2 + 2 = 5 (song)

"2 + 2 = 5" is a song by the English rock band Radiohead, released as the third and final single from their sixth studio album, Hail to the Thief (2003), on 17 November 2003. It reached number two in Canada, number 12 in Italy and number 15 in the UK.

"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	Radiohead
Producers	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 references 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]

Release

"2 + 2 = 5" was released as the third single from Hail to the Thief on 17 November 2003.^[7] It was included in Radiohead: The Best Of (2008).^[8] A live version recorded at Earl's Court, London, was included on the 2004 EP Com Lag and the 2025 album Hail to the Thief (Live Recordings 2003–2009).^[9]

Reception

In 2020, the Guardian named the live version of "2 + 2 = 5" 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".^[10]

Track listings

UK CD1 (CDR 6623)^[11]

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

UK CD2 (CDRS 6623)^[12]

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)^[13]

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)[14]	54
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[15]	2
France (SNEP)[16]	64
Ireland (IRMA)[17]	36
Italy (FIMI)[18]	12
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[19]	99
Scotland (OCC)[20]	26
UK Singles (OCC)[21]	15

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	17 November 2003 (2003-11-17)	CD DVD	Parlophone	[22]
Australia	24 November 2003 (2003-11-24)	CD		[23]

See also

• Com Lag (2plus2isfive) EP (2004)