Listen to Thom Yorke – ‘The Present Tense’
Today, Thom Yorke performed a solo set at the Latitude Festival. Read all about it here. At the crowded Obelisk Arena, the Radiohead frontman, played a new song.
The song ‘The Present Tense’ was part of a twelve song set. ‘The Present Tense’ was introduced by Thom as ‘A New song, so you know, go for a piss’. The song was previously soundchecked at Radiohead shows in Toronto and Mexico. We’re hoping that more audio and video will surface soon. The BBC promised the broadcast of Thom Yorke’s full set on Tom Robinson’s 6Music show, but only played two tracks; Harrowdown Hill and True Love Waits. Both of those soundboard recordings are up at Fine Fine Music as well as an audience recording of The Present Tense.
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49 Responses to “Listen to Thom Yorke – ‘The Present Tense’”
Thom Yorke live at Latitude Festival | Radiohead At Ease
July 19th, 2009
a new “in rainbows” is on the way =)
melampyge
July 19th, 2009
Listen to more Thom Yorke Latitude tracks in proper quality on BBC 6 Music from 8pm
BBC Latitude
July 19th, 2009
i think the band naked eye image is the new radiohead, radiohead is kinda fading 
mike
July 19th, 2009
He can sing the alphabet and i would buy it.
ged
July 19th, 2009
[...] to At Ease, the song is titled “The Present Tense”. Check out a bootleg snippet of it below (via [...]
Thom Yorke debuts new song at Latitude Festival
July 19th, 2009
i need a hairy shite
Inspirial Carpets
July 19th, 2009
this is beauty .most of the things beautiful people do are beauty. they carry beauty on them and this is not an exeption [ right spell ? ] .present tense is an incredible delicious song.
now . . . i am always more exited about him pulling loops and experimenting with stuff. that brings me again an incredible hope of LP8 going in that direction . because i didn t say that but beautiful people and beautiful musicians going in that direction is my hope for LP8 plus the beauty on simple songs as well that i know will be there.
so however we look at this there s beauty and hope and positivism
thank you eternally for the beauty Thom
pantrus
pantrus
July 19th, 2009
“Thom Yorke’s full set can be heard on Tom Robinson’s 6Music show from 2000 BST Tonight.”
They’re broadcasting 2 songs and 2 songs only!!! Check your sources next time for fucks sake.
john galantini
July 19th, 2009
OMG … amazing music !
Rene_matheus
July 19th, 2009
“Was not so bad” (pat-pat)
(j/k)
Hey, the lyrics are improving greatly.
Kemoushi
July 20th, 2009
amazing quality :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmbg3Z0×6jQ
Doc Freud
July 20th, 2009
‘Present Tense’ has opened me up into a new dimension of being.
No, I’m not drunk or on drugs, I just L-O-V-E this song with every capillary of my heart.
“I won’t get heavy”
“keep it light keep it moving”
“In you, I’m lost”
Peter Schafer
July 20th, 2009
they also soundchecked it in Mansfield: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V5xtvgWhR8
ourhands
July 20th, 2009
Lyrics?
Distance/ Distance/ It’s like a weapon/ like a weapon/ self-defense/ self-defence/ against the present/ against the(?)/ present tense/ I won’t get heavy/ don’t get heavy/ keep it light/ keep it moving/ I am doing no more/ and my world comes crashing down/ I am dancing/ freaking out/ (?)/ In you I’m lost/ In you I’m lost/ I won’t turn around when the penny drops/ I won’t stop now/ I won’t slack off/ I always go (?)/ oooo/ stop from falling into my (?)/ it always goes (?)/ oooo/ In you I’m lost/
Peter Schafer
July 20th, 2009
Very good song!
Thocky
July 20th, 2009
Pulk-Pull* : an on-going investigation of the music and art of Radiohead » Blog Archive » Message 316: The Present Tense
July 20th, 2009
Thom, about Follow Me Around:
”One that’s on the shelf and never made it off. Did you like that? Good! It’s on YouTube now”
RELEASE IT!!!
Eggy13
July 20th, 2009
PLEASE!
Eggy13
July 20th, 2009
against the present
don’t get heavy
keep it light
and my world comes crashing down/ I am dancing/ freaking out
fuck it. i admire truly admire thom.
pantrus
July 20th, 2009
Sounds pretty interesting. I always have a hard time judging new Radiohead/Yorke songs until I hear them on the recording though.
Johnny Beatle
July 20th, 2009
@Peter Schafer
Your lyrics sound close, but it’s definitely “This dance” rather than “Distance”, a few other changes in the version below;
This dance/ This dance/ It’s like a weapon/ like a weapon/of self-defense/ self-defence/ against the present/ against the present/ present tense/ I won’t get heavy/ don’t get heavy/ keep it light/ keep it moving/ I am doing no more/ as my world comes crashing down/ I am dancing/ freaking out/ deaf, dumb and blind/ In you I’m lost/ In you I’m lost/ I won’t turn around when the penny drops/ I won’t stop now/ I won’t slack off/ I always go (?)/ oooo/ stop from falling into my (?)/ it always goes (?)/ oooo/ In you I’m lost/
Andy
July 20th, 2009
Good, but i think that needs the other members of radiohead to give the final touch
PEDRO
July 20th, 2009
Thom, you never cease to amaze me.
SubSickAlien
July 20th, 2009
[...] (via At Ease) [...]
I fancy the lyrics.
The next Arpeggi?
Luke
July 20th, 2009
I think that the lyrics says Distance, no this dance, it makes more sense
Marco Valdivia
July 20th, 2009
if you want to learn this on guitar just go to my youtube channel (i do radiohead covers and tutorials):
Warren
July 21st, 2009
Warren is back!
last7
July 21st, 2009
Great vid, thanks.
Sorry for overanalysing, but ‘This dance’ makes much more sense than distance. He even refers to dancing later on. You’ve seen him during idioteque, right? ‘Freaking out – deaf, dumb and blind’. Maybe this dance is part of the way he fights off the kind of depression revealed in ‘How to Disappear Completely’ when he became self-aware on stage in Dublin. Now he reminds himself to keep his mood light. Which is great for us fans!
miss_wrong
July 21st, 2009
I was in the 2nd row for this, it was gorgeous.
I agree with Andy re. the lyrics. It’s definately ‘This dance’. Never been so sure of a Radiohead lyrics in my life.
Xanthe
July 21st, 2009
Soooo good I’m happy that this went down! Just a taste of what is to come.
Matt
July 21st, 2009
“I am doing no more”
I think this part is wrong and from what I heard…
I think it’s :
” I am doing no harm “
Fred
July 22nd, 2009
And “I always go (?)” is :
“Or all this love will be in vain”
Fred
July 22nd, 2009
yeah, definately ‘or all this love will be in vain’.
but for that final verse after the first ‘ooohooh ooohoahoo’ all i can make out is:
‘i stop from falling down on my axe
no-one’s bed is next but mine
then all this love will be in vain
oooh ooh ooh
in you i’m lost
in you i’m lost (repeat)
miss_wrong
July 22nd, 2009
Is he always that blonde?
How silly.
At least he’s not 90s-Thom blonde anymore, yeekers.
This song has amazing potential.
Mariana
July 23rd, 2009
to whoever thinks that radiohead is fading just because thom yorke did a solo show is fucking retarded. thats ridiculous. radiohead has always handled their problems well and have probably become quite close especially in more recent years. i don’t think radiohead will end anytime soon. and i frankly don’t expect them to just end because of differences.
Todd
July 23rd, 2009
thank god for this…
I’ve been waiting for him to write this song for a while. it literally made me frozen and feel something I don’t feel with anyone elses music.
I love him.
Max
July 23rd, 2009
i think the song begin by: This Tense
sophie
July 23rd, 2009
get a haircut, thom!
Angie
July 24th, 2009
Thom Yorke’s FODA !!!
Renematheus
July 29th, 2009
It was beautiful. I wonder what the final cut will sound like.
Priscilla
July 31st, 2009
hail to mr yorke!
Maslia
August 2nd, 2009
[...] D’abord il y a eu la nouvelle chanson Super collider, jouée en concert et écoutable ici. Ensuite, il y a eu la pièce de Thom Yorke sur un album bénéfice, où l’on trouve aussi son frère Andy. All for the best, une reprise de Miracle Legion, est écoutable ici. Puis, il y a eu la pièce The present tense, écoutable ici. [...]
I have a feeling, that he wrote this song right there, on a stage, 5 mins before performing..
ericthebananaman
August 10th, 2009
I noticed something interesting from the setlist for this show–The printout has 10 songs listed, down to ‘Videotape’. Songs 11 & 12 are then penned in by hand, and list ‘Give Up Ghost’ and ‘Reckoner’ as the final two songs…but Thom actually played ‘There There’ and ‘True Love Waits’.
Just an observation…
And what is ‘Give Up Ghost’?
_john_
August 18th, 2009
i’m going to have to agree with Sophie; the first words are “This tense,” you know, it only makes sense because of the name of the song and the way he holds his mouth when he says it and what it sounds like.
Charim
March 8th, 2010
actually, no… it feels wrong now
Charim
March 8th, 2010
[...] ‘Follow Me Around’, ‘True Love Waits’ and played for the new song ‘The Present Tense‘ for the first time with key lyric ‘I’m Lost In You’. “Thank you for [...]