Thom worked on the music in L.A. in september 2002, then the track was finished by the band after their return to England. The title, a wordplay, is a reference to the Beatles song 'Paperback Writer'. 'Paperbag Writer' was released as a b-side on the There There single. One page of the Kid A era version of radiohead.com, titled 'NIHILOCAPITALISM', contained a piece of text, that would later serve as a major source for the lyrics of the song.

lyrics

Open in browser ↗

View on Last.fm →More by Radiohead →Hail to the Thief (Collector's Edition) →