True Love Waits

Album: I Might Be Wrong - Live Recordings (2001)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song shows that everyone in life will eventually find love, we just have to wait.
  • Thom Yorke got the lyric, "True love lives on lollipops and crisps" from a newspaper article he was reading. The story was about a 10 year old boy who was left home alone for 2 days, and the boy lived on lollipops and crisps (potato chips). True love can be anything.
  • The song dates back to the mid-1990s and has been a popular concert ballad since then; a live version was released on the 2001 live album I Might Be Wrong.

    Longtime co-producer Nigel Godrich told Rolling Stone in 2012: "We tried to record it countless times, but it never worked. The irony is you have that sh---y live version. To Thom's credit, he needs to feel a song has validation, that it has a reason to exist as a recording. We could do 'True Love Waits' and make it sound like John Mayer. Nobody wants to do that."

    A studio version was eventually recorded for the 2016 LP A Moon Shaped Pool.
  • This is the closing track of A Moon Shaped Pool. The opening track starts with the word "stay" and this song ends with the words "don't leave." Could that be a response from the band to the rumors that Moon Shaped Pool was going to be the last Radiohead album?
  • This was revealed to be Radiohead's saddest song according to research collected in 2016 by a prominent data scientist.

Comments: 4

  • Truelovewaits from Cambridge I know what Thom Yorke said about the Lollipops line… but I think this news article is much more likely to be the real source of inspiration:

    https://bit.ly/30VBQQB

    It’s about a boy whose mother dies, and he survives on lollipops and crisps until she is discovered and he is saved. He is convinced she is just sleeping until people arrive to lead him away. This fits the themes of the song, and the article was published at about the right time…
  • Oldpink from Farmland, InMagnificent lyrics, and Yorke's vocals perfectly convey them.
  • Bernard from Auckland, New ZealandA small correction, the release dat for this song was in the year 2003 in June
  • Bernard from Auckland, New Zealandthis is such a nice song,
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk: Rock vs. Televangelists

Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk: Rock vs. TelevangelistsSong Writing

When televangelists like Jimmy Swaggart took on rockers like Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica, the rockers retaliated. Bono could even be seen mocking the preachers.

Jonathan Cain of Journey

Jonathan Cain of JourneySongwriter Interviews

Cain talks about the divine inspirations for "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully."

Gentle Giant

Gentle GiantSongwriter Interviews

An interview with Ray and Derek Shulman of the progressive rock band Gentle Giant to discuss counterpoint, polyrhythms, and... Bon Jovi.

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors Examined

Deconstructing Doors Songs With The Author Of The Doors ExaminedSong Writing

Doors expert Jim Cherry, author of The Doors Examined, talks about some of their defining songs and exposes some Jim Morrison myths.

Album Cover Inspirations

Album Cover InspirationsSong Writing

Some album art was at least "inspired" by others. A look at some very similar covers.

Artis the Spoonman

Artis the SpoonmanSong Writing

Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?