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'Bodies Laughing' was one of the titles that appeared on the blackboard the band used during two weeks of rehearsals from september 19th to 30th 2005. At the end of that session, Colin posted a picture of this board on Dead Air Space on september 30th, unfortunately (and probably intentionally) in rather low resolution, so that some of it can't be deciphered:
On march 8th 2006, shortly after sessions with Mark Stent had come to an unfruitful end, another photo of a blackboard (and a perhaps slightly worried Ed) was posted on Dead Air Space. A tour had been scheduled for may and june to escape the frustration of the recent sessions and to breathe new life into the project. Rehearsals for the upcoming dates had begun recently, and this board shows which new songs were at this point considered for inclusion in the setlists. 'Bodies Laughing' was one of these, but would not be played and make no known appearence since (click image for full size):
Text related to the song can be found in the promotional newspaper for The King of Limbs.
The song was later revisited by The Smile, and was premiered live in Berlin on may 20th 2022:
This prior arrangement must not have satisfied the trio, as they started performing a new one in their 2024 tour. This arrangement would ultimately be the track's final form for its release on 'Cutouts'. This performance is from march 15th 2024:
Musikexpress: “Bodies Laughing” is one of the songs where the Krautrock influence is particularly audible, perhaps because of the combination of melodic simplicity and rhythmic complexity you just described. One of those typical radiant Thom Yorke melodies over music that starts in a reduced form and gradually builds, while still seeming completely effortless. How does a song like that come into being?

Jonny: We had a fast version that we played live, which was supposed to sound even more Krautrock-like. But when we played it in the studio, we felt that the tempo did not do the song justice. So Thom picked up his acoustic guitar and took the lead — incidentally, it is the only nylon-string guitar he owns. We decided that the song had to serve the arrangement, not the other way around.