This song is about an obsessive attraction mixed with a powerful sense of being a misfit.
Inspired by a Muse
Thom Yorke, the frontman of Radiohead, wrote “Creep” during his time in attendance at Exeter University. The song isn’t just about a relationship, although there is doubtlessly a woman in the picture. He is indeed singing about someone he was involved with at the time, but he also uses it as an opportunity to explore the highly relatable feeling of being alienated in general.
In an interview from 1993 in Far Out Magazine, Yorke put it this way: “I have a real problem being a man in the ’90s. Any man with any sensitivity or conscience toward the opposite sex would have a problem. To actually assert yourself in a masculine way without looking like you’re in a hard-rock band is a very difficult thing to do.”
He also said, “It comes back to the music we write, which is not effeminate, but it’s not brutal in its arrogance. It is one of the things I’m always trying: To assert a sexual persona and on the other hand trying desperately to negate it.”
Just like the band he leads, this is a song about a misfit who may turn out to be happy that they turned out that way.
From Fascination to Obsession to Resentment
“When you were here before / Couldn’t look you in the eye / You’re just like an angel / Your skin makes me cry”
It’s hard to tell if the narrator is simply fascinated or fully obsessed at this point.
“You float like a feather / In a beautiful world / I wish I was special / You’re so fucking special”
Yorke comments here on the beauty and grace of this woman as well as the environment she exists in. To him, it’s as if her sublime nature radiates to her surroundings. The last line is where the bitterness, resentment and frustration come creeping in, allowing it to explode satisfyingly in the chorus:
“But I’m a creep / I’m a weirdo / What the hell am I doing here? / I don’t belong here”
Here, we see a fit of desperation and self-loathing. The narrator veers between mellow and sensitive to completely forlorn, often to jarring effect.
When You Feel You Aren’t Enough
“I don’t care if it hurts / I want to have control / I want a perfect body / I want a perfect soul / I want you to notice / When I’m not around / You’re so fucking special / I wish I was special”
This is a perfect example of what it feels like to think you are unworthy. Yorke’s character in the song has felt thoroughly othered by the person he loves and everyone else in the world.
Radiohead member Johnny Greenwood had a positive take on this song. According to him, “It’s about recognizing what you are.” Once you decide to be different intentionally and take ownership of the creep inside, it can be a liberating, freeing experience.
Lyrics
When you were here before
Couldn’t look you in the eye
You’re just like an angel
Your skin makes me cry
You float like a feather
In a beautiful world
I wish I was special
You’re so fuckin’ special
But I’m a creep
I’m a weirdo
What the hell am I doin’ here?
I don’t belong here
I don’t care if it hurts
I wanna have control
I want a perfect body
I want a perfect soul
I want you to notice
When I’m not around
So fuckin’ special
I wish I was special
But I’m a creep
I’m a weirdo
What the hell am I doin’ here?
I don’t belong here
She’s running out the door (run)
She’s running out
She run, run, run, run
Run
Whatever makes you happy
Whatever you want
You’re so fuckin’ special
I wish I was special
But I’m a creep
I’m a weirdo
What the hell am I doin’ here?
I don’t belong here
I don’t belong here
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Mike Hazlewood / Albert Hammond / Philip Selway / Thomas Yorke / Edward O’brien / Jonathan Greenwood / Colin Greenwood
Creep lyrics © Emi April Music Inc., Imagem Songs Ltd., Imagem Songs Limited, Warner/chappell Music Ltd
