The lyrics of the 1995 song titled Black Star by Radiohead from their album The Bends are most often interpreted as an individual in a romantic relationship with someone suffering from mental health issues. 

In Black Star, Yorke sings about his partner’s cognitive distortions and tries to understand the darkness they are experiencing. Yet, Yorke does not know how to help his partner who seems to be suffering from symptoms of major depression.  

“The troubled words of a troubled mind

I try to understand what is eating you

I try to stay awake, but it’s fifty-eight hours

Since that I last slept with you

What are we coming to?

I just don’t know anymore

Blame it on the black star

Blame it on the falling sky

Blame it on the satellite

That beams me home”

Listeners do not need to be well-versed in semiclassical gravity theory to understand the metaphor of a “black star” in this song. Yorke’s use of a “black star” could be interpreted as an easy, yet non-observable and non-tangible, scapegoat for the couple’s relationship problems. To support this interpretation, Yorke follows this lyric with “blame it on the falling sky,” another claim that is incomprehensible. While it is not entirely clear which partner in the relationship is making excuses for the strains in their relationship, either interpretation expresses the mutual difficulties of the couple in love, but falling apart. 

“I get on the train and I just stand about

Now that I don’t think of you

I keep falling over, I keep passing out

When I see a face like you

What am I coming to?

I’m gonna melt down”

The mental troubles of his partner inevitably leads to a breakup and his own emotional meltdown. “Falling over” and “passing out” might imply that he either copes with the breakup through unhealthy indulgences, can’t fall asleep from overthinking their relationship, or that his reaction to a reminder of his ex is emotionally severe. Concluding this song, he sings “Cruel, this is killing me”, comparing this pain to dying. 

Along with the beautiful instrumental, I find the lyrics of this song depressingly poetic. It is one of my favourite songs from The Bends album. Yorke’s emotionally-charged vocals, using falsetto to channel his feelings of hopelessness and heartbreak, delivers such vulnerability that makes his melancholy contagious. 

Despite the simplicity of the lyrics of Black Star, Radiohead produces a deeply emotional story about mental health’s impact in romantic relationships without shame to the partner that is suffering. The lyrics illustrate how a mental illness like major depression can not only debilitate the affected individual, but significantly impact their partner even after a breakup. Not only is physical intimacy impacted, but so is emotional intimacy.

Listen to Black Star by Radiohead here.

Contributing Writer: Serena Phung

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Feature image: Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash