This song was first played at the Gorge in George, WA on June 23, 2001. Reckoner is reminiscent of a line from the opening of Book II from Goethe’s Faust, “Life is not light but the refracted color.” The meaning is that life is not pure, but mixed, like rainbows. Radiohead’s album title, “In Rainbows,” and this song from which it comes, suggest there are deals made and reckonings to be made by the life we live. These deals mean we live multiple lives, not a singular or pure one.

lyrics

Open in browser ↗

View on Last.fm →More by Radiohead →In Rainbows →