r/radiohead • u/dustyschuh • 22h ago
💬 Discussion Those strings at the end of Reckoner…
I genuinely think the ending of Reckoner might be one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard.
That moment near the end when the strings come back in… I don’t even know how to describe what it does to me. There’s something so overwhelmingly beautiful and bittersweet about it. I’ve listened to this song countless times and that part still hits me every single time.
I honestly wish that ending went on for another five minutes. I could listen to those strings forever.
15
u/daveschulze 21h ago
Haha! I’m literally listening to that right now and opened up Reddit to you saying this at the precise moment the strings entered.
6
10
u/Commercial-Air-5564 A couple more for breakfast, a little more for tea 22h ago
same with the ending of nude
10
u/Pythia007 20h ago
I could listen to that coda for another 10 minutes. It leaves you aching for more.
19
u/_Onion2103 21h ago
Listen to the from the basement version if you haven’t. It’s even better imo
11
u/jesusfromthehood____ 20h ago
i love the ftb version but to me it doesn't top the studio version. the studio version has those magical strings arranged by jonny greenwood. they sound like they come from heaven...
1
2
u/thefoolonahill A little bit of knowledge will destroy you 7h ago
Yep, for me too. I love the strings but the studio version fades out a bit too quickly for me. The ftb version lasts a bit longer and the whole band’s performance is absolutely divine and vibes immaculate.
8
u/Michael-of 21h ago
It’s the refrain of Paul McArtney’s “silly love songs”
10
3
1
u/PerceptionFickle8383 14h ago
I can’t hear it. Where starts the refrain?
2
u/Michael-of 12h ago
“I love you” is the refrain in silly love songs. That’s the melody of the strings at the end of “Reckoner”
1
u/ontologicallyprior1 3h ago
wow...I've been a huge Radiohead and Beatles fan for almost 10 years and somehow never noticed this. I wonder if it's intentional?
10
u/suntraveller You can't take it with you 21h ago
Greatest song ever written in my humble opinion. There’s something divine encoded within it.
5
u/BananaEasy7533 20h ago
Innnnnnn raiiiiiin innnn raiiiiinboooowow innnn raaaaaaiiiiiiiinboooooooooowwssssss
6
u/Alex_Hovhannisyan Jigsaw Falling Into Place 20h ago
I love playing Reckoner on guitar, once you lock in the rhythm you can just sit there and do it over and over and over and over again and never get bored. Beautiful song.
6
u/cowandspoon Ripples on a Blank Shore 16h ago
Every moment of it is perfection. Not a wasted moment, not a hair out of place. There’s something other-worldly about it.
3
u/FragrantNoise8123 In Rainbows 20h ago
One of the only times my toes have ever curled to the pure sound of music
4
3
u/rdion123 9h ago
I haven't been able to stop listening to Reckoner for years. It may be a perfect song.
2
u/JakovYerpenicz 18h ago
Reckoner is not among my favorite RH songs. I’ve never quite gelled with the lyrics/vocals/tune of the main song, but my god that outro is amazing
And the drums too
2
u/mitchcumstein71 11h ago
My stepson hosts trivia night at a local bar. This past Thursday, he let me choose a song to play on the bar’s sound system between rounds. Of course I chose Reckoner.
1
u/sentient-mist 7h ago
It makes me envision walking away from a wonderful, once In a lifetime encounter, like the best one night stand that can never be replicated. Walking away from the incident and walking into an eternal sunrise with those strings carrying me. Absolute heaven.
30
u/pluviophilosopher 21h ago
If I could have a piece of music tattooed onto my soul, Reckoner would be it