This song is about the terrible experiences one faces going through the strict, violent discipline and bullying of the British school system.

The Smiths wrote a classic song about the same topic, titled “The Headmaster Ritual”, from their 1985 album Meat is Murder, most definitely a great influence for Radiohead, which even covered the song in one of their webcasts back in 2007.

There are, of course, many other British cultural works dealing with the same topic, from Pink Floyd’s anthem “Another Brick in the Wall” to Lindsay Anderson’s 1968 sarcastic movie If….