Daydreaming

Radiohead

Written by

Ed O’Brien, Philip Selway, Colin Greenwood +2

Key:A minor
Duration:5:46

Listen to the Song

Summary

"Daydreaming" anchors 'A Moon Shaped Pool' with Jonny Greenwood’s minimalist piano and the London Contemporary Orchestra’s cinematic strings. The track uses manipulated tape loops and reversed vocals to explore themes of personal separation, accompanied by a surrealist film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Art PopAmbient PopChamber PopExperimentalOrchestral

Musical Analysis

The harmonic structure of Daydreaming is built on a simple descending foundation, but its complexity arises from the rhythmic layering and the arrangement. Jonny Greenwood’s piano motif utilizes a 3-against-2 polyrhythm that makes the steady 4/4 pulse feel flu…

Chords

Verse:Am - Am/G - Fmaj7 - C/E
Chorus:C - G/B - Am - F
AmAm/GFmaj7C/ECG/BFG

History

The track began with Jonny Greenwood playing piano in a jam session without Thom Yorke, who later added vocals in a separate session. Yorke described the completion of the song as a breakthrough for the album sessions.

“The song's introduction features a pitch-warping effect created by slowing the tape.”

Full Musical Analysis

The harmonic structure of Daydreaming is built on a simple descending foundation, but its complexity arises from the rhythmic layering and the arrangement. Jonny Greenwood’s piano motif utilizes a 3-against-2 polyrhythm that makes the steady 4/4 pulse feel fluid and untethered. The transition from A minor to C major serves as a primary emotional pivot. The coda introduces microtonal string arrangements and reversed vocal textures that obscure the functional harmony, shifting the focus from chordal progression to timbral dissolution.

The track began with Jonny Greenwood playing piano in a jam session without Thom Yorke, who later added vocals in a separate session. Yorke described the completion of the song as a breakthrough for the album sessions.

"Daydreaming" anchors 'A Moon Shaped Pool' with Jonny Greenwood’s minimalist piano and the London Contemporary Orchestra’s cinematic strings. The track uses manipulated tape loops and reversed vocals to explore themes of personal separation, accompanied by a surrealist film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Deep Analysis Available

Detailed analysis of this section is not yet available for this song.

Song DNA

Genre

Art Pop

Era

2010s

Mood

Melancholic

Tempo

Ballad

Key

Minor

Texture

Orchestral

Sound

Piano-led

Feel

Straight

Explore More

Listen & Learn

Statistics

6.9M

Plays

684K

Listeners

489K

Genius Views

6

Annotations

100%

Popularity

5:46

Duration

4/4

Time

Credits

Written by

Ed O’BrienPhilip SelwayColin GreenwoodJonny GreenwoodThom Yorke

Produced by

RadioheadNigel Godrich

Chord Sheet

Transpose0

Chords Used

Am
Am/G
Fmaj7
C/E
C
G/B
F
G

Progression by Section

Chorus

C
G/B
Am
F

Verse

Am
Am/G
Fmaj7
C/E

Chord Diagrams

Am
Am/G

N/A

Fmaj7
C/E

N/A

C
G/B

N/A

F
G