Mayer, John - Kid A Lyrics

this is a genius cover. takes the original and makes it better or comes at it from such a different angle that it's practically an entirely new song or genre

I finally understand the lyrics now

Still love this

Your Body is The King of Limbs

i've gotten really into radiohead and i was looking at a bunch of covers and this is the best one i've seen. everyone else just doesn't really understand or attempt the original, and everyone usually only does creep. this cover is amazing.

Waiting on paranoid android to change

People forget about this.

Esta es mi versión de esta canción... https://youtu.be/GcufSJxTdjE

Interesting. Never really listened to John Mayer, only heard a couple of his songs on the radio. But this was actually a pretty interesting cover,

This is a brilliant cover. John Mayer you won me over 🖤

I like this so much more than the original.

So fucking beautiful

This was always been a great cover

Can't believe it's been at leatt a decade since this was a thing. I still would love to see him play this. I have the eerie suspicion there's a perfectly orchestrated loop probably maybe even played live for this take.

This is one of my most favorite musical discoveries of all time...for years and years I thought that I'd heard all there was to hear of John Mayer and I also thought that no one else out there appreciated this weird little song from Kid A in the same way I did...and here comes my favorite artist ever covering that very song by another one of my favorite artists. Yet he still has that uplifting, happy tone that we all know and love while we also know damn well what song he's singing. Such a beautiful melody that sounds eerie in one light but shimmering with brilliant clarity and optimism in another. One of the greatest covers of all time I think.

Love this version! I did a cover mixing radiohead's and john's. check it out =)

https://youtu.be/evSWd5zivKQ

I didn't know this beauty existed

Is great how he made the less acoustic song of the world work so perfectly in acoustic

I love his lows !

As much as I think John Mayer‘s own music is boring as hell... This is the single best radiohead cover I‘ve heard yet.

This is just...why? It completely ruins the pure, pristine prettiness of that music-box melody from the original. Such a weird, pointless cover - to take the most beautiful melody from that entire Radiohead album and turn it into a simple chord progression. I'll never understand covers like this.

although i am not a fan of john mayer’s music at all, i think the point of the cover is to show the deep musical aspects of the original once you remove the icy keys and vocal filters. radiohead’s version (while superior) shields itself in robotic tones intentionally, while mayer’s version opens it up and makes the song more human and vulnerable.

Great!!!

Hi rhymes with glad!

Good cover. Still a racist though

Making edgy jokes doesn't make you a racist, unless you have the worldview of a simplistic fuck.

John Mayer is absolutely brilliant!

Impressive. This is not an easy thing to cover.

@johnMayor cover an Elliott Smith song please!

I love this version! Actually used it as a reference to do my version! https://youtu.be/evSWd5zivKQ

And I thought I couldn’t be more surprised by Hanson covering optimistic

Ive always said that if John Mayer was allowed to be creatively free, hed be one of the greatest artists of our time. But he chose money.

[Intro]
I slip away
I slipped on a little white lie

[Verse 1]
We've got heads on sticks
You've got ventriloquists
We've got heads on sticks
And you've got ventriloquists

[Verse 2]
Standing in the shadows at the end of my bed
Standing in the shadows at the end of my bed
Lying in the shadows at the end of my bed
Standing in the shadows at the end of my bed

[Outro]
The rats and children follow me out of town
The rats and children follow me out of their homes
Come on kids

I’d rather hear him cover Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors 😏

Like, I appreciate the work, I don't mind it, but I won't listen to it another time

this is so cool....i'm a fans of both...awesome

Oh my god...

*suddenly has newfound respect for John Mayer*

ah this is a treat

I hate it. Like john Meyer is talented and all but this song did not need to sound like a 34 year old private school mom's breakup song

Too many people on here are surprised that JM is actually good 🙄

Rachel Im surprised that people surprised.

john mayer makes boring blues-pop songs that sound identical to those that have been done in the past.

He’s a great guitarist. Eric Clapton once said he’s one of the best of our generation.

He's a talented guitarist with uninteresting songs. This track only proves what he could be. Nothing more.

Shit... I like John Mayer now

Kyle Bags exactly lmao

I actually love this cover

John Nailed it.

Your body is a moon-shaped poo

One of the best things I have ever seen was right before John Mayer blew up and got super famous.. he came out for an encore when he was playing in Detroit and played a Stevie ray Vaughn cover people screamed for his other songs... so he played another cover and people started to boo and he gave them the finger during the song and kept playing lol

im creep! im weridoQ what the heck am i doin here? i belong her

My mind is blown

I wish I was packt like sardines in a crusht tin box again.

damn I wanted so bad to hate this...fuckin brilliant...

https://www.discogs.com/John-Mayer-Bigger-Than-My-Body/release/2742504

sikkkkkkk

You did it again John!

I did not know this was a thing! I am so glad I found it <3

where do you get these bro?

his single, like it says in the desc.

Sometimes I'm ashamed to say I'm a fan of Mayer's, yet sometimes I'm proud of the boy... Oh the trials and tribulations of life...

Your body is a moon shaped pool

Oh my goodness.

Was it good for you?

Your body is a moon shaped poo

I was expecting this to be awful. How exactly is this so palatable?

+Not Giving Out My Identity Just For YouTube! He hasn't written cheesy crap in a long time!

+chaferbud
I agree with you. But at the same time, this is Mayer in his earlier and more pure form; covering one of his greatest influences and doing an amazing job at it. Brings back memories of me listening to this cover.

Colm Wykoff John Mayer is the man, that's why.

Mayer is a genius, no less than Radiohead. Hipsters just don't like him.

shit crap

Mayer gets big props for even thinking to attempt this song...really far off from his usual style, shows he's willing to stretch.

he's a big radiohead fan, has done a few of their songs live in concert. he's awesome for seeing the potential for this to be acoustic.

Nice cover

I don't think that Kid A was ever meant to be an acoustic number , the ambient style fits it's composition much better , but not bad though .

Acoustic can have it's own atmosphere, even though it's not neccessarily atmospheric. I think Animal Collective's cover of Nirvana's On A Plane also has this quality.

Great, but I think it would've had the possibility to be transcendent even if he would've somehow included the 'toy-piano' melody that is the hook of the original, whether through vocal overdubs, a non-effected straight piano, a lead guitar riff, something. But still great in its pure minimalism

Thanks for this chaferbud. If you wouldn't have put it up here, I would have never known this existed.

Really interesting to hear this done by a 'human' given the vocals on the original.  What a tough song to cover - but what a great effort.

Because it's Radiohead and not some unauthentic, crap band.

To hear a human, acoustic version of it makes me appreciate the original even more, and it was already one of my favorites off the album. These two versions should be companion pieces.

There's a few live versions where Thom sings it regularly. I assume he's heard those before making this cover.

John Mayer drives a Ford GT appeared on Chappelle's Show and is doing Radiohead covers... He's about 1000% cooler than his music leads me to believe.

He's bigger than his music gives him credit for.

ME and Paul have a question when you have a moment x

such surprise, so superb.

+Leci Solis Much doge, very wow

Not a fan of this dude. Can't take him seriously over his short-lived hype but man, was this rendition superb. 

+Leci Solis Short-lived hype? Mayer ain't a period piece.

+Leci Solis have you not heard him play guitar other than the shit that's on the radio? Sorry man but do your research. He is one of the best blues guitarists we have had in forever.

Probably the best cover he's done to date.

His "Ain't No Sunshine" is up there too

+Jack Pig or all along the watchtower

Nah man his Hendrix covers are where it's at!!

Listen to magnolia.

Free Fallin'

I'm not a big fan of JM but this is one of the best covers I've ever heard.

A lot better than most Radiohead covers. Shame Mayer went so pop he's clearly got tons of talent and such an underrated guitarist.

+Andy Tomlins He hasn't done pop in about 6 years :)

+Casper van Helvoirt he's doing fucking country

I wouldn't say he's underrated, he's clearly perceived as the best guitarist of his generation. When Eric Clapton says you're a fucking master on the guitar, I think that says it all.

maskei More Folk than Country

@s4ms1d3r blake mills

So sad I wasn't able to get this off iTunes

this is probably late but, youtube2mp3 will do the trick, i've just done it.

That's right, hipsters. John Mayer DOES know what he's doing.

Alex Gomez, except that he is a member of John Mayer Trio and Dead & Company. Pretty awesome, if you ask me. And here he is doing a Radiohead Cover.

Well that's the problem for me. He's super talented, but I really dislike him, haha. So I just try to enjoy the songs and not think about the artist. I think he gets an unfair rap, though, because really that's true of a lot of artists.

Alex Gomez unlike Radiohead which makes no money

@mineral radio head makes money what the fuck are you talking about? I'm pretty sure radio head are more renowned than John mayer

John Mayer was hipster before “hipster” even existed.

This is sort of cool, the original to be is uninspired pretentious babble

+Keenan Ruffin-El The correct way to listen to Radiohead is by yourself. Avoid thoughts from pretentious and obnoxious fans and also reviews or anything else of that kind. Just chill out and form your own taste for the record, it's a beautiful experience. Cheers.

@Juan Sebastian Amador Bjarner Good idea. I actually really like OK Computer

+Keenan Ruffin-El Give Kid A a shot man.

+Juan Sebastian Amador Bjarner I used to hate Kid A album for years---except Idiotique. Just recently really fell in love with Kid A song.

+Keenan Ruffin-El Jeez, that comment was shite.

Better ? music is pure, free, emotions. I wonder how all those comments can even be made by people who were drawn here to enjoy music. do you guys compare sunsets with others in your memory ? or just enjoy the one happening...

@Journeyman Band Well put. It's really interesting, to me, to hear such an electronic song covered with acoustic guitar.

Well put

Journeyman Band wise words

Very good. Can't really say if I prefer the original or this one, the difference is night and day. 

Has a very Nick Drake Vibe to it.

SpaceDisco1 Yes! Very Nick Drake

Came to the comments to see if anyone mentioned Nick Drake...sooooo him

I mean, it's not terrible, but anyone saying that this cover is better than the original is absolutely full of shit.

aarongtr180 cool to know John Mayer is also a fan of Radiohead.

Everybody should listen to the Berlin 2000 version before having an opinion.

PERSONAL PREFERENCE is a thing you know

Well, sue me.

Xavi Campoverde as a stand alone song, I agree with you completely. I think the original serves the album perfectly though.

As far as RH covers go, this kinda genius - and its one of their most complicated and oblique songs. But its clear why this was so easily overlooked.

I love Radiohead and I must admit that I prefer this to the original.

@Lex Pienaar The original is way, way better imo. The mood of the original just can't be matched.

john meyer grosses me out but this is p good

not a big fan of John Mayer but this is a great cover

Im a radiohead fan, This is better, end of story. Well atleast in my opinion...

It's not better. It's different.

it's good. objectively not better. lacking depth/space compared to the original

yea I know but the simplicity of this is nice to me. I guess if it wasn't a cover it would be truly amazing because the underlying progressions are unique and beautiful.

Yeah I know. Idk why I even said that. Well I guess I said in my opinion. 

+wolvesnrp it's not objectively worse either

Wow I actually really like this.

hi me from 4 years ago

@Zelude Rose not you but hi

I'm not usually that keen on covers but this guy done a really good job. This song is one of the more obscure songs to cover and manages to get a similar sound with only a guitar and his voice, but also has his own feel to it as well. Love it.

@Adam Nash that's not what obscure means

@James Riley Be easy on him. It's easily one of the least popular songs off of Kid A.

lol thanks. To make things clearer to prevent arguments in the future i used the wrong word to try to describe the song. 

@Adam Nash It is kind of obscure though.  For John Mayer, at least.

Yeah its a contrast to what other songs he does.

It takes quite a musical and genius ear to hear one of Thom's more obscurred and processed pieces. Enigmatic and robotic and yet John hears all of it and more than likely the original melody Thom heard in his own head. He takes this with his guitar and voice and takes what I called a near robotic song with eerie lyrics and makes it perfect in melody, still haunting and still keeping the rhythm perfect in the guitar. The song still holds all the same mystery and yet John has revealed a layer. Genius.

@idonteatcheetos THanks for the info - should've known RH would've done it prior - but since I had never heard it broken down like this - it was sheer wonder to me. I really dug it as well as the original of course. It just showed me and hopefully others that electronic has a soul. Thanks again for FYI.

Joe Schoenberger YESSS & he made it sound like his own song...

why is everyone refering to Thom when speaking about radiohead? they are 5 amazings musicians and composers

@DrunkenSailor404 well, for most of its existence radiohead has relied on thom to do ~90% of the song writing. To your credit, I remember reading this song had a lot of jonny and his ondes mandernot in it.

Sounds like you're giving John Mayer more credit than the original writers of this track.

Very tasty! Quite the critique here, its a cover of a song he likes. Enjoy it for what it is and let it have it's purpose. 

You'd think a critic would know his grammar, but fuck it, it's le interwebzzz

go to play neon  john

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

@ICantFindaNameSoYeah it's easy lol. Learning it took no time at all

@butlerlars It's not much about how hard it is to play Neon, but more about singing it while playing 

@ICantFindaNameSoYeah I see what you mean now.

@butlerlars Maybe you play the notes, but you don't play 'Neon'. If you feel me. Simply playing the notes isn't enough to play a song. You must feel it, and translate it into music with your instrument. But that's like 99% impossible with Neon, since it's a fucking John Mayer's acoustic masterpiece

this actually doesnt suck?! :O i kind of like it. not as great as the actualy song but theres only so much one guitar and a guy can do

Everybody is comparing it to the original version, which means it's good enough to be compared with the original one. And that doesn't happen in most radiohead covers.

This is surprisingly good!

I visited this link out of curiosity...because I love Radiohead and hate John Mayer. But, as much as I hate to admit it, he did a decent job with this. But let's make it clear, I still can't stand the douchebag :).

I couldn't stand John Mayer when he was really popular in 20002/2003 and I loved Radiohead back then, I still do.. I heard this cover version once in 2003 and I was surprised that John Mayer covered it.  Now that I'm listening to it again, I'd have to say this is probably just as good as the Radiohead version, in some ways it's slightly better.  I have the Kid A album, so I've heard the album version many times.  

Nobody is better than Radiohead.

One of the worst covers in history, a total pile of shit.

@Rivfruifv So I did.  Oops.  Of course what I meant was 2002.  

@Rivfruifv I have a vision impairment, so that mistake went completely unnoticed.  

This is not even close to Radiohead's original. This lacks all of the depth of the original.

die john mayer.

I'm a massive radiohead fan, never listened to this guy, this cover is an awesome interpretation of it, well done :)

he's a great guitar player. and he's good when he's playing other people's songs. his original music is just GARBAGE though.