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Harry Patch (In Memory Of)

"Harry Patch (In Memory Of)"
Harry Patch In Memory Of.jpg
2016 single artwork
Single by Radiohead
Released 5 August 2009
Format Download
Recorded 2009
Genre Classical
Length 5:33
Label Self-released
Songwriter(s) Radiohead
Radiohead singles chronology
"All I Need"
(2009)
"Harry Patch (In Memory Of)"
(2009)
"These Are My Twisted Words"
(2009)
"All I Need"
(2009)
"Harry Patch (In Memory Of)"
(2009)
"These Are My Twisted Words"
(2009)

"Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" is a song by the English alternative rock band Radiohead. The band wrote and recorded the song as a tribute to the British supercentenarian Harry Patch, the last surviving soldier to have fought in the trenches during World War I. The song was self-released on 5 August 2009 as a downloadable single and sold for £1 from the band's website, with all proceeds donated to The Royal British Legion. The song was re-released as a single on Remembrance Day 2016, with new artwork by Stanley Donwood.

Recorded in an abbey shortly after Patch's death, the song consists of Thom Yorke's singing and a string arrangement composed by Jonny Greenwood, absent of Radiohead's typical mix of rock and electronic instrumentation. The lyrics are from the perspective of a soldier in the First World War, and include modifications of quotations from Patch. While reception to the song was generally positive, with many critics praising the song's message, others panned the song as overly sombre. The Patch family voiced their approval of the song's message and the band's charitable use of the proceeds.

According to a post by Yorke on Radiohead's blog Dead Air Space, "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" was inspired by a "very emotional" 2005 interview with Harry Patch on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. Yorke wrote that "The way he talked about war had a profound effect on me." The song was recorded live in an abbey, only a few weeks before Patch died on 25 July 2009 at the age of 111. Along with follow-up single "These Are My Twisted Words", "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" represents the earliest releases from the recording sessions that would result in Radiohead's next album, The King of Limbs, although neither song is included on that album.


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