Independent video for the third single "2 + 2 = 5", from HAIL TO THE THIEF (2003).
The song's title "2 + 2 = 5" recalls the symbol of unreality from George Orwell's novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four". In the book, inhabitants of an authoritarian future state are made to engage in doublethink, replacing their own conscience and beliefs with those imposed from above. At the end of the novel, the protagonist's individuality is demolished, as he avows that two and two are, in fact, five. The song contains similar inaccuracies including January bringing April showers, also a possible reference to Yorke's fears of climate change.
With lyrics like "All hail to the thief, but I'm not" and "Don't question my authority" there have been repeated suggestions from many musical critics that the song is based on the controversial election of George W. Bush in 2000. The band have strenuously denied this, saying in one interview, "It would be too easy for us to insult George Bush".
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