked with an asterix are the lines I had trouble with and would welcome any suggestions. An example of a live performance of the song is printed below:
There are many things to talk about
Be constructive
Bear witness
We can use
Be constructive
With yer blues
There are times the walls cave in
Even when you turn the water green
Why don't you quiet down
Why don't you quiet down
Why don't you quiet down
Why don't you quiet down
Burn down the neighbourhood
You sing songs but you never stay
Burn down the neighbourhood
Living in times when I could stand it, babe
It's all over the streets tonight
It's all over the streets so let me out of here
It's all over the streets tonight
It's all over the streets tonight so let me out of here
It's all over over over over over and over
(Why don't you quiet down) - We are the Dollars and Cents
(Why don't you quiet down) - and the Pounds and Pence
(Why don't you quiet down) - and the Mark and the Yen
(Why don't you quiet down) - You know we're going to crack your little skull
We're going to crack your little skulls
We are the Dollars and Cents
And the Pounds and Pence
And the Pounds and Pence
And yeah we're going to crack your little skull
Crack your little skull
We are the Dollars and Cents
The Pounds and Pence
The Mark and the Yen
Dollars and Cents
Now we say...
Quieten down
Quieten down
Quieten down
Quieten down
Quieten down