Just

By Gareth

i was looking through your song interpretations and saw there wasn't one for the radiohead anthem which is just'. so here's what i think it's all about anyway

the song 'just' is one which to me clearly portrays how people who make any attempt to harm themselves are treated as criminals. this is in particular reference to drug use. when a person decides to use drugs, society sees it as their moral responsibility to get the person back walking a thin white line like everyone else.

'You do it to yourself, you do
and that's what really hurts
Is that you do it to yourself
Just you, you and no-one else'

the chorus of this song shows how someone inflicts suffering on themselves. their actions have no effect on society or anyone, other than themselves. the society in this song makes criminals from those who abuse themselves in any way. they feel they are to blame for the situation and want to make it right through correction, sound like any society we know.

that's what i think about just anyway. i'm not even gonna touch the video

By Heath

It's easy, just from the whole chorus. "You do it to yourself, you do, and that's what really hurts." It's true, when you bring shit on yourself (not leaving the girl, cheating, lying; etc.), it hurts worse. "Just you, you and no one else." Hey, people tell you and warn you, but... The verses are tricky, but just like the chorus, it pretty much states that someone can bring the worst possible "hell" or whatever upon themselves. Not sure about calling it JUST...But, it fits. Just, um, "results," if you will, for doing ti to yourself??
By Susan

People go through life making the same damn mistakes over and over again. They think it doesn't appy to them because they think they are special but the truth remains: You get what you give. You do it to yourself!! Hes trying to hammer this inportant message into our tiny brains: YOU DO IT TO YOURSELF!!!!!!! Its not hard to understand: "One day he'll get to you," one day you will pay...you get what you give, YOU DO IT TO YOURSELF
By Meredith

To me just sounds like some twisted sort of spin on heroin abuse. "you do it to yourself..." etc sounds very bitter and to be honest quite nasty, and "Comes like a comet, suckered you but not your friends" seems interesting. But its difficult to read meaning into any radiohead lyrics, as they are meaningful on so many levels.
By Marķa Celeste

After listening to this song several times, and watching the video thinking about "What does Thom try to say with this song???", I thought of something. This song is about GUILT. And everything fits. I don't know if that's the inttention of the band and the right meaning, but I think it's an interesting interpretation. First of all,

"Can't get the stink off /He's been hanging round for days /Comes like a comet /Suckered you but not your friends" Talks about how difficult is to get rid of the feeling of guilt, and YOU are the only one (JUST you) that keeps feeding the feeling, there's no other responsable. "He" is the person troubled.

"One day he'll get to you /And teach you how to be a holy cow " Here, the author speakes to audience, saying that no-one can scape from "THE GUILT". And "holy cow" refers to the ancient religions, that sacralyzed guilt, as a way of purify your soul.

"You do it to yourself, you do /And that's what really hurts /Is that you do it to yourself /Just you and no-one else " Again the idea of the self-punishment caused by the feeling of guilt. "Just you" , no-one else know how do you feel and no-one else can end it. "thats why it really hurts", because you are the only responsable for the act that makes you feel guilty.

"Don't get my sympathy / Hanging out the 15th floor " Here, the Guilt talks in first person. It says that flirting with suicide is not going to change things, is not going to make it go away ("Hanging out the 15th floor " I believe it refers to throw yourself to the emptiness, throw a window). "You've changed the locks three times/he still comes reeling through the door" The author speaks again, talking to the person that have the problem. He said that, it doesn't matter what you do, the guilt isn't something external, it doesn't come from the outside, and it will appear again.

"One day I'll get you / And teach you how to get to purest hell " Again, Guilt speaks in 1st. person. And, again, the idea of ancient religion (specially if we consider the word "hell" and "purest") appears. But, Guilt itself admits that it only drives you to a personal hell, but it isn't really purifying.

Then, the bridge repeats over and over. Saying, Insisting with the idea of a person that makes himself suffer because of the guilt he feels.

About the video, I think it fits with the idea I've tried to explain. That man is the troubled person, and he does what he does because guilt paralyzed him... he can't stand it anymore. And when he says the reason to the other people, he transmits the feeling, and anyone can deal with it. Beside, the action of remain quiet, lying on the street suggest the idea of suicide ("hanging out the 15th floor"), like if he had thrown himself throw the window of his apartment, but, even that can end his feeling.
By Becky

went through a tough time about 3 months ago, when i slashed my wrists over 200 times. No-one really understood why i was doing it, because i was doing it to myself, and i couldn't explain why. i hurt a lot of people because they wanted to help them, and i wasn't able to let them in and let them help me. i think the chorus of 'just' pretty much sums that up. then people got angry at me because i wouldn't let them help me and it muat have seemed like i didn't want to help myself, and i was bringing a lot of people down. this is what the second verse sounds like to me, when someone wants to help you, but if you dont want to help yourself, they get angry cos they feel useless.
By ray.s.

time to throw a little eastern mysticism into the mix - this song is about karma, plain and simple. the law of karma says (correct me if this sounds wrong) that for any situation there's an infinite number of possibilities or choices to make, you make a bad one and it'll come back to you. hence the line "you do it to yourself...."
By Katie

'Just' is about a girl I used to be friends with called Rebecca. Rebecca was 29 and had never been married, never had children. Her own parents' marriage had ended badly, and all Rebecca wanted from life was her own husband and family. She had no self-esteem. Professionally she was intelligent, capable, etc. but she never thought she'd get anywhere. She thought she was ugly, and her friends all knew that she was beautiful.

She got involved in a series of relationships with horrible men who treated her badly. The stink 'hanging round for days' is the stench of a relationship ending in abuse and disaster. Some were violent.

Mostly we felt sorry for Rebecca, but sometimes she made us angry.

Well - I guess it's not specifically about Rebecca, but I always thought it was a song about women becoming involved in abusive relationships and not having the confidence to be alone.
By Matt

I believe that this song is about existential anxiety; plain and simple. After spending enough time inside of your own head, tossing around ideas about the nature of reality and whether or not there's meaning behind it all, you start arriving at some rather frightening scenarios. "Can't get the stink off/ he's been hanging 'round for days. Comes like a comet/ suckered you but not your friends." I think that the opening lines are a reference to that state of terrified awareness, (the thick of the anxiety), where nothing is as it seems and you begin to wonder whether or not those around you ever feel the same way.
"You've changed the locks three times/ he still comes reeling through the door." No matter how many schemes you concoct to take your mind off of the harrowing fears, they still find ways to kick you in the teeth. You start worrying that, eventually, you'll come to some paralyzingly pessimistic understanding that will suck every shred of hope from your veins: "One day he'll get to you/ and teach you how to get to purest hell."
And the thing that's most troubling about these anxieties are the way in which your own soul searching has brought them upon you: "You do it to yourself, you do, and that's what really hurts."
By Kid A[li]

This is the song that exploded RADIOHEAD into North Amercia. With their mind-blowing guitars and their scratch your head lyrics made them ino the best band in the world. The song "JUST" is about a man who brings everything on himself. Also the man/woman is very parnoid using the line "Stick a mirror underneath the door.
By Angel Wannabe

This song means a lot to me, but for a very strange reason; the person with whom i am in love uses it to explain my behaviour, the story, explaining this is very long but put it this way 'i do it to myself and that's what really hurts'- both him and myself.
To me it means that sometimes when you do stuff, what you do can push those that mean the most to you away cos even though you don't mean to, it hurts them.

anyway, i'm sure that's not of interest and i'm trying to be cool by submitting this but anyway, think what u like, and if u don't like, have a go at it yourself.