2 + 2 = 5 (song)

"2 + 2 = 5" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead. It is the opening track to their sixth studio album, Hail to the Thief (2003), and was released as the album's third and final single. It reached number two on the Canadian Singles Chart, number 12 on the Italian Singles Chart, and number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. It was included in Radiohead: The Best Of (2008), and a live version was included on the 2004 EP Com Lag.

"2 + 2 = 5"
Single by Radiohead
from the album Hail to the Thief
Released	17 November 2003 (2003-11-17)
Genre	Alternative rock art rock post-punk hard rock[1]
Length	3:21
Label	Parlophone
Songwriter(s)	Radiohead
Producer(s)	Nigel Godrich Radiohead
Radiohead singles chronology
"Go to Sleep" (2003) "2 + 2 = 5" (2003) "Jigsaw Falling into Place" (2008)
Audio sample
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Recording

"2 + 2 = 5" is a rock song that builds to a loud climax.^[2] It was recorded in 2002 at Ocean Way Recording studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, with the producer Nigel Godrich.^[3] It was recorded as a studio test and finished in two hours.^[4]

Title

The title is a reference to the slogan "two plus two equals five" from the 1949 dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.^[5] The song's alternative title, "The Lukewarm", references Dante's Inferno, in which the "lukewarm" are those in hell who did nothing wrong but did not oppose wrongdoing.^[6]

Reception

In 2020, the Guardian named the live version of "2 + 2 = 5" included in the 2004 EP Com Lag the 31st-greatest Radiohead song, writing that it was Thom Yorke's "polemical anthem for the era of mass-broadcast deception and enhanced interrogation techniques".^[7]

Track listings

UK CD1 (CDR 6623)^[8]

1. "2 + 2 = 5" – 3:19
2. "Remyxomatosis" (Cristian Vogel RMX) – 5:07
3. "There There" (first demo) – 7:43

UK CD2 (CDRS 6623)^[9]

1. "2 + 2 = 5" – 3:19
2. "Skttrbrain" (Four Tet remix) – 4:26
3. "I Will" (Los Angeles version) – 2:14

UK DVD single (DVDR 6623)^[10]

1. "2 + 2 = 5" – 3:19
2. "Sit Down Stand Up" (Ed Holdsworth's video)
3. "The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time" (excerpt)

Personnel

Radiohead Thom Yorke Jonny Greenwood Colin Greenwood Ed O'Brien Philip Selway

Additional personnel Nigel Godrich – production Darrell Thorp – engineering Stanley Donwood – artwork

Charts

Chart (2003–2004)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[11]	54
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[12]	2
France (SNEP)[13]	64
Ireland (IRMA)[14]	36
Italy (FIMI)[15]	12
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16]	99
Scotland (OCC)[17]	26
UK Singles (OCC)[18]	15

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	17 November 2003 (2003-11-17)	CD DVD	Parlophone	[19]
Australia	24 November 2003 (2003-11-24)	CD		[20]

See also

• Com Lag (2plus2isfive) EP (2004)