R.E.M. Songs Lyrics Archives

R.E.M.

2008-07-14T03:09:00.000-07:00

R.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by Michael Stipe (lead vocals), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass guitar), and Bill Berry (drums and percussion). R.E.M. was one of the first popular alternative rock bands, and gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's unclear vocals. R.E.M. released its first single, "Radio Free Europe", in 1981 on the independent record label Hib-Tone. The single was followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, the band's first release on I.R.S. Records. In 1983, the band released its critically acclaimed debut album Murmur, and built its reputation over the next few years through subsequent releases, constant touring, and the support of college radio. Following years of underground success, R.E.M. entered the mainstream in 1987 with the hit song "The One I Love". The group signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1988, and began to espouse political and environmental concerns while playing large arenas worldwide.

By the early 1990s, when alternative rock began to experience broad mainstream success, R.E.M. was viewed as a pioneer of the genre and released its two most commercially successful albums, Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992), which veered from the band's established sound. R.E.M.'s 1994 Monster was a return to a more rock-oriented sound. The band began its first tour in six years to support the album; the tour was marred by medical emergencies suffered by three band members. In 1996, R.E.M. re-signed with Warner Bros. for a reported US$80 million, at the time the most expensive recording contract in history. The following year, Bill Berry left the band amicably, with Buck, Mills, and Stipe continuing as a three-piece. Through some changes in musical style, the band continued its career into the next decade with mixed critical and commercial success. In 2007, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their latest album is Accelerate (April 1, 2008).

Band Personnel Bio
Discography and Songs Lyrics Collection

R.E.M. Personnel Short Biography

2008-07-13T05:27:00.000-07:00

John Michael Stipe

Born on January 4, 1960 in Decatur, Georgia, Stipe is R.E.M. lead vocalist. Stipe has become well known (and occasionally parodied) for the "mumbling" style of his early career and for his complex, surreal lyrics, as well as his social and political activism. Stipe is in charge of the band's visual image, often selecting album artwork and directing many of the band's music videos. Stipe's work extends outside of the music industry, and he runs his own film production companies, C-00 and Single Cell Pictures.

Stipe's role in the songwriting process for R.E.M. is to write lyrics and devise melodies. While each member is given an equal vote in the songwriting process, Peter Buck has conceded that Stipe, as the band's lyricist, can rarely be persuaded to follow an idea he does not favor. Stipe sings in "wailing, keening, arching vocal figures" that R.E.M. biographer David Buckley compared to Celtic folk artists and Muslim muezzin. Stipe often harmonizes with Mills in songs; in the chorus for "Stand," Mills and Stipe alternate singing lyrics, creating a dialogue. Early articles about the band focused on Stipe's singing style (described as "mumbling" by The Washington Post), which often rendered his lyrics indecipherable. Stipe commented in 1984, "It's just the way I sing. If I tried to control it, it would be pretty false." Producer Joe Boyd convinced Stipe to begin singing more clearly during the recording of Fables of the Reconstruction.

Peter Lawrence Buck

(born December 6, 1956 in Berkeley, California) is the guitarist and founder, along with Bill Berry, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe. He is the oldest member of the band.

Buck's style of guitar playing is simple and yet distinctive. He makes wide use of open strings while chording to create chiming and memorable pop melodies. His sound, especially on mid-period R.E.M. albums that saw the band break through to international popularity, has been associated with Rickenbacker guitars, particularly a black model 360. However, he has also used a wide variety of other instruments as the group has continued to experiment and develop. On some more recent R.E.M. releases prior to 2008's Accelerate, the guitar has been noticeably less prominent, something which to a certain extent may be referable to the band's occasional increased use of synthesizers, strings and other atmospherics.

Buck has contributed liner notes to a number of compilations, reissues, and special editions, both of R.E.M.'s own material (the best-of compilations Eponymous and In Time, the rarities, B-sides and out-takes collection Dead Letter Office and the special edition of New Adventures in Hi-Fi) and of other artists' work (such as the Beach Boys' Love You).

Michael Edward Mills

(born December 17, 1958 in Orange County, California) is the bass player of R.E.M. Though known primarily as a bassist, piano player and background singer, his musical repertoire includes many other keyboard, guitar, string, wind and percussion instruments. He also contributes to much of the band's songwriting.

Mills is responsible for the songwriting of some of R.E.M.'s songs, including "Find the River", "At My Most Beautiful", "Why Not Smile", "Let Me In", "Wendell Gee", "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville", "Beat a Drum", "Be Mine" and "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?". In addition to providing backing melodies, he has also sung lead vocals on "Texarkana", "Near Wild Heaven", The Clique cover "Superman" and The Troggs cover, "Love Is All Around". R.E.M.'s 2004 album Around the Sun was heavily shaped by Mills' piano and keyboard parts, and he had many prominent vocal parts on the 2008 album Accelerate.

William "Bill" Thomas Berry

(born July 31, 1958) is a multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer in R.E.M. for 17 years, before retiring from the group and becoming a farmer. Apart from his drumming duties, he played many other instruments including acoustic guitar, bass guitar and piano. After his retirement from the band he has maintained a low profile, making sporadic reunions with R.E.M. and appearing on other artists' records.

In addition to his duties as a drummer, Berry contributed occasional guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards, and piano on studio tracks. In concert, he sometimes performed on bass, and supplied regular backing vocals. Berry also made notable songwriting contributions, particularly for "Everybody Hurts" and "Man on the Moon", both from Automatic for the
People. Other Berry songs included "Perfect Circle", "Driver 8", "Cant Get There from Here" and "I Took Your Name". Fittingly, the song "Leave" from R.E.M.'s 1996 album New Adventures in Hi-Fi was also written by Berry, which was his last album with the band.

Berry was also responsible for toning down the lyrics of the song "Welcome to the Occupation." Stipe's original lyric was "Hang your freedom fighter" which, given the Reagan administration's active support for the contra "freedom fighters" in Nicaragua, sounded very violent and militant. Berry's objection led the line to be changed to "hang your freedom higher." During 1984 Berry also was drummer for the impromptu Hindu Love Gods, which featured his R.E.M. bandmates Mike Mills and Peter Buck and rocker Warren Zevon

Berry thus left the music business and became a farmer, working on his hay farm near Watkinsville, Georgia.

R.E.M. Discography List and Songs Lyrics

2008-06-27T23:49:00.000-07:00

Find R.E.M. song lyrics by clicking on album name contained the song:

Murmur (1983)

Reckoning (1984)

Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)

Lifes Rich Pageant (1986)

Document (1987)

Green (1988)

Out of Time (1991)

Automatic for the People (1992)

Monster (1994)

New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996)

Up (1998)

Reveal (2001)

Around the Sun (2004)

Accelerate (2008)

Beachball

2008-06-27T22:45:00.002-07:00

Tonight's alive
The beach ball's set to fly
Those well tequila'd guys
Who smile at strangers.

A' tes souhaits
A' tes amours chéri
You give a little squeeze
And dance the rhu-rhu-rhu-rhumba

This life is sweet
You're dancing in the street
Who knows who you might meet?
You'll do find.

The little weekend's here
Thursday has an ear
The coffee klatch career
She talks to strangers

And kissing by the sea
Particular to me
'ti punch, mojito, sling and
Dance the rhu-rhu-rhu-rhumba

This life is sweet
You're dancing in the street
Who knows who you might meet?
You'll do find.

We flash the seaside sky
With starfishe butterflies
To cast a spell
And welcome locals and welcome locals, Weekenders and strangers.

You'll do fine.
You'll do fine.
You'll do fine.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

I'll Take The Rain

2008-06-27T22:45:00.001-07:00

The rain came down
The rain came down
The rain came down on me.
The wind blew strong
The summer's song
Fades to memory.

I knew you when
I loved you then
The summer's yawn, now hopeless.
You laid me bare
You marked me there
The promises we made.

I used to think, as birds take wing,
They sing through life, so why can't we?
We cling to this, and claim the best
If this is what you're offering
I'll take the rain, I'll take the rain.

The nighttime creases
Summer schemes
And stretches out to stay.
The sun shines down
You came around
You loved the easy days.

But now the sun,
The winter's come.
I wanted just to say
That if I hold
I'd hoped you'd fold And open up inside, inside of me.

I used to think
As birds take wing
They sing through life, so why can't we?
We cling to this, and claim the best
If this is what you're offering
I'll take the rain, I'll take the rain, I'll take the rain.

This winter's song
I'll sing along
I've searched its still refrain
I'll walk alone
If given this,
Take wing, and celebrate the rain.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Chorus And The Ring

2008-06-27T22:41:00.000-07:00

Hey there now young Wholly, sing along
Quote the scriptures, keep them guessing
Which pit you crawled from.
Just defy it, just deny it, was it fun?
Your time has come-
What have you done? What have you done?

That's when the insults start to sting
You can't remember anything
The chorus chime in, the Greek chorus,
The machine of god singing.

It's the poison that it measures brings illuminating vision
It's the knowing with a wink that we expect in Southern women
It's the wolf that knows which root to dig to save itself
It's the octopus that crawled back to the sea.

That's when the insults start to sting
You can't remember anything
The chorus chime in, the Greek chorus,
The machine of god ring!

Hey.....

Hammered shooting plywood in the backyard
Laughing 'cause the racket makes the blackbirds sing
Write the holy terror, suck the marrow from the bone - singe
Your own wings burning books, you got the chorus and the ring

That's when the insults start to sting
You can't remember anything
The chorus chime in, the Greek chorus
The machine sings.

That's when the insults start to ring
You can't remember anything
The chorus chime in the Greek chorus
The machine sings.

That's when the calibration brittle as a stick gets you the gold ring
And the tar museum Che Guevera wink, gold ring.
Gold ring.

Sing, sing, sing, sing.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Summer Turns To High

2008-06-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

Mercury is rising still
Turn the fan on high
I won't step on my own shadow
No one wants to cry

Someone put a pox on me
I'll spit in their eyes

Summer turns to high

With my bed-sheet cape and sandals
Circle citronella candles
Summer's here, the light is raising hopes and dragonflies.

If those hopes are overshadowed by cotton candy, caramel apple

Summer turns to high
Summer turns to high
Summer turns to high
Summer high

After wine and nectarines
The fireflies and time
Move like syrup through the evening with the sweet resign

I won't pine for what could have been-
I'm preoccupied

Summer turns to high
Summer turns to high
Summer turns to high
Summer high

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Imitation Of Life

2008-06-27T22:12:00.001-07:00

Charades, pop skill
Water hyacinth, named by a poet
Imitation of life.
Like a koi in a frozen pond.
Like a goldfish in a bowl.
I don't want to hear you cry.

Thats sugarcane that tasted good.
Thats cinnamon, thats Hollywood.
C'mon, c'mon no one can see you try.

You want the greatest thing
The greatest thing since bread came sliced.
You've got it all, you've got it sized.
Like a Friday fashion show teenager
Freezing in the corner
Trying to look like you don't try.

Thats sugarcane that tasted good.
Thats cinnamon, thats Hollywood.
C'mon, c'mon no one can see you try.

No one can see you cry.

That sugar cane that tasted good.
That freezing rain, that's what you could.
C'mon, c'mon on no one can see you cry.

This sugarcane
This lemonade
This hurricane, I'm not afraid.
C'mon, c'mon no one can see you cry.

This lightning storm
This tidal wave
This avalanche, I'm not afraid.
C'mon, c'mon no one can see me cry.

That sugar cane that tasted good.
That's who you are, that's what you could.
C'mon, c'mon on no one can see you cry.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Beat A Drum

2008-06-27T22:11:00.001-07:00

The sun reflected in the back of my eye.
I knocked my head against the sky.

The dragonflies are busy buzzing me.
A seahorse as if we were in the sea.

Halfway from coal, halfway to diamond.
My fall knocked a mean chip out of me.

I'm gathering as far as I can reach.
We're perched up on a precipice
And this is what I've seen.

This is all I want, it's all I need.
This is all I am, it's everything.

This is all I want, it's all I need.

A bluejay hectors from the felled Catalpa tree.
A doctorate in science and a theologian's dream.

The dragonflies are trying to lecture me.
The seahorses if we were in the sea.

This is all I want, it's all I need.
This is all I am, it's everything.

This is all I want, it's all I need.

Beat a drum for me, like a butterfly wing.
Tropical storm across the ocean.

Don't explain, I'm sure I'll want to know
Don't forget, we're just halfway from coal.

This is all I want, it's all I need.
This is all I am, it's everything.

This is all I want, it's all I need.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Saturn Return

2008-06-27T22:10:00.000-07:00

Easy to poke yourself square in the eye
Harder to like yourself, harder to try

These Elvis poses, postcards and neopryn
Roses a dollar a stem
Everyone's sleeping or pulling a long haul,
The keys in the cooler it's 3 A.M.

And saturn is beckoning no-one
Is off on it's own
Is offering up.

Late shift convenience store
Cut out the lights
Telescope roof towards the
Northwestern sky
You pulled the ladder up
No one's the wiser
You find your sights and discover

That Saturn is orbiting nothing
It's off on its own
It's breaking from home.

Harder to look yourself square in the eye
Easy to take off.

You found the ladder in the pattern of your wrist
You've seen and you've marked horizions
Mother was difficult, she made you cry
Cover the mirror, look to the sky

You climb into your rocket-ship triumph
Lift up and hold out your hands.

Saturn is orbiting nothing
It's off on its own
It's breaking from home

Saturn returns when you chased down its moons
Throw them into a new gravity.

Harder to look yourself square in the eye
Easy to poke yourself, easy as pie
Easy to take off, harder to fly
Harder to wake Galileo.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Disappear

2008-06-27T22:09:00.002-07:00

I dragged my feet
Across a seat
And jumped out the passenger side.
The only thing worth looking for
Is what you find inside
But that had not yet appeared
Lost, invisible, here.

Tel Aviv and Agadir
Taroudant or Olomouc
Before I learned to see
The vanishing point appear.

I looked for you and everywhere
I looked for you and everywhere.

There is a calm I haven't come to yet
I spend half my life figuring what comes next
I telescoped in
I'll finally win
I'll finally win the prize
That now eyes see
A comic's perfect timing squeezed.
I'm head-first fighting everything
The crushing force of memory
Erasing all I've been
The vanishing point appears.

I looked for you and everywhere.
I looked for you and everywhere.
Tell me why you're here.
I came to disappear.

Look at this face
Can you believe it?
Am I living in the beautiful vacuum?
Because I can't see it.
The vanishing point appears.

I looked for you and everywhere.
I looked for you and everywhere.
Tell me why you're here.
I came to disappear.
Tell me why you're here.
I came to disappear.
I came to disappear.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

She Just Wants To Be

2008-06-27T22:09:00.001-07:00

It's not that she walked away,
Her world got smaller.
All the usual places
The same destinations
Only something's changed.

It's not that she wasn't rewarded
With pomegranate afternoons
Of Mingus, Chet Baker and chess
It's not stampeding fortune
Or prim affectations
She's off on her own
But she knows

Now is greater than the whole of the past
Is greater, and now she knows.

She just wants to be somewhere
She just wants to be.
She just wants to be somewhere
She just wants to be.

It's not that the transparency
Of her earlier incarnations
Now looked back on, weren't rich
And loaded with beautiful vulnerability
But now she knows

Now is greater
And she knows that.

She just wants to be somewhere
She just wants to be
She just wants to be somewhere
She just wants to be.

Now is greater, now is greater
And she knows that.

She just wants to be somewhere
She just wants to be.
She just wants to be somewhere
She just wants to be.

It's not like if angels
Could truly look down
Stir up the trappings
A light on the ground
Remind us of what, when, why or who
That how's up to us, me and you
And now is greater than the whole of the past

Is greater and now she knows that.
Now she knows.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

All The Way To Reno (You're Gonna Be A Star)

2008-06-27T22:07:00.002-07:00

Humming
All the way to Reno
You've dusted the non believers
And challenge the laws of chance
Now, sweet
You were so sugar sweet
You may as well have 'kick me'
Fastened on your sleeve

You know what you are
You're gonna be a star.
You know what you are
You're gonna be a star

Wing
Is written on your feet
Your achilles heel
Is a tendenc
To dream
But you've know that from the beginning
You didn't have to go so far
You didn't have to go.

You know what you are
You're gonna be a star.
You know what you are
You're gonna be a star

You know who you are
You know who you are
You know who you are

Humming
All the way to Reno
You've written your own directions
And whistled the rules of change.

You know what you are
You're gonna be a star (star)
You know what you are,
You're gonna be a star (star)
You know what you are,
You're gonna be a star (star)
You know what you are,
You're gonna be a star (star)

Humming
All the way to Reno
All the way to Reno
All the way to Reno
You're gonna be a star, you are
You're gonna be a star
You're gonna be a star, you are
You're gonna be a star

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

I've Been High

2008-06-27T22:07:00.001-07:00

Have you seen?
Have not, will travel
Have I missed the big reveal?

Do my eyes,
Do my eyes seem empty?
I've forgotten how this feels.

I've been high
I've climbed so high
But life sometimes
It washes over me.

Have you been?
Have done, will travel
I fell down on me knees

Was I wrong?
I don't know, don't answer.
I just needed to believe.

I've been high
I've climbed so high
But life sometimes
It washes over me.

So
I dive into a pool so cool and deep that if I sink I sink
And when I swim I fly, so high.

What I want
What I really want is
Just to live my life on high.

And I know
I know you want the same
I can see it in your eyes.

I've been high
I've climbed so high
But life sometimes
It washes over me.

Washes over me
Close my eyes so I can see
Make my make-believe, believe
In me.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

The Lifting

2008-06-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

Grounded 5 a.m.
The nightlite is comforting.
But gravity is holding you.

Once settled into sleep
You have watched on repeat,
The story of your life
Across the ceiling,
And in review,

You've said the air was singing
It's calling you you don't believe
These things you've never seen.

''Good morning, how are you?
The weather's fine, the sky is blue-
It's perfect for our seminar...''

''Now close your eyes,
And start to breathe.
Allow the noise to recede...
...Allow yourself to drift and fly away.
But you just stay.

You've said the air was singing
It's calling you you don't believe
These things you've never seen, never dreamed.

Did you hear these voices calling

Locked into a conference room,
''We're only what our minds assume...''
And rationale is leaving you.

This conceit these systems of belief,
Your counselor agrees,
''You've always mark these boundaries now you're free...''
And with relief.

You've said the air was singing
It's calling you you don't believe
These things you've never seen, never heard, never dreamed.

You said the air was singing
It's calling you you don't believe
These things you've never seen.

Never (x19)

Once you had a dream
Of oceans, and sunken cities
Memories of things you've never known

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Electrolite

2008-06-27T03:46:00.001-07:00

Your eyes are burning holes through me.
I’m gasoline.
I’m burnin’ clean.

Twentieth century go and sleep.
You’re plasticine.
That is obscene.
That is obscene.

You are the star tonight.
You shine electric outta sight.
You light eclipsed the moon tonight.
Elecrolite. You’re outta sight.

If I ever want to fly.
Mulholland Drive.
I am alive.

Hollywood is under me.
I’m Martin Sheen
I’m Steve McQueen
I’m Jimmy Dean

You are the star tonight.
You shine electric outta sight.
You light eclipsed the moon tonight.
Elecrolite.
You’re outta sight.

If you want to fly.
Mulholland Drive.
Up in the sky.
Stand on a cliff and look down there.
Don’t be scared, you are alive.
You are alive.

You are the star tonight.
You shine electric outta sight.
You light eclipsed the moon tonight.
Elecrolite.
You’re outta sight.

Twentieth century go and sleep.
Really deep.
We won’t blink

You’re eyes are burnin’ holes through me.
I’m not scared
I’m outta here.
I’m not scared.
I’m outta here.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Low Desert

2008-06-27T03:45:00.000-07:00

It happened fast, it’s over quick.
A little dust and the engine kicks.
Did your hands drift down off the wheel?
Roll out, hit your windshield

An eyelash or a little bit of sleep? Time stands still.
Just call it now and you’re on your way (hey, hey, hey)

All the ashtrays, cities and the freeway drives
Broken casino and waterslides
Eighteen-wheeler, payback dice.
Gravity flows on the power line.

Jet stream cuts the desert sky.
This is a land could eat a man alive.
Say you’d leave it all behind.

There’s a radio tower that’s egging me on
Back to the place where you never belong.
Where people thrive on their own contempt.
Whatever meaning is long gone, spent.
If you had to guess or make bet,
Would you place yourself inside of it?
The mountains yawn, the clouds let out a sigh.
''Tricked again.'' Let go, okay.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

So Fast, So Numb

2008-06-27T03:44:00.000-07:00

Movin’ through rough waters motel boy,
And swimming in your sleep.
How could I be so blind, mis-sighted,
Not to see there’s something wounded deep.

Anyone could scratch your surface now,
It’s all amphetamine
You’re blasting yourself into the present
Learn some vast indignity, stay that,

You say that you hate it
You want to re-create it
I’ve been around, I’ve been your lover.
I let it go at Kill Devil Hill,
You’re coming onto something so fast, so numb
That you can’t even feel.

You’re drinking the wrong dream now baby,
You do-si-do, saddo
You’re you in cartilage, shark-eyed, shock horror, all present tense,
And boy your blood is running cold.
Listen, this is now, this is here, this is me,
This is what I wanted you to see.
That was then, was that, that is gone, this is past,
You cast yourself cast, passed by, gone down fast.

You say that you hate it.
You want to recreate it.
I’ve played this round, I’ve played your lover.
I’ve played it out to the hilt.
You’re comin’ on with something so fast, so numb
That you can’t even feel.

You love it. You hate it.
You want to re-create it.
Now, this is here, this is me.
This is what I wanted you to see.
That was then, was that, that is gone.
That is what I wanted you to feel.

You love it. You hate it.
You spit it out, the bitter pill.
I’ve been around, I’ve been your lover
I let it go at Kill Devil Hill.
You’re coming onto something so fast, so numb
That you can’t even feel.

I’ve played this round, I’ve played your lover.
I’ve played it out to the hilt.
You’re comin’ on with something so fast, so numb
That you can’t even feel.

you played around, you played me lover,
I let it go at Kill Devil Hill,
You’re moving so hard, so fast, so numb
That you can’t even feel.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Binky The Doormat

2008-06-27T03:43:00.001-07:00

(Lyrics source: mostly from one of Stipe's lyric sheets.)

This is horror movie stuff.
The muffin is peach, you’re ‘makin’ love’.
You mean this opera involves handcuffs?
I lay defeated.
Yeah, sour milk mouth, horseradish sweet.
She’s a girl and she’s loving me.
But distance is my tendency.
I am defeated.

have you lost your place?
I wore my doormat face.
I hung my this or that.
I laid my welcome mat.

If I’m your oyster, where’s the war?
You leave me gasping, tattered and torn.
I know you can’t find a fork.
I am just a little acorn.
Well, acorns grow to mighty trees.
You’ve got sauce, but you don’t have knees.
Now look who’s asking pretty please.
I lay defeated.

Have you lost your place?
I wore my doormat face.
I hung my this or that.
I laid my welcome mat.

Call your bathroom friends around.
I will fake a little frown.
I will be your little clown,
Easily defeated.
Yeah, shut the door and open wide.
Seconal and astroglide.
Fuck with me and traumatize.
Don’t you see I love your hide?
All the beauty that’s trapped inside.
Can’t you see I love your hide?
Can’t you see I love your hide?
Can’t you see it?

have you lost your place?
I wore my doormat face.
I hung my this or that.
I laid my welcome mat.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Be Mine

2008-06-27T03:42:00.000-07:00

I never thought of this as funny
It speaks another world to me
I wanna be your Easter bunny
I wanna be your Christmas tree.

I’ll strip the world that you must live in
of all its godforsaken greed.
I’ll ply the tar of your feathers.
I’ll pluck the thorns out of your feet.
You and me.
You and me.
You and me.

And if I choose your sanctuary.
I’ll want to wash you with my hair.
I’ll want to drink of sacred fountains
and find the riches hidden there.

I’ll reap the lotus and the pyote.
I’ll want to hear the caged-bird sing.
I’ll want the secrets of the temple.
I’ll want the finger with the ring.
You and me.
You and me.
You and me.

And if you made me your religion.
I’ll give all the room you need.
I’ll be the drawing of your breath.
I’ll be carpet you should weave.
I’ll be the sky above the Ganges
I’ll be the vast and stormy sea.
I’ll be the lights that guide you inland.
I’ll be the visions you will see.
Visions you will see.
You will see.
You will see.
You and me.
You and me.
You and me.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Bittersweet Me

2008-06-27T03:41:00.000-07:00

I move across, innocence lost
All flashing pulsar
I move across the earth in my new pattern shirt
I pass satellites

You’re so bitter, your complaint
I can’t get you anything.
I don’t know who you’re livin for
I don’t you at all anymore.

I’d sooner chew my leg off,
Than be trapped in this.
How easy you think of all of this as bittersweet me

I can’t taste it
I’m tired and naked.
I don’t know what I’m hungry for
I don’t know what I want anymore

I move across, candy floss
I move like a tank
I move across the room
With a heart full of gloom
I’m stronger than you think.

Oh my peer,
Your veneer is wearing thin and cracking.
The surface and forms underneath,
Underneath is lacking.

I’d sooner chew my leg off,
Than be trapped in this.
How easy you think of all of this as bittersweet me

I couldn’t taste it.
I’m tired and naked.
I don’t know what I’m hungry for.
I don’t know what I want anymore.

You move across, innocence lost,
All static and desire,
You’re blue in the face from navel gaze,
You set yourself on fire.

You strip down and lay yourself out,
I know you can’t fake it,
But are you tire and naked?
Are you tire and naked?

I’d sooner chew my leg off,
Than be trapped in this.
How easy you think of all of this as bittersweet me

I couldn’t taste it
I’m tired and naked.
I don’t know what I’m hungry for.
I don’t know what I want anymore.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Departure

2008-06-27T03:40:00.000-07:00

(Lyrics source: mostly from one of Stipe's lyric sheets.)

Just arrived Singapore, San Sebastian, Spain, 26-hour trip.
Salt Lake City, come in spring.
Over the salt flats a hailstorm brought you back to me.
Salt Lake City, come in spring.
Over the salt flats a hailstorm brought you back to me.

Here it comes (I’m carried away)
Here it comes (I’m carried away)
Here it comes, back, back.

Departure, Godspeed, bless his heart, good boy.
What a fuck-up, what a fighter.
A free-fall, motorcycle, hang-glider,
Hung on the line like a poison spider.
Win a eulogy from William Greider,
Car crash, ptomaine, disposable lighter,
A bus plunge, avalanche, a vinegar cider.
Free-fall, motorcycle, hang-glider.

Here it comes (I’m carried away)
Here it comes (I’m carried away)
Here it comes, back, back.

Go, go, go, go, yeah.

Well, everybody is young forever.
There’s so much to tell you, so little time.
I’ve come a long way since the whatever,
shit, I still see a word, think of you.
There is so much that I can’t do, yeah.
You will be young forever.
There’s so much that I can’t do.
There is so much that I can’t do.

Here it comes (I’m carried away)
Here it comes (I’m carried away)
Here it comes, back, back.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Leave

2008-06-27T03:39:00.000-07:00

Nothing could be bring me closer.
Nothing could be bring me near.
Where is the road I follow?
Believing, leave.

It’s under, under, under my feet.
The scene spread out there before me.
Better I go where the land touches sea.
There is my trust in what I believe.

That’s what keeps me,
That’s what keeps me,
That’s what keeps me down,
To leave it, believe it,
Leave it all behind.

Shifting the dream
Nothing could bring me further from my old friend time
Shifting the dream
Charging the scene
I know where I marked the signs
Suffer the dreams of a world gone mad
I like it like that and I know it

I know it well, ugly and sweet
A temper man who said believe in his dream.

That’s what keeps me
That’s what keeps me
That’s what keeps me down
I sent it on an airline plane
I sent it off in an airplane
That never left the ground.

That’s what keeps me,
That’s what keeps me,
That’s what keeps me down,
To leave it, believe it.
Leave it all behind.

Lift me, lift me,
I attain my dream.
I lost myself, I lost them.
heartache calling me.
I lost myself in sorrow
I lost myself in pain.
I lost myself in gravity,
Memory, leave, leave.

That’s what keeps me,
That’s what keeps me,
That’s what keeps me down,
To leave it, believe it,
Leave it all behind.

Midnight hands, my eyes are still
I walk into the scene
Shoot myself in a different place
Leavin’

Longed for this to take me,
Longed for my release
Waited for the coming
Leavin’, leave.

Leave, leave.
Leavin’, leavin’

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

E-Bow The Letter

2008-06-27T03:38:00.000-07:00

(Lyrics source: some from the video closed-captions.)

Look up, what do you see?
All of you and all of me
Fluorescent and starry
Some of them, they surprise

The bus ride, I went to write this, 4:00 a.m.
This letter
Fields of poppies, little pearls
All the boys and all the girls sweet-toothed
Each and every one a little scary
I said your name

I wore it like a badge of teenage film stars
Hash bars, cherry mash and tinfoil tiaras
Dreaming of Maria Callas
Whoever she is
This fame thing, I don’t get it
I wrap my hand in plastic to try to look through it
Maybelline eyes and girl-as-boy moves
I can take you far
This star thing, I don’t get it

I’ll take you over, there
I’ll take you over, there
Aluminum, tastes like fear
Adrenaline, it pulls us near

I’ll take you over
It tastes like fear, there
I’ll take you over

Will you live to 83?
Will you ever welcome me?
Will you show me something that nobody else has seen?
Smoke it, drink
Here comes the flood
Anything to thin the blood
These corrosives do their magic slowly and sweet
Phone, eat it, drink
Just another chink
Cuts and dents, they catch the light
Aluminum, the weakest link

I don’t want to disappoint you
I’m not here to anoint you
I would lick your feet
But is that the sickest move?
I wear my own crown and sadness and sorrow
And who’d have thought tomorrow could be so strange?
My loss, and here we go again

I’ll take you over, there
I’ll take you over, there
Aluminum, tastes like fear
Adrenaline, it pulls us near

I’ll take you over
It tastes like fear, there
I’ll take you over

Look up, what do you see?
All of you and all of me
Fluorescent and starry
Some of them, they surprise

I can’t look it in the eyes
Seconal, Spanish fly, absinthe, kerosene
Cherry-flavored neck and collar
I can smell the sorrow on your breath
The sweat, the victory and sorrow
The smell of fear, I got it

I’ll take you over, there
I’ll take you over, there
Aluminum, tastes like fear
Adrenaline, it pulls us near

I’ll take you over
It tastes like fear, there
I’ll take you over

Pulls us near
Tastes like fear.

Nearer, nearer
Over, over, over, over
Yeah, look over
I’ll take you there, oh, yeah
I’ll take you there
Oh, over
I’ll take you there
Over, let me
I’ll take you there..
There, there, baby, yeah

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Undertow

2008-06-27T03:37:00.000-07:00

I know what I wanted
I know what I wanted
I know how I wanted this to be

You go down to the water
Drink down of the water
Walk up off the water, leave it be

This is not my time, brother
It is cold in heaven
And I’m not sprouting wings.

I’m drowning
Me
I’m drowning
Me, yeah

Brother can you see those birds?
They don’t look to heaven
They don’t need religion, they can see

They go down to the water
Drink down on the water
Fly up off the water, leave it be

This is not my time, sister
It is cold in heaven
And no one’s coming after me

I’m drowning
Breathing ourselves
Me
Breathing ourselves
I’m drowning
Breathing ourselves
Me, yeah

You know I am tired
Cold and bony tired
Nothing’s gonna save me, I can see

I can’t say I’m fearful
I can’t say I’m not afraid
But I am not resisting, I can see

I don’t need a heaven
I don’t need religion
I am in the place where I should be

I am breathing water
I am breathing water
You know a body’s got to breathe

I’m drowning
Breathing ourselves
Me
Breathing ourselves
I’m drowning
Breathing ourselves
Me, yeah

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

New Test Leper

2008-06-27T03:36:00.000-07:00

I can’t say that I love Jesus
That would be a hollow claim.
He did make some observations
And I’m quoting them today.
''Judge not lest ye be judged.''
What a beautiful refrain.
The studio audience disagrees.
Have his lambs all gone astray?

Call me a leper
Call me a leper
Call me a leper

''You are lost and disillusioned''
What an awful thing to say.
I know this show doesn’t flatter.
It means nothing to me.
I thought I might help them understand
But what an ugly thing to see.
''I am not an animal'',
Subtitled under the screen.

Call me a leper
Call me a leper
Call me a leper

When I tried to tell my story
They cut me off to take a break.
I sat silent 5 commercials
I had nothing left to say
The talk show host was index-carded
All organized and blank
The other guests were scared and hardened
What a sad parade.

What a sad parade

Call me a leper
Call me a leper
Call me a leper

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

The Wake-Up Bomb

2008-06-27T03:35:00.000-07:00

I look good in a glass pack
I look good and mean
I look good in metallic sick wraparounds blackout tease
I scud along the horizon
I drink some sweet tree tea
I get high in my low-ass boot cut cheap
I like being seen
I look good with my drink eat no sleep
Take a leap, longevity
I get high on my attitude, latitude, 1973
I’m in deep

My head’s on fire in high esteem
Carry my dead, bored, been there, done that, anything
Oh, the wake-up bomb
Oh, the wake-up bomb
Oh, the wake-up bomb
Oh, the wake-up bomb
My head’s on fire in high esteem
Get drunk and sing along to Queen
Practice my T-Rex moves and make the scene
Carry my dead, bored, been there, done that, anything

I had to knock a few buildings over
I make an ugly mess
I had to blow a gasket, drop transmission
I had to decompress
I had to write the great American novel
I had a neutron bomb
I had to teach the world to sing by the age of 21
I wake up (I wake up)
I wake up (I wake up)
I threw up when I saw what I’d done

Oh, the wake-up bomb
Oh, the wake-up bomb
My head’s on fire in high esteem
Get drunk and sing along to Queen
Practice my T-Rex moves and make the scene
Yeah, I’d rather be anywhere doing anything

I’ve had enough, I’ve seen enough, I’ve had it all, I’m giving up
I won the race, I broke the cup, I drank it all, I spit it up
Again
I’ve had enough, I’ve seen enough, I’ve had it all, I’m giving up
I won the race, I broke the cup, I drank it all, I spit it up

Yeah, atomic, Supersonic
What a joke, I’m dumb
See ya, don’t wanna be ya
Lunch meat, Pond scum

My head’s on fire in high esteem
Get drunk and sing along to Queen
Practice my T-Rex moves and make the scene
Yeah, I’d rather be anywhere doing anything
Yeah, I’d rather be anywhere doing anything
Yeah, I’d rather be anywhere doing anything

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

How The West Was Won and Where It Got Us

2008-06-27T03:34:00.000-07:00

Blood from a stone
Water from wine.
Born under earplay design.
A stroke of bad luck,
wrong place, wrong time.
This flyer is out of the lime.

The story is a sad one, told many times.
The story of my life in trying times.
Just add water, stir in lime.
How the west was won and where it got us.

Canary got trapped, the uranium mine.
A stroke of bad luck, now the bird has died.
A marker to mark where my tears run dry.
I cross it, bless it, alkali.

The story is a sad one, told many times.
The story of my life in trying times.
Just add water, stir in lime.
How the west was won and where it got us.

I didn’t wear glasses cause I thought it might rain.
Now I can’t see anything.
I made a mistake, chalked it up to design.
I cracked through time, space, Godless and dry.
I point my nose to the northern star,
Watch the decline from a hazy distance.

The story is a sad one, told many times.
The story of my life in trying times.
Just add water, stir in lime.
How the west was won and where it got us.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Falls To Climb

2008-06-26T23:22:00.000-07:00

I'll take the position
Assume the missionary part
You work by committee,
You had me pegged from the start.
I'll pounce pony,
Phony maroney,
Pony before the cart.
I'll pounce pony,
This ceremony
Only fills my heart.

Who cast the final stone?
Who threw the crushing blow?
Someone has to take the fall
Why not me?

A punch toy volunteer
A weakling on its knee.
Is all you want to hear
And all you want to see.
Romantically you'd martyr me
And miss this story's point
It is my strength, my destiny
This is the role that I have chosen.

Who cast the final stone?
Who threw the crushing blow?
Someone has to take the fall
Why not me?
Why not me?

Gentlemen mark your opponents
Fire into your own ranks.
Pick the weakest as strategic
Move. Square off. To meet your enemy.
For each and every gathering
A scapegoat falls to climb.
As I step forward, silently.
Deliberately mine

Who cast the final stone?
Who threw the crushing blow?
Someone has to take the fall
Why not me? Why not me.
Had consequence chose differently
Had fate its ugly head
My actions make me beautiful
And dignify the flesh

Me. I am free. Free.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Parakeet

2008-06-26T23:21:00.000-07:00

You wake up in the morning
And fall out of your bed
Mean cats eat parakeets
And this one's nearly dead.
You dearly wish the wind would shift
And greasy windows slide
Open for the parakeet
Who's colored bitter lime.

Open the window
And lift into your dreams
lately, baby
you can barely breathe.

A broken wrist
An accident
You know that something's wrong
You fold the leavings of your past
No one knows you've gone.
The sunspot flares of the early
Nineties light up your wings.
And scan the shotwave radio
It's tracking outer rings.

The tectonic dispatcher shifts
To smooth the ocean floor
And flattens out to warmer winds
Of Brisbane's sunny shore.
Where Buddhas tend to mending wrists
A tea made from the leaves
Of eucalyptus fragrances
And coriander seeds.

You wake up in the morning
To warm Pacific breeze
Where mean cats chew on licorice
And cannot climb the trees.

Open the window
And lift into a dreams
Baby, baby
Baby starts to breathe.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Diminished & I'm Not Over You

2008-06-26T23:20:00.000-07:00

I watched you fall.
I think I pushed.
Maybe I'm crazy
Maybe diminished
Maybe I'm innocent
Maybe I'm finished
Maybe I blacked out.
How do I play this?

I will give my best today
I will give myself away
I have never hurt anything
Is the jury wavering?
Do they know I sing?

Maybe I'm crazy
Maybe diminished
How do I,
How do I play this?

Jealous lover, self defence
Protective brother, chemical dependence
I'll consult the i-ching
I'll consult the TV
Ouija, oblique strategies.
I'll consult the law books for precedents.
Can I charm the jury?

I will give my best today
I will give myself away
I have never hurt anything
Is the justice wavering?
Do they know I sing That song? Sing along
Sing along
Sing along
(I will never hurt anything)

I watched you fall.
Maybe they'll see me,
Maybe they'll say,
''I can see the truth in his statement.
Smallpox blanket. No way.''
Can I charm the jury, my defense? Maybe I'm crazy
Maybe diminished
Maybe I love you
Baby I loved you
Baby I loved you
Baby I loved you
Baby I'm finished.

I will give my best today
I will give myself away
I have never hurt anything
Is the justice wavering?
Do they know I sing
That song?
Sing along
Sing along
Sing along
(I will never hurt anything)
I have given myself away
I will give my best today
I have never hurt anything
Is the justice wavering?
Does she know I loved you?
Does she know I loved you?
Does she know I sing?

I'm Not Over You

I feel great. I lied to save your feelings.
Truth convened, my head smashed through the ceiling
I lost an arm, no one harmed you, diplomatically alarmed.
I sulked away to lick my thin skin.
I'm not over you.
I'm not over you.
I'm not over you.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Daysleeper

2008-06-26T23:19:00.000-07:00

Receiving department, 3 a.m.
Staff cuts have socked up the overage
Directives are posted.
No callbacks, complaints.
Everywhere is calm.

Hong Kong is present
Taipei awakes
All talk of circadian rhythm

I see today with a newsprint fray
My night is colored headache grey
Daysleeper

The bull and the bear are marking their territories
They're leading the blind with their international glories

I'm the screen, the blinding light
I'm the screen, I work at night.

I see today with a newsprint fray
My night is colored headache grey
Don't wake me with so much.
Daysleeper.

I cried the other night
I can't even say why
Fluorescent flat caffeine lights
Its furious balancing

I'm the screen, the blinding light
I'm the screen, I work at night

I see today with a newsprint fray
My night is colored headache grey
Don't wake me with so much.
The ocean machine is set to nine
I'll squeeze into heaven and valentine
My bed is pulling me,
Gravity
Daysleeper. Daysleeper.
Daysleeper. Daysleeper. Daysleeper.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Why Not Smile

2008-06-26T23:18:00.002-07:00

The concrete broke your fall
To hear you speak of it
I'd have done anything
I would do anything
I feel like a cartoon brick wall
To hear you speak of it
You've been so sad
It makes me worry
Why not smile?
You've been sad for a while.
Why not smile?

I would do anything
To hear you speak of it.
Why not smile?
You've been sad for a while.
You've been sad for a while.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Walk Unafraid

2008-06-26T23:18:00.001-07:00

As the sun comes up, as the moon goes down
These heavy notions creep around
It makes me think, long ago
I was brought into this life a little lamb
A little lamb
Courageous, stumbling
Fearless was my middle name.
But somewhere there I lost my way
Everyone walks the same
Expecting me to step
The narrow path they've laid
They claim to
Walk unafraid
I'll be clumsy instead
Hold my love or leave me high.

Say ''keep within the boundaries if you want to play.''
Say ''contradiction only makes it harder.''
How can I be
What I want To be?
When all I want to do is strip away
These stilled constraints
And crush this charade
Shred this sad masquerade
I don't need no persuading
I'll trip, fall, pick myself up and
Walk unafraid
I'll be clumsy instead
Hold my love or leave me high.

If I have a bag of rocks to carry as I go
I just want to hold my head up high
I don't care what I have to step over
I'm prepared to look you in the eye
Look me in the eye
And if you see familiarity
Then celebrate the contradiction
Help me when I fall to
Walk unafraid
I'll be clumsy instead
Hold my love or leave me high.
Walk unafraid
I'll be clumsy instead
Hold my love or leave me high.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

You're In The Air

2008-06-26T23:17:00.000-07:00

You wanted a challenge
That's calling you higher
I landed on my feet crawling
I remember standing alone trying to forget you idling
I hate to admit that that's my reference point
But there it is
You say you want me

I'm what you found
I'm upside down
You're in the air
You're in the air
And I am breathing

Brighten the stars
The weather is lifting
The heavens love
A love like this
It's pulling you higher
Twist it and turn this around
It lights from within
It dribbles your chin
Now brings a smile
I'm lost again
I'm lost again

I'm what you found
I'm upside down
You're in the air
You're in the air
And I am breathing

I want the stars to know they've won
If only to beguile
The sky has opened up again
In heaven reconciled
I want you naked
I want you wild
I want the stars to know they win
Give me that smile
Just give it me
Just turn it on
I'm lost again

I'm what you found
I'm upside down
You're in the air
I'm what you found
I'm upside down
You're in the air
I'm what you found
I'm upside down
You're everywhere
You're in the air
And I am breathing you

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Sad Professor

2008-06-26T23:16:00.002-07:00

If we're talking about love
Then I have to tell you
Dear readers, I'm not sure where I'm headed.
I've gotten lost before.
I've woke up stone drunk
Face down in the floor.

Late afternoon, the house is hot.
I started, I jumped up.
Everyone hates a bore.
Everybody hates a drunk.

This may be a lit invention
Professors muddled in their intent
To try to rope in followers
To float their malcontent.
As for this reader,
I'm already spent.

Late afternoon, the house is hot.
I started, I jumped up.
Everyone hates a sad professor.
I hate where I wound up.

Dear readers, my apologies.
I'm drifting in and out of sleep.
Long silence presents the tragedies
Of love. Not the age. Get afraid.
The surface hazy with attendant thoughts.
A lazy eye metaphor on the rock.

Late afternoon, the house is hot.
I started, I jumped up.
Everyone hates a bore.
Everybody hates a drunk.
Everyone hates a sad professor.
I hate where I wound up.
I hate where I wound up.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

The Apologist

2008-06-26T23:16:00.001-07:00

They call me the apologist.
And now that I'm at peak.
You know at first it really hurt.
We joke about these things.
I've skirted all my differences
But now I'm facing up.
I wanted to apologize for everything I was.
So.
I'm sorry, so sorry...

Did you understand me right?
The people here are good.
They tell me what I should have done
And offer what I could.
I'm good, all is good
All's well, no complaints.
When I feel regret,
I get down on me knees and pray.
I'm sorry, so sorry...

I live a simple life
Unfettered by complex sweets.
You think this isn't me?
Don't be weak.
There I go.
I'm so sorry.

Thank you for being there for me.
Thank you for listening, goodbye.
I can forfeit selfishness
I hope that you can apply
This happiness
This peacefulness
I'm sorry, so sorry...

I live a simple life
Unfettered by complex sweets.
You think this isn't me?
That's so sweet.
I'm so sorry.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

At My Most Beautiful

2008-06-26T23:15:00.001-07:00

I've found a way to make you smile
I've found a way
A way to make you smile

I read bad poetry
Into your machine.
I save your messages
Just to hear your voice.
You always listen carefully
To awkward rhymes.
You always say your name,
Like I wouldn't know it's you,
At your most beautiful.

I've found a way to make you smile
I've found a way
A way to make you smile

At my most beautiful
I count your eyelashes, secretly.
With every one, whisper I love you.
I let you sleep.
I know you're closed eye watching me,
Listening.
I though I saw a smile.

I've found a way to make you smile
I've found a way
A way to make you smile

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Hope

2008-06-26T23:14:00.000-07:00

(By Cohen/Buck/Mill/Stipe.)

You want to go out Friday
And you want to go forever.
You know that it sounds childish
That you've dreamt of alligators.
You hope that we are all with you
And you hope that you're recognized
You want to go forever
You see it in my eyes.
I'm lost in the confusion
And it doesn't seem to matter
You really can't believe it
And you hope it's getting better.

You want to trust the doctors
Their procedure is the best
But the last try was a failure
And the intern was a mess.
They did the same to Matthew
And he bled 'til Sunday night
They're saying don't be frightened
But you're weakened by the sight of it
You lock into a pattern
And you know that it's the last ditch
You're trying to see through it
And it doesn't make sense
But they're saying don't be frightened
And they're killing alligators
And they're hog-tied
And accepting of the struggle

You want to trust religion
And you know it's allegory
But the people who are followers
Have written their own story.
So you look up to the heavens
And you hope that it's a spaceship
And it's something from your childhood
Your thinking don't be frightened

You want to climb the ladder
You want to see forever
You want to go out Friday
And you want to go forever.
And you want to cross your DNA
To cross your DNA with something reptile.
And you're questioning the sciences
And questioning religion
You're looking like an idiot
And you no longer care.
And you want to bridge the schism,
The built in mechanism to protect you.
And you're looking for salvation
And you're looking for deliverance
You're looking like an idiot
And you no longer care.
You want to climb the ladder
You want to see forever.
You want to go out Friday
You want to go forever.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Suspicion

2008-06-26T23:13:00.002-07:00

Now my suspicion's on the rise
I have known, I have known your kind.
Please don't talk, don't make me think
Order up another drink
Let me let my imagination drive.

Can't you see
I need
Nothing too deep.

Imagination
Come alive
Suspicion
Tonight, I'll dream tonight.

Listen to the devils in my ear.
Tell me what, what I want to hear
You're so funny, you're so fine.
You're so perfect, you're so mine.
That I'd never had an opportunity
To hide
No I never had a chance

Can't you see
I need
Nothing too deep.

Imagination
Come alive
Suspicion
Tonight, I'll dream tonight.

Look into my eyes.
They hypnotize.
The lights, the drinks.
Let the music carry you away

My eyes are blurred
My sights are limited
Am I sensing a familiar twinge?

Please don't speak
Make me think
It's all too deep

Imagination
Come alive
Suspicion
Step down, I'll dream tonight.

Step down, I'll dream
You're so naked baby
Carry me away
Dream, Dream

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Lotus

2008-06-26T23:13:00.001-07:00

Hey hey.
Hey hey.

I was hell.
Sarcastic silver swell
That day it rained
Tough spun. Hard worn. No
Ocean flower aquarium
Badlands. Give a hand.
Honey dipt. Flim flam
Hey hey. Hey hey.
That cat can walk like a big bad man.

So happy to show us
I ate the lotus.
Say haven't you noticed?
I ate the lotus

Storefront window, I reflect.
Just last week I was merely heck
Tip the scale. I was hell
Picked me up, then I fell.
Who's this stranger? Crowbar spine
...and I feel fine.
Let it rain, rain, rain.
Bring my happy back again.

So happy to show us
I ate the lotus.
Say haven't you noticed?
I ate the lotus

Let it rain, rain, rain
Save me from my self again
Wash away my ugly sins
Opposing thumb, dorsal fin
That monkey died for my grin
Bring my happy back again
Let it rain, rain, rain
Bring my happy back again

So happy to show us
I ate the lotus
So haven't you noticed?
I ate the lotus
I ate the lotus
I ate the lotus

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Airportman

2008-06-26T23:12:00.000-07:00

He moves efficiently
Beyond security.
Great opportunity awaits.
Airport fluorescent
Creature of habit
Labored breathing and sallow skin
Recycled air
Moving Sideways
Great opportunity blinks.
Great opportunity blinks.
Discounted.

The people mover
The people mover
Discounted.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

You

2008-06-25T23:54:00.000-07:00

Let the sun beat through the clouds,
Let me kiss you on the mouth.
All my childhood toys with chew marks in your smile.
Let me hold your syrup close to mine.
Let me watch you, Hollywood and Vine.
And I want you like the movies, touch me now.
I love you crazy, just keep on.
I love you madly, just keep watch.
You wipe my lips,
You turn me on.
My attentions are turned to you.

Did I dream you were a tourist
In the Arizona sun?
I can see you there with luna moths
And watermelon gum.
I woke up in the sleeping bag,
With nowhere else to run.
You’re standing in the bathroom
Telling me its all in fun.
I love you crazy, just keep on.
I love you madly, just keep watch.
You wipe my lips,
You turn me on.
My attentions are turned to you.

I can whisper in your ear.
I can write a calendar year
I can wing around your Saturn smile, shut out the moon
I walked the tension wire line.
And I learned to disrespect the signs.
And I want you like a Pisces rising, even though
I love you crazy, just keep on.
I love you madly, just keep watch.
You wipe my lips,
You turn me on.
My attentions are turned to you.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Circus Envy

2008-06-25T23:53:00.000-07:00

Here comes that awful feeling again
Welcome the ugly animal.
I hold my breath to what you sing,
My pyro acrobat ball and chain,
I’m not afraid, I messed it, messed it, messed it, messed it up

I’ve got my telescope head in the haystack
I’m getting tired of your dodgeball circus act
Put pepper in my coffee, I forgot to bark on command

Here comes that awful feeling again
Make way for monster jealousy
The strong man kicked sand into my breakfast cereal bowl
I’d spelled your name with Oatios,
He messed it, messed it, messed it, messed it up

I’ve got my telescope head in the haystack
I am tired of your dodgeball circus act
Put pepper in my coffee, I forgot to bark on command

(you’re mean, mean, mean)
(you tease, tease, tease me)

If I were you I’d really run from me
I’d really really wish that I were you
When I get loose I’ll climb a tree
And drop a load on your head
This monster in me makes me retch, you messed it, messed it up

I’ve got my telescope head in the haystack
I am jealous of your dodgeball circus act
Put pepper in my coffee, I forgot to bark
Put pepper in my coffee, I forgot to bark on command

(you’re mean, mean, mean)
(you tease, tease, tease me)

Do you smell jealousy?
Do you smell jealousy, jealousy, jealousy?

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Let Me In

2008-06-25T23:51:00.000-07:00

Yeah, all the stars drip down like butter,
Wromises are sweet,
We hold out our pans, lift our hands to catch them.
We eat them up, drink them up, up, up, up

Hey, let me in.
Hey, let me in.

I only wish that I could hear you whisper down,
Mister fisherman, to a less peculiar ground.
He gathered up his loved ones and he brought them all around
To say goodbye, nice try.

Hey, let me in. yeah yeah yeah
Hey, let me in. Let me in.

I had a mind to try to stop you. Let me in. Let me in.
I’ve got tar on my feet and I can’t see.
All the birds look down and laugh at me.
Clumsy, crawling out of my skin.

Hey, let me in. yeah yeah yeah
Hey, let me in.
Hey, let me in. yeah yeah yeah
Hey, let me in.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

I Took Your name

2008-06-25T23:50:00.000-07:00

I wore the clothes you wanted
I took your name
If there is some confusion
Who’s to blame?

I signed your living will
I smiled your face
I’m ready to close the book on
NASA and outer space

If there is some confusion
Who’s to blame?
Who’s to blame?

I sequenced your arrival
I sealed your fate
I pushed the button
And erased your master tape

I wrote the sales pitch
I threw the grey switch
I dragged your big-assed
Dirty robbed car out of that ditch

If there is some confusion
Who’s to blame?
Who’s to blame?

I crossed your great divide
I stirred your ocean’s tide
I called your bluff until
I blew your circuits wide

I’ll be your albatross,
Devil dog, Jesus Lord
I don’t wanna be Iggy Pop
But if that’s what it takes - me.

If there is some confusion
If there is some confusion
If there is some confusion
Who’s to blame?
Who’s to blame?

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Bang and Blame

2008-06-25T23:49:00.000-07:00

(Lyrics source: Bang And Blame CD single accompanying booklet.)

If you could see yourself now, baby
It’s not my fault
You used to be so in control
You’re going to roll right over this one
Just roll me over, let me go
You’re laying blame
Take this as no, no, no, no, no

You bang, bang, bang, bang and bang,
Blame, blame, blame
You bang, bang, bang, bang and bang,
It’s not my thing so let it go.

If you could see yourself now baby,
The tables have turned
The whole world hinges on your swings
Your secret life of indiscreet discretion
I’d turn the screw and leave the screen,
Don’t point your finger,
You know that’s not my thing

You came to bang, bang, bang, bang and bang,
Blame, blame, blame
You bang, bang, bang, bang and bang,
It’s not my thing so let it go.

You’ve got a little worry,
I know it all too well,
I’ve got your number,
But so does every kiss-and-tell
Who dares to cross your threshold,
Or happens on your way,
Stop laying blame.
You know that’s not my thing.

You know that’s not my thing,
You came to bang, bang, bang, bang and bang,
Blame, blame, blame
You bang, bang, bang, bang and bang,
It’s not my thing so let it go.
You bang, bang, bang, bang and bang,
Blame, blame, blame
You bang, bang, bang, bang and bang,
It’s not my thing so let it go.

You kiss on me, tug on me, rub on me, jump on me,
You bang on me, beat on me, hit on me, let go on me,
You let go on me.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Tongue

2008-06-25T23:48:00.002-07:00

(Lyrics source: Tongue CD single accompanying booklet.)

Call my name, here I come.
90 to nothing, watch me run.
You call.
I am ashamed to say.
Ugly girls know their fate.
Anybody can get laid.
You want a room with a fire escape.
I want to tell you how much I hate this.
Don’t leave that stuff all over me. It pains me.
Please just leave it.
I should toss that vanity license plate.
Toss that make-up painted face.
Box those poems, chocolate cake.
Scratch that name on the record player.
Please just leave me be.
Don’t lay that stuff all over me.
It crawls all over. All over me.
Call my name, here I come.
Your last ditch lay, will I never learn?
Caramel turn on a dusty apology.
It crawls all over me.
You turn all over.
It pains me.
Please just leave it.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Strange Currencies

2008-06-25T23:48:00.001-07:00

(Lyrics source: Strange Currencies CD single accompanying booklet.)

I don’t know why you are mean to me
When I call on the telephone.
And I don’t know what you mean to me
But I want to turn you on, turn you up, figure you out, I want to take you on

These words, ''You will be mine.''
These words, ''You will be mine.''
All the time.

Now fool might be my middle name
But I’d be foolish not to say
I’m going to make whatever it takes,
Ring you up, call you down, sign your name, secret love,
Make it rhyme, take you in, and make you mine.

These words, ''You will be mine.''
These words, ''You will be mine.'' all the time. oh

I tripped and fell. did I fall.
What I want to feel, I want to feel it now

You know with love come strange currencies
And here is my appeal:

I need a chance, a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance,
A word, a signal, a nod, a little breath
Just to fool myself, to catch myself, to make it real, real

These words, ''You will be mine''
These words, ''You will be mine.'' all the time. oh

These words, ''You will be mine.''
These words, they haunt me, hunt me down, catch in my throat, make me pray,
To say, this love's confines, oh.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Star 69

2008-06-25T23:47:00.001-07:00

You don’t have to take the bar exam to see
What you’ve done is ignoramus one oh three
What’ve I got to hang my hat on
You don’t have a pot to pee in
All this just to be your friend
I was there until the end.
Extortion and arson, petty larceny

I know you called - I know you called - I know you called
I know you called - I know you called - I know you hung up my line
Star sixty-nine

I know all about the warehouse fire
I know squirrelies didn’t chew the wires
3 people have my number
The other 2 were with me.
I don’t like to tell-tell but I’m not your patsy.
This time you have gone too far with me.

I know you called - I know you called - I know you called
I know you called - I know you called - I know you hung up my line
Star sixty-nine

Why’d you put your quarter down on me?
This reads like some dork inside edition hard copy.
I can’t be your character witness
I can’t be your alibi
Doorbell rings it’s the FBI
We learned spy versus spy
You my friend, are guilty as can be.

I know you called - I know you called - I know you called
I know you called - I know you called - I know you hung up my line
Star sixty-nine

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

I Don't Sleep, I Dream

2008-06-25T23:46:00.000-07:00

I’m looking for an interruption,
Do you believe?
You looking to dig my dreams
Be prepared for anything
You come into my little scene
Hooray hooray hip hip hooray
There’s one thing I can guarantee:
You won’t have to dig, dig too deep

Said leave me to lay, but touch me deep,
I don’t sleep, I dream
I’ll settle for a cup of coffee, but you know what I really need

Are you looking to drive my dreams?
You here to run my screens?
You come, deliver my demons
Hooray hooray hip hip hooray
Are you coming to ease my headache?
Do you give good head?
Am I good in bed?

I don’t know, I guess so
I don’t sleep, I dream
I’ll settle for a cup of coffee, but you know what I really need

I’m looking for an interruption,
Can you believe?
Some medicine for my headache
Hooray hooray hip hip hooray
I’m pitching for a new direction
Pinch me when I wake
Don’t tell me my dreams are fake
You leave me to lay, you touch me deep,
I don’t sleep, I dream
I’ll settle for a cup of coffee, but you know what I really need
Leave me to lay, but touch me deep,
I don’t sleep, I dream
I’ll settle for a cup of coffee, but you know what I really need

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

King of Comedy

2008-06-25T23:45:00.000-07:00

Make your money with a suit and tie
Make your money with shrewd denial
Make your money expert advice,
If you can wing it
Make your money with a power ply
Make your money with a buyout bribe
Make it lie as long as you mean it

I’m not king of comedy,
Grease the pig, give a squeeze (squeeze me)

Make your money with exploitation
Make it holy illumination
Say a prayer at every station
Don’t forget to ask for mercy
Make your money with a pretty face
Make it easy with product placement
Make it charged with controversy
I’m straight, I’m queer, I’m bi

I’m not king of comedy,
I’m not your magazine,
I’m not your television

Make your money, make it rich
Make it young and make it quick
Make your money on the jukebox, baby,
It’s pick up sticks,
Make your enemies make your moves
Make your critics fumble through
Make it smart and make it schmooze
Make it look easy

I’m not king of comedy,
I’m not your magazine,
I’m not your television,
I’m not your movie screen
I’m not commodity (all together now)
I’m not commodity
I’m not commodity

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Crush With Eyeliner

2008-06-25T23:44:00.000-07:00

(Lyrics source: Crush With Eyeliner CD single accompanying booklet.)

I know you
I know you’ve seen her
She’s a sad tomato
She’s three miles of bad road
Walking down the street
Will I never meet her?
She’s a real woman child
Oh my kiss breath turpentine

I am smitten
I’m the real thing (I’m the real thing)
Have you seen her come around?
My crush with eyeliner

I’m in like.
I’m in-fatuated.
It’s all too much-the pressure
She’s all that I can take
What position should I wear?
Cop an attitude? - You faker
How can I convince her? - Faker
That I’m invented too, yeah

I am smitten
I’m the real thing (I’m the real thing)
We all invent ourselves and,
Uh, you know me

She’s a sad tomato
She’s three miles of bad road
She’s her own invention
That gets me in the throat
What can I make myself be?
Life is strange, yeah life is strange
What can I make myself be - Faker
To make her mine?

I am smitten
I’ll do anything (I’ll do anything)
Oh kiss breath turpentine
My crush with eyeliner

I am smitten
And you know me, yeah
You know me
I could be your Frankenstein
My crush with eyeliner

I am smitten
I’m the real thing (I’m the real thing)
Won’t you be my valentine?
My crush with eyeliner

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

What's The Frequency, Kenneth?

2008-06-25T23:43:00.000-07:00

''What’s the frequency, Kenneth?'' is your Benzedrine, uh-huh
I was brain-dead, locked out, numb, not up to speed
I thought I’d pegged you an idiot’s dream
Tunnel vision from the outsider’s screen
I never understood the frequency, uh-huh
You wore our expectations like an armored suit, uh-huh

I’d studied your cartoons, radio, music, TV, movies, magazines
Richard said, ''Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy''
A smile like the cartoon, tooth for a tooth
You said that irony was the shackles of youth
You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh
I never understood the frequency, uh-huh

''What’s the frequency, Kenneth?'' is your Benzedrine, uh-huh
Butterfly decal, rear-view mirror, dogging the scene
You smile like the cartoon, tooth for a tooth
You said that irony was the shackles of youth
You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh
I never understood the frequency, uh-huh
You wore our expectations like an armored suit, uh-huh
I couldn’t understand
You said that irony was the shackles of youth, uh-huh
I couldn’t understand
You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh
I couldn’t understand
I never understood, don’t fuck with me, uh-huh

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Swan Swan H (Accoustic)

2008-06-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

Swan, swan, hummingbird
Hurrah, we are all free now
What noisy cats are we
Girl and dog he bore his cross
A long, low time ago, people talk to me

Johnny Reb what’s the price of fans
Forty a piece or three for one dollar?
Hey captain don’t you want to buy
Some bone chains and toothpicks?

Night wings, her hair chains,
Here’s your wooden greenback, sing
Wooden beams and dovetail sweep
I struck that picture ninety times,
I walked that path a hundred ninety,
Long, low time ago, people talk to me

A pistol hot cup of rhyme
The whiskey is water, the water is wine
Marching feet, Johnny Reb, what’s the price of heroes?

Six and one half dozen the other,
Tell that to the captain’s mother,
Hey captain don’t you want to buy,
Some bone chains and toothpicks?

Night wings, her hair chains
Swan, swan, hummingbird
Hurrah, we are all free now
What noisy cats are we
Long, low time ago, people talk to me
A pistol hot cup of rhyme,
The whiskey is water, the water is wine.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Dream (All I Have To Do)

2008-06-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

(A cover of a song by the Everly Brothers.)

Dream, dream dream dream, dream, dream dream dream
When I want you in my arms, when I want you and all your charms
Whenever I want you, all I have to do, is

Dream, dream dream dream

When I feel blue in the night, and I need you to hold me tight
Whenever I want you, all I have to do, is

I can make you mine, taste your lips of wine, any time, night or day
Only trouble is, gee wiz, I'm dreamin' my life away

I need you so that I could die, I love you so, and that is why
Whenever I want you, all I have to do, is

Dream, dream dream dream, dream

I can make you mine, taste your lips of wine, any time, night or day
Only trouble is, gee wiz, I'm dreamin' my life away

I need you so that I could die, I love you so, and that is why
Whenever I want you, all I have to do, is

Dream, dream dream dream (repeats out)

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Just a Touch

2008-06-25T06:59:00.000-07:00

Well what in the world? Women in black
Don’t you remember send us back
A day in the life well nobody laughed
Look to the days how long can this last

Kevin heard it on the radio
Hugh informed word of mouth
Carla read it in the news
Caught it all just a touch

You set the pace of what was to come
I have to carry on now that you’re gone
A day in the life well nobody laughed
Look to the days how long can this last

There’s someone in our dreams
In our preassembled dream
Lord! Dave! William!

Well what in the world? Women in black
Don’t you remember send towering past back
A day in the life well nobody laughed
Look to the days how long can this last

I can’t see where to worship Popeye, love Al Green,
I can’t see, I’m so young, I’m so god damn young.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Toys In The Attic

2008-06-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

(A cover of a song by Tyler and Perry.)

Light voices scream nothing seems real's a dream
Leaving the things that you learned behind
Leaving the things that you love behind
All of the things that you learned were real
Nothing except for the years
Voices scream, nothing seems real's a dream
Toys toys toys in the attic

Light voices scream nothing seems real's a dream
Leaving the things that you love behind
Leaving the things that you learned behind
All of the things that you learned were real
Nothing except for the years
Voices scream, nothing seems real's a dream
Toys toys toys in the attic

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Tired of Singing Trouble

2008-06-25T06:57:00.002-07:00

I'm tired of singing trouble
To keep myself alone.
Somebody come and help me, lord
To carry a heavy load

(repeat)

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Superman

2008-06-25T06:57:00.001-07:00

(A cover of a song by G. Zekley, M. Bottler.)

(A Godzilla doll, in Japanese: ''This is a special news report. Godzilla has been sighted in Tokyo Bay. The attack on it by the self-defense force has been useless. He is heading towards the city. Aaaaggghh!'')

I am I am I am Superman and I know what’s happening
I am I am I am Superman and I can do anything

You don’t really love that guy you make it with now do you
I know you don’t love that guy cause I can see right through you

If you go a million miles away I’ll track you down girl
Trust me when I say I know the pathway to your heart

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Swan Swan H

2008-06-25T06:56:00.001-07:00

Swan, swan, hummingbird
Hurrah, we are all free now
What noisy cats are we
Girl and dog he bore his cross
A long, low time ago, people talk to me

Johnny Reb what’s the price of fans
Forty a piece or three for one dollar?
Hey captain don’t you want to buy
Some bone chains and toothpicks?

A pistol hot cup of rhyme
The whiskey is water, the water is wine
Marching feet, Johnny Reb, what’s the price of heroes?

Six and one half dozen the other,
Tell that to the captain’s mother,
Hey captain don’t you want to buy,
Some bone chains and toothpicks?

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Just A Touch

2008-06-25T06:55:00.000-07:00

Well what in the world? Women in black
Don’t you remember send us back
A day in the life well nobody laughed
Look to the days how long can this last

Kevin heard it on the radio
Hugh informed word of mouth
Carla read it in the news
Caught it all just a touch

You set the pace of what was to come
I have to carry on now that you’re gone
A day in the life well nobody laughed
Look to the days how long can this last

There’s someone in our dreams
In our preassembled dream
Lord! Dave! William!

Well what in the world? Women in black
Don’t you remember send towering past back
A day in the life well nobody laughed
Look to the days how long can this last

I can’t see where to worship Popeye, love Al Green,
I can’t see, I’m so young, I’m so god damn young.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

What If We Give It Away?

2008-06-25T06:54:00.002-07:00

On the outside underneath the wall
All the money couldn’t buy
You’re mistaken no one’s standing there
For the record no one tried

Oh I try to
What if we give it away?

Overlooking with a hollow eye
What’s pretending is it right
Eye for order a hand for what’s in line
Couldn’t follow couldn’t write

And our life is fine here
Stitch it on your tie here

Here’s the trailer Tom
A year has come and gone
We’re not moving was it right
Take the order sew it on your tie
We couldn’t follow couldn’t try.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

I Believe

2008-06-25T06:54:00.001-07:00

When I was young and full of grace
and spirited--a rattlesnake.
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You’re on your honor not to tell

I believe in coyotes and time as an abstract
Explain the change, the difference between
What you want and what you need, there’s the key,
Your adventure for today, what do you do
Between the horns of the day?

I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

When I was young and give and take
And foolish said my fool awake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You’re on your honor, on your honor

Trust in your calling, make sure your calling’s true
Think of others, the others think of you
Silly rule golden words make, practice, practice makes perfect,
Perfect is a fault, and fault lines change

I believe my humor’s wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

When I was young and full of grace
As spirited a rattlesnake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You’re on your honor, on your honor
I believe in example
I believe my throat hurts
Example is the checker to the key

I believe my humor’s wearing thin
And I believe the poles are shifting

I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

The Flowers of Guatemala

2008-06-25T06:53:00.000-07:00

I took a picture that I’ll have to send
People here are friendly and content
People here are colorful and bright
The flowers often bloom at night

Amanita is the name
The flowers cover everything
The flowers cover everything

There’s something here I find hard to ignore
There’s something that I’ve never seen before
Amanita is the name they cover over everything

The flowers cover everything
They cover over everything (Amanita is the name)
The flowers cover everything

Don’t look into the sun
Don’t look into the sun

There’s something that I’ve never seen before
The flowers often bloom at night
Amanita is the name they cover over everything.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Underneath the Bunker

2008-06-25T06:52:00.000-07:00

I will hide and you will hide
And we shall hide together here
Underneath the bunkers in the row

I have water I have rum
Wait for dawn and dawn shall come
Underneath the bunkers in the row.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Hyena

2008-06-25T06:51:00.002-07:00

Night time fell at the opening,
In the final act of the beginning of time.
Hyena take your role, the stage is set.
The town is safe again tonight

Hyena (I see the day ahead)
Hyena (and all that I’ve cried through)
Hyena (God knows you’re doin’ that, don’t you?)

Hyena, sister look to your hand
Man you serve communal interest,
She’ll tell you when and where and how and why you’d hurt
A beautiful young lady

Hyena (I see the day ahead)
Hyena (and all that I’ve cried through)
Hyena (God knows you’re doin’ that, don’t you?)

The only thing to fear is fearlessness
The bigger the weapon the greater the fear
Hyena is ambassador to here

Night time fell like the closing
Meager pay, but recognition
Hyena crawls on his belly out
The town is safe again tonight

Hyena (I see the changes, man)
Hyena (Goin’ on ‘cross the way)
Hyena (I see my road ahead)
Hyena (Don’t know if I should stay)
Hyena (I see you holding him,)
Hyena (and all that I’ve cried through)
Hyena (God knows you’re doin’ that, don’t you?).

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Cuyahoga

2008-06-25T06:51:00.001-07:00

Let's put our heads together and start a new country up
Our father's father's father tried, erased the parts he didn't like
Let's try to fill it in, bank the quarry river, swim
We knee-skinned it you and me, we knee-skinned that river red

This is where we walked, this is where we swam

Take a picture here, take a souvenir

This land is the land of ours, this river runs red over it
We knee-skinned it you and me, we knee-skinned that river red
And we gathered up our friends, bank the quarry river, swim
We knee-skinned it you and me, underneath the river bed

This is where we walked, this is where we swam

Take a picture here, take a souvenir
Cuyahoga
Cuyahoga, gone

Let's put our heads together, start a new country up,
Underneath the river bed we burned the river down.
This is where they walked, swam, hunted, danced and sang,
Take a picture here, take a souvenir
Cuyahoga
Cuyahoga, gone

Rewrite the book and rule the pages, saving face, secured in faith
Bury, burn the waste behind you

This land is the land of ours, this river runs red over it
We are not your allies, we can not defend
This is where they walked, this is where they swam
Take a picture here, take a souvenir

Cuyahoga
Cuyahoga, gone
Cuyahoga
Cuyahoga, gone.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Fall On Me

2008-06-25T06:50:00.000-07:00

There’s a problem, feathers iron
Bargain buildings, weights and pullyes
Feathers hit the ground before the weight can leave the air
Buy the sky and sell the sky and tell the sky and tell the sky

Don’t fall on me (What is it up in the air for) (It’s gonna fall)
Fall on me (If it’s there for long) (It’s gonna fall)
Fall on me (It’s over it’s over me) (It’s gonna fall)

There’s the progress we have found (when the rain)
A way to talk around the problem (when the children reign)
Building towered foresight (keep your conscience in the dark)
isn’t anything at all (melt the statues in the park)

Buy the sky and sell the sky and bleed the sky and tell the sky

Don’t fall on me (What is it up in the air for) (It’s gonna fall)
Fall on me (If it’s there for long) (It’s gonna fall)
Fall on me (It’s over it’s over me) (It’s gonna fall)
Don’t fall on me

Well I could keep it above
But then it wouldn’t be sky anymore

So if I send it to you you’ve got to promise to keep it whole

Buy the sky and sell the sky and lift your arms up to the sky
And ask the sky and ask the sky

Don’t fall on me (What is it up in the air for) (It’s gonna fall)
Fall on me (If it’s there for long) (It’s gonna fall)
Fall on me (It’s over it’s over me) (It’s gonna fall)

(Repeat and fade out).

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

These Days

2008-06-25T06:49:00.000-07:00

Now I’m not feeding off you, I will rearrange your scales
If I can, and I can
March into ocean, march into the sea

I had a hat I put it down and it sunk, reached down,
yanked it up, slapped it on my head
All the people gather
Fly to carry each his burden
We are young despite the years we are concern
We are hope despite the times
All of the sudden, these days
Happy throngs, take this joy wherever, wherever....

I wish to meet each one of you
And you, me, you, if I can and I can
We have many things in common, name three (three, three, three)

Now I’m not feeding off you I will rearrange your scales
If I can and I can
I wish to eat each one of you and you, me, you

I had a hat and it sunk, reached down,
yanked it up, slapped it on my head
All the people gather
Fly to carry each his burden
We are young despite the years we are concern
We are hope despite the times
All of the sudden, these days
Happy throngs, take this joy wherever, wherever you...
carry each his burden
We are young despite the years we are concern
We are hope despite the times
All of the sudden, these days
Happy throngs, take this joy wherever, wherever you go.
(Take away the scattered bones of my meal).

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Begin the Begin

2008-06-25T06:48:00.000-07:00

Birdie in the hand for life’s rich demand
The insurgency began and you missed it
I looked for it and I found it
Miles Standish proud, congratulate me

A philanderer’s tie, a murderer’s shoe

Life’s rich demand creates supply in the hand
Of the powers, the only vote that matters
Silence means security silence means approval
On Zenith, on the TV, tiger run around the tree
Follow the leader, run and turn into butter

Let’s begin again, begin the begin
Let’s begin again like Martin Luther Zen
The mythology begins the begin
Answer me a question I can’t itemize
I can’t think clearly, look to me for reason
It’s not there, I can’t even rhyme here in the begin

A philanderer’s tie, a murderer’s shoe
Example: the finest example is you

Birdie in the hand for life’s rich demand
The insurgency began and you missed it
I looked for it and I found it
Miles Standish proud, congratulate me

A philanderer’s tie, a murderer’s shoe
Let’s begin again begin the begin
Let’s begin again.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

11th Untitled Song

2008-06-24T04:53:00.000-07:00

(Lyrics source: Parts from the 1988 fan club holiday card.)

This world is big and so-awake
I stayed up late to hear your voice
This light is here to keep you warm
This song is here to keep you strong

I made a list of things to say
But all I really want to say
All I really want to say is
Hold her and keep him strong
While I’m away from here
Hold her and keep her strong
While I’m away from here

I’ve seen the world and so-awake
And stay up late to hear me sing
Just hold her
I’ve seen the world and so-awake
And stay up late to hear me sing
Just hold him
Hold her and keep her strong
While I’m away from here
Hold him and keep him strong
While I’m away from here

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

I Remember California

2008-06-24T04:52:00.000-07:00

I remember redwood trees, bumper cars and wolverines
The ocean’s Trident submarines
Lemons, limes and tangerines
I remember this

I remember traffic jams
Motor boys and girls with tans
Nearly was and almost rans
I remember this

History is made
History is made to seem unfair

I recall that you were there
Golden smile and shining hair
I recall it wasn’t fair
Recollect it wasn’t fair
Remembering it wasn’t fair outside

Low ebb, high tide
The lowest ebb and highest tide
A symbol wave I must confide
I guess we took us for a ride
I guess it’s just a gesture

I remember this defense
Progress fails pacific sense
All those sweet conspiracies
I remember all these things

I remember traffic jams
Motor boys and girls with tans
Nearly was and almost rans
I remember this...this

Low ebb, high tide
The lowest ebb and highest tide
I guess we took us for a ride
I guess its just a gesture.

At the end of the continent
At the edge of the continent

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Hairshirt

2008-06-24T04:51:00.000-07:00

I am not the type of dog
That could keep you waiting
For no good reason
Run a carbon-black test on my jaw
And you will find it’s all been said before

I can swing my megaphone and long arm the rest
It’s easier and better
To just beat it from the chest
Of desire

I could walk into this room
And the waves of conversation are enough
To knock you down in the undertow
So alone so alone in my life
Feed me banks of light
And hang your hairshirt on the lowest rung
It’s a beautiful life
And I can hang my hairshirt
Away up high in the attic of the wrong dog’s life chest
Or bury it at sea
All my life I’ve searched for this

Here I am here I am in your life
It’s a beautiful life
My life
It’s a beautiful life
Your life

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Turn You Inside Out

2008-06-24T04:50:00.000-07:00

Divide your cultured pearls in haste
I’m looking for to lay to waste
Of all the things I cannot taste
And this not the racy race
They spoke loud

I believe in what you do
I believe in watching you
It’s what you do

I could turn you inside-out
What I choose not to do
I could turn you inside-out
What I choose not to do

Given the choice
Given the heart
Given the tool
Given the word
Given the cheers

I believe in what you do
I believe in watching you
It’s what you do

I could turn you inside-out
What I choose not to do
I could turn you inside-out
What I choose not to do

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Orange Crush

2008-06-24T04:49:00.000-07:00

Follow me, don’t follow me
I’ve got my spine, I’ve got my orange crush
Collar me, don’t collar me
I’ve got my spine, I’ve got my orange crush
We are agents of the free
I’ve had my fun and now its time to
Serve your conscience overseas (over me, not over me)
Coming in fast, over me

(repeat verse)

High on the roof,
Thin the blood,
Another one on the waves tonight,
Comin’ in, you’re home

We’d circle and we’d circle and we’d circle to stop and consider and
Centered on the pavement stacked up all the trucks jacked up and
Our wheels in slush and orange crush in pocket and all this here county
Hell any county it’s just like heaven here and I was remembering and I
Was just in a different county and all then this whirlybird that I
Headed for I had my goggles pulled off I knew it all I knew every back
Road and every truck stop

(repeat verse and chorus)

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Music Video by REMHQ - Youtube Video Channel

The Wrong Child

2008-06-24T04:48:00.000-07:00

I’ve watched the children come and go
A late long march into spring
I sit and watch those children
Jump in the tall grass
Leap the sprinkler
Walk in the ground
Bicycle clothespin spokes
The sound the smell of swingset hands

I will try to sing a happy song
I’ll try and make a happy game to play

Come play with me I whispered to my new found friend
Tell me what it’s like to go outside
I’ve never been
Tell me what it’s like to just go outside
I’ve never been
And I never will

I’m not supposed to be like this
I’m not supposed to be like this
But it’s okay

Hey those kids are looking at me
I told my friend myself
Those kids are looking at me
They’re laughing and they’re running over here
They’re laughing and they’re running over here
What do I do?
What can I do?
What should I do?
What do I say?
What can I say?

I said I’m not supposed to be like this
Let’s try to find a happy game to play
Let’s try to find a happy game to play
I’m not supposed to be like this
But it’s okay...okay

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

World Leader Pretend

2008-06-24T04:47:00.002-07:00

(Lyrics source: Green CD accompanying booklet.)

I sit at my table and wage war on myself
It seems like it’s all...it’s all for nothing
I know the barricades, and
I know the mortar in the wall breaks
I recognize the weapons, I used them well

This is my mistake. Let me make it good
I raised the wall, and I will be the one to knock it down

I’ve a rich understanding of my finest defenses
I proclaim that claims are left unstated,
I demand a rematch
I decree a stalemate
I divine my deeper motives
I recognize the weapons
I’ve practiced them well. I fitted them myself

It’s amazing what devices you can sympathize...empathize
This is my mistake. Let me make it good
I raised the walls, and I will be the one to knock it down

Reach out for me and hold me tight. Hold that memory
Let my machine talk to me. Let my machine talk to me

This is my world
And I am the world leader pretend
This is my life
And this is my time
I have been given the freedom
To do as I see fit
It’s high time I’ve razed the walls
That I’ve constructed

It’s amazing what devices you can sympathize...emapathize
This is my mistake. Let me make it good
I raised the walls, and I will be the one to knock it down

You fill in the mortar. You fill in the harmony
You fill in the mortar. I raised the walls
And I’m the only one
I will be the one to knock it down

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Stand

2008-06-24T04:47:00.001-07:00

Stand in the place where you live
Now face North
Think about direction
Wonder why you haven’t before
Now stand in the place where you work
Now face West
Think about the place where you live
Wonder why you haven’t before

If you are confused check with the sun
Carry a compass to help you along
Your feet are going to be on the ground
Your head is there to move you around

(repeat 1st verse)

Your feet are going to be on the ground
Your head is there to move you around
If wishes were trees the trees would be falling
Listen to reason
Season is calling

(repeat 1st verse)

If wishes were trees the trees would be falling
Listen to reason
Reason is calling
Your feet are going to be on the ground
Your head is there to move you around

So Stand (stand)
Now face North
Think about direction, wonder why you haven’t before
Now stand (stand)
Now face West
Think about the place where you live
Wonder why you haven’t

(repeat 1st verse)

Stand in the place where you are (Now face North)
Stand in the place where you are (Now face West)
Your feet are going to be on the ground (Stand in the place where you are)
Your head is there to move you around, so stand.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

You Are the Everything

2008-06-24T04:45:00.002-07:00

Sometimes I feel like I can’t even sing (say, say, the light)
I’m very scared for this world
I’m very scared for me
Eviscerate your memory
Here’s a scene
You’re in the back seat laying down
The windows wrap around
To sound of the travel and the engine
All you hear is time stand still in travel
and feel such peace and absolute
The stillness still that doesn’t end
But slowly drifts into sleep
The stars are the greatest thing you’ve ever seen
And they’re there for you
For you alone you are the everything

I think about this world a lot and I cry
And I’ve seen the films and the eyes
But I’m in this kitchen
Everything is beautiful
And she is so beautiful
She is so young and old
I look at her and I see the beauty
Of the light of music
The voices talking somewhere in the house
Late spring and you’re drifting off to sleep
With your teeth in your mouth
You are here with me
You are here with me
You have been here and you are everything

(repeat 1st verse)

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Get Up

2008-06-24T04:45:00.001-07:00

Sleep delays my life (get up, get up)
Where does time go? (get up, get up, get up)
I don’t know
Sleep, sleep, sleepy head (get up, get up, get up)
Wake it up...up (get up, get up)
You’ve got all your life (way up ahead) (get up, get up, get up)

Dreams they complicate my life (Dreams they complement my life)

I’ve seen you laying pined (get up, get up)
I’ve seen you laying pined (get up, get up)
Life is rough...rough (get up, get up, get up)
I’ve seen you laying down (get up)
With the loving kind (get up, get up)
I know life is hard...hard (where goes your time?)
Where to turn? Where to turn?

Dreams they complicate my life (Dreams they complement my life)

Dreamtime...

Dreams they complicate my life (Dreams they complement my life)
This time, no escape, I wake up. (get up, get up)

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Pop Song '89

2008-06-24T04:44:00.000-07:00

Hello, I saw you, I know you, I knew you
I think I can remember your name...name
Hello I’m sorry, I lost myself
I think I thought you were someone else

Should we talk about the weather? (Hi...hi, hi)
Should we talk about the government? (Hi...hi, hi, hi)

Hello, how are you? I know you, I knew you
I think I can remember your name...name
Hello, I’m sorry I lost myself
I think I thought you were someone else

Should we talk about the weather? (Hi...hi, hi)
Should we talk about the government? (Hi...hi, hi, hi)

Hello my friend, are you visible today?
You know I never knew that it could be so strange...strange
Hello, I’m sorry, I lost myself
I think I thought you were someone else

Should we talk about the weather? (Hi...hi, hi)
Should we talk about the government? (Hi...hi, hi, hi)

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Bandwagon

2008-06-22T08:03:00.001-07:00

Come on aboard, I promise you you won't hurt the horse
We treat him well, we feed him well.
There's lots of room for you on the bandwagon,
The road may be rough, the weather may forget us
But won't we all parade around and sing our songs,
a magic kingdom, open-armed

Greet us hello, bravo, name in lights
Passing on the word to fellow passengers and players, passing in,
Until you're tired looking at all the flags
And all the banners waving
This is some parade, yesiree Bob.
Could we have known?
Yesiree Bob, could we have known?

Look at all the flags and all the banners waving.
Open up our arms, a magic kingdom, open-armed and greet us all

Come on aboard I promise you you won't hurt the horse
We treat him well, we feed him well
There's lots of room for you on the bandwagon
The road may be rough, the weather may forget us
But won't we all parade around and sing our songs and wave our flags.
A magic kingdom, greet us all hello, greet us hello, greet us hello.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Burning Hell

2008-06-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

Women got legs, men got pants
I got the picnic, you got the ants,
Put it in the fire heaven knows
Take my torch and touch your toes in hell
It's a burning hell

You can burn in Hell
It's a burning hell
You can burn in hell
It's a burning hell

Women don't fret, boys don't bet
Let me see your silhouette in hell
Women above me take my love
Love, love, love, love, love, love, love

It's a burning hell
It's a burning hell
Baby, baby, baby, I'm hell
It's a burning hell

Girl stop moving, boy behave
Baby, I'll put you in an early grave in hell
Love on the ceiling, love on the floor
I'm gonna leave you burning for more
Burn in the country, burn downtown
All the best people are burning down in hell, hell, Ah hell

It's a burning Hell
You'll burn in hell
It's a big, burning, giant, colossal matter
Hell
Oh baby, I'm hell

Burn, Burn, Burn!

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Crazy

2008-06-21T08:33:00.000-07:00

(A cover of a song by Pylon.)

Listen

You're funny and you don't know why
You're funny and you can't even cry
You're funny and you don't know why
You're funny and you don't even try

Cause your head's shaking cause your arms are shaking
And your feet are shaking cause the earth is shaking

You're hungry and you don't know why
You're hungry and you can't even cry
You're hungry and you don't know why
You're hungry and you don't even cry

You take a walk and you try to understand
Nothing can hurt you
Unless you want it to
There are no answers
Many reasons to be strong
You take a walk you take a walk
You take a walk and you try to understand

You're in love and you don't know why
You're in love and you can't even cry
You're in love and you don't know why
You're in love and you don't even try

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Wendell Gee

2008-06-21T08:32:00.001-07:00

That’s when Wendell Gee takes a tug
Upon the string that held the line of trees
Behind the house he lived in
He was reared to give respect
But somewhere down the line he chose
To whistle as the wind blows
Whistle as the wind blows, with me

He had a dream one night
That the tree had lost its middle
So he built a trunk of chicken wire
To try to hold it up
But the wire, the wire turned to lizard skin
And when he climbed inside
There wasn’t even time to say
Goodbye to Wendell Gee
So whistle as the wind blows
Whistle as the wind blows, with me

If the wind were colors
And if the air could speak
Then whistle as the wind blows
Whistle as the wind blows

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Good Advices

2008-06-21T08:31:00.000-07:00

When you greet a stranger look at his shoes
Keep your money in your shoes put your trouble behind
When you greet a stranger look at her hands
Keep your money in your hands put your travel behind
Who are you going to call for, what do you have to say
Keep your hat on your head home is a long way away
At the end of the day, I’ll forget your name
I’d like it here if I could leave and see you from a long way away

When you greet a stranger, look at her shoes
Keep you memories in your shoes, put your travel behind
Who are you going to call for, what do you have to say
Keep your hat on your head
Home is a long way away
At the end of the day, when there are no friends
When there are no lovers, who are you going to call for
What do you have to change

A familiar face a foreign place I forget your name
I’d like it here if I could leave and see you from a long way away
Who are you going to call for, what do you have to say
Keep your hat on your head
Home is a long way away

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Auctioner (Another Engine)

2008-06-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

She didn’t want to get pinned down by her prior town
Get me to the train on time, here take this nickel make a dime
Take this penny and make it into a necklace when I leave
What is at the other end, I don’t know another friend
Another wife, another morning spent
Listen, listen to the auctioneer
Another engine, another engine

We never wrote the reasons that I need explained
Some things are givens, and others get away
This time its for myself you call it what you may
Okay, we won’t say goodbye so long, so much more
Listen to the auctioneer
Another engine, another engine

Listen to the bargain holler
Listen to the barter holler
Listen to the auctioneer

Get me to the train on time here take this nickel make a dime
Take this penny and make it into a necklace when I leave
What is at the other end, an I don’t know another friend
Another wife, another morning spent
Listen to the auctioneer
Another engine, another engine

Do I stand the bargain holler?
Listen to the barter holler
Listen to the auctioneer

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Kohoutek

2008-06-21T08:29:00.000-07:00

Who will stand alone?

She carried ribbons, she wore them out
Courage built a bridge, jealous tore it down
At least it’s something you’ve left behind
Like Kohoutek, you were gone

We sat in the garden, we stood on the porch
I won’t deny myself, we never talked

She wore bangles, she wore bells
On her toes and she jumped like a fish
Like a flyin’ friend, you were gone
Like Kohoutek, can’t forget that

Fever built a bridge, reason tore it down
If I am one to follow.. who will stand alone?

Maybe you’re not the problem
scissors, paper, stone
If you stand and holler, these prayers will talk

She carried ribbons, she wore them out
Michael built a bridge...Michael tore it down
At least it’s something you’ve left behind
Like Kohoutek, you were gone

Michael built a bridge... Michael tore it down
If I stand and holler... will I stand alone?

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Green Grow The Rushes

2008-06-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

The wheelbarrow’s fallen
Look at my hands
They’ve found some surplus cheaper hands
Rubbing palms and pick and choose,
who will they choose? Here is the news.

Look at that building, look at this man
Halloed and whitewashed
Gone to find a cheaper hand
He’ll offer a pound, offer a pound.

Green grow the rushes go
Green grow the rushes go
Green grow the rushes go
The compass points the workers home

Pay for your freedom, find another gate
Guilt by associate, the rushes wilted a long time ago
Guilty as you go

Stay off that highway, word is it’s not so safe
The grasses that hide the greenback
The amber waves of gain again
The amber waves of gain

Green grow the rushes go
Green grow the rushes go
Green grow the rushes go
The compass points the workers home

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Can't Get There From Here

2008-06-21T08:27:00.002-07:00

(Lyrics source: published in Guitar Magazine in 1985.)

When the world is a monster
Bad to swallow you whole
Kick the clay that holds the teeth in
Throw your trolls out the door
If you’re needing inspiration
Philomath is where I go by dawn
Lawyer Jeff he knows the lowdown
He’s mighty bad to visit home

I’ve been there I know the way
(Can’t get there from here)

I’ve been there I know the way

When your hands are feeling empty
Stick head jumpin off the ground, ‘round
Tris is sure to shirr the deers out
Brother Ray can sing my song

I’ve been there I know the way
(Can’t get there from here)

I’ve been there I know the way

Hands down, Calechee bound
Landlocked kiss the ground
Dirt of seven continents going round and round
Go on ahead Mr. Citywide hypnotized, suit and tied
Gentlemen, testify

If your world is a monster
Bad to swallow you whole
Philomath they know the lowdown
Throw your trolls out the door

I’ve been there I know the way
(Can’t get there from here)

I’ve been there I know the way

Thank you, Ray.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Old Man Kensey

2008-06-21T08:27:00.001-07:00

(A song by Ayers, Berry, Buck, Mills, Stipe.)

Old Man Kensey wants to be a sign painter

First he’s got to learn to read
He’s gonna be a clown on TV
Flexes his elbow taunt and free
That’s my folly, I believe
Drink up the lake Kensey’s awake
That’s my folly, that’s my mistake

Old Man Kensey wants to be a goalie
First he’s got to learn to count
He’s gonna be a clown on a circus mount
Letters to be signed and dropped off
Kensey’s going far
John, Bill and Ed, stand on your head
That’s my folly, I’m ready to go

Old Man Kensey wants to be a dog catcher
First he’s got to learn to stand
He’s gonna be a clown in a marching band
Letters to be signed ransom greed
That’s my folly, I believe
Drink up the lake, John, Bill and Ed,
That’s my folly, that’s my mistake
Kensey’s awake, stand on your head
That’s my folly, I’m ready to go

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Life and How to Live It

2008-06-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

Burn bright through the night, two pockets lead the way
To doors to go between the wall was raised today
To doors remain before your others and your own
Keep these books well stocked away and take your happy home

My carpenter’s out and running about, talking to the street
My pockets are out and running about
Barking in the street to tell what I have hidden there

Burn bright through the night, two pockets lead the way
Two doors to go between the wall was raised today
Raise the walls and shout its flaws, a carpenter should rest
So that when you tire of one side the other serves you best

My carpenter’s out and running about, talking to the street
My pockets are out and running about
Barking in the street to tell what I have hidden there

The hills ringing hear the words in time
Listen to the holler, listen to my walls within my tongue
Can’t you see you made my ears go tin?
The air quicken tension building inference suddenly
Life and how to live it

Raise the walls and shout its flaws, a carpenter should rest
So that when you tire of one side the other serves you best
Read about the wisdom lost, a knock, a knock, a knock
A secret knock one hammer’s locked the other wisdom lost

My carpenter’s out and running about, talking to the street
My pockets are out and running about
Barking in the street to tell what I have hidden there
My carpenter’s out and running about, barking in the, listen to the holler
My pockets are out and running about
Barking in the street to tell what I have hidden there

Listen, listen to the holler,
If I write a book it will be called "Life and How to Live It"

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Driver 8

2008-06-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

The walls are built up, stone by stone,
the fields divided one by one.
And the train conductor says
''Take a break Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break
We’ve been on this shift too long''

And the train conductor says
''Take a break Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break
We can reach our destination, but we’re still a ways away''

I saw a treehouse on the outskirts of the farm.
The power lines have floaters so the airplanes won’t get snagged.
Bells are ringing through the town again,
Children look up, all they hear is sky-blue, bells ringing

And the train conductor says
''Take a break Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break
We can reach our destination, but we’re still a ways away''

Way to shield the hated heat.
Way to put myself to sleep.
Way to shield the hated heat.
Way to put myself, my children to sleep.

He piloted this song in a plane like that one.
She is selling faith on the Go Tell crusade.
Locomotive 8, Southern Crescent, hear the bells ring again.
Field to weed is stricken thin

And the train conductor says
''Take a break Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break
We’ve been on this shift too long.''
And the train conductor says
''Take a break Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break
We can reach our destination, but we’re still a ways away''

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Maps and Legends

2008-06-21T08:23:00.000-07:00

He’s not to be reached, he’s to be reached.
He’s not to be reached, he’s to be reached.

Called the fool and the company,
On his own where he’d rather be.
Where he ought to be, he sees what you can’t see, can’t you see that?

Maybe he’s caught in the legend,
Maybe he’s caught in the mood.
Maybe these maps and legends
Have been misunderstood.

Down the way the road’s divided,
Paint me the places you have seen.
Those who know what I don’t know
Refer to the yellow, red and green

Maybe he’s caught in the legend,
Maybe he’s caught in the mood.
Maybe these maps and legends
Have been misunderstood.

He’s not to be reached, he’s to be reached.
He’s not to be reached, he’s to be reached.
He’s not to be reached, he’s to be reached.
He’s not to be reached, he’s to be reached.

The map that you painted didn’t seem real.
He just sings whatever he’s seen
Point to the legend, point to the east,
Point to the yellow, red and green

Maybe he’s caught in the legend,
Maybe he’s caught in the mood.
Maybe these maps and legends
Have been misunderstood, been misunderstood. (Maps and legends)

(Maps and legends) Is he to be reached? He’s not to be reached.
(Maps and legends) Is he to be reached? He’s not to be reached.
(Maps and legends) Is he to be reached? He’s not to be reached anymore.

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Feeling Gravity's Pull

2008-06-21T08:22:00.000-07:00

I fell asleep and read just about every paragraph.

Read the scene where gravity is pulling me around
Peel back the mountains peel back the sky
Stomp gravity into the floor
It’s a Man Ray kind of sky
Let me show you what I can do with it
Time and distance are out of place here

Step up, step up, step up the sky is open-armed
When the light is mine, I felt gravity pull

Somewhere near the end it said
''You can’t do this'', I said ''I can too''
Shift sway rivers shift, oceans fall and mountains drift
It’s a Man Ray kind of sky
Let me show you what I can do with it

Step up, step up, step up the sky is open-armed
When the light is mine, I felt gravity pull onto my eyes,
Holding my head straight (looking down).
This is the easiest task I’ve ever had to do...

I fell asleep and read just about every paragraph

Read the scene where gravity is pulling me around
Shift the swaying river’s shift
Oceans fall and mountains drift
It’s a Man Ray kind of sky
Let me show you what I can do with it
Time and distance are out of place here

Step up, step up, step up the sky is open-armed
When the light is mine, I felt gravity pull onto my eyes,
Holding my head straight (looking down).
This is the easiest task I’ve ever had to do...

Reason had harnessed the tame
Holding the sky in their arms
Gravity pulls me down

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

Around The Sun

2008-06-21T05:04:00.000-07:00

I want the sun to shine on me
I want the truth to set me free
I wish the followers would lead
with a voice so strong it could knock me to my knees

hold on world 'cause you don't know what's coming
hold on world 'cause I'm not jumping off
hold onto this boy a little longer
take another trip around the sun

if I jumped into the ocean to believe
If I climbed a mountain would I have to reach?
do I even dare to speak?--to dream?--believe?
give me a voice so strong
I can question what I have seen

hold on world 'cause you don't know what's coming
hold on world 'cause I'm not jumping off
hold onto this boy a little longer
take another trip around the sun

around the sun
around the sun
around the sun

let my dreams set me free.
believe. believe.
now now now now now now

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

The Ascent of Man

2008-06-21T05:03:00.000-07:00

So hesitation pulled me back
I'm stronger when I don't attract
In your eyes i'm a lamb without a rack
And I am getting confused.
I'm a cactus trying to be a canoe.
As you pan for ore
In the desert, floored,
I say to you.

That I could never imagine a place so beautiful
I could never steal your gold away.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah...

[I try to walk like a big wham bam
I came across like a battering ram
I try to float like a telegram sam
i'm trying to divine you. ]

My book is called 'the ascent of man'.
I marked your chapter with a catamaran.
The accent's off,
But I am what I am.

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah...

[I try to walk like a big wham bam
I came across like a battering ram
I try to float like a telegram sam
i'm trying to divine you.]

I looked for you, it's my last grandstand.
A motorscootered goat legged pan
Figure eighting in quicksand...

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah...

[I try to walk like a big wham bam
I try to float like a telegram sam
I came across like a battering ram
i'm trying to divine you. ]

[I try to walk like a big wham bam
I try to float like a telegram sam
I came across like a battering ram
i'm trying to divine you. ]

So hesitation pulled me back
I'm so in love I don't attract.
And with my hands tied I won't crack
['cause in my mind I called you back.]

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

The Worst Joke Ever

2008-06-21T05:02:00.002-07:00

you see there's this cat burglar who can't see in the dark.
He lays his bets on 8 more lives, walks into a bar.
Slips on the 8 ball, falls on his knife.
Says, 'i don't know what i've done, but it doesn't feel right!'

Some things don't hold up over the course of a lifetime,
When's the first time you heard that one, 1954?
Get to the punch line. Fall to the floor.

Give me a minute and i'll tell you the setup for
The worst joke ever, i never.
I'll tell you my version of the greatest life story
Don't bore me

Now i am floating,
I feel released.
The moorings have been dropped,
The weights unleashed.
Everything is crystalline, simple and free.

The crime of good men who can't wrestle with change,
Or are too afraid to face this life's misjudged unknowns
You're not hurting anybody else's chances,
But you're disfiguring your own.

Give me a minute and i'll tell you the setup for
The worst joke ever, i never.
I'll tell you my version of the greatest life story
Don't bore me, i never
Give me a minute and i'll tell you the setup

You see there's this feeling that i've heard this one before

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)

High Speed Train

2008-06-21T05:02:00.001-07:00

When I look into your eyes.
Your drop like an anchor eyes.
I scudded and clipped the sky
Just shy of making it.

And you almost got away.
I told you I was afraid.
Did I really want to try
You're holding me to my claim

I jump on a high speed train
I'll never look back again
I flail like the antelope.
Who jumped from the building

And you caught me on the sly
You've taken me by surprise.
You've mirrored my best disguise and
Turned it back on me.

I jump on a high speed train
I'll never look back again
I flail like the antelope.
Who jumped from the building

I jump on a high speed train
I'll never look back again
To berlin, kyoto or marseilles
I'd go anywhere for you

I'll bring you a big bouquet
I picked it myself today
It compliments your eyes
There's love at the end of the line

I jump on a high speed train
I'll never look back again
I flail like the antelope
Who jumped from the building

I jump on a high speed train
I'll never look back again
To berlin kyoto or marseilles
I'd go anywhere for you

And that's what I always knew
I'd like to have hung the moon.
I'd wrestle you for a spoon inside your sleeping bag.
Just us.
No war. No hate. No past.
It's real.
I'm here. I'm yours. I'm fast.
I'm long in the eye
I'm cry when I try
I just want to fly
Just you and I, together

(Lyrics are copyright R.E.M. unless otherwise stated as a cover version, in which case copyright is owned by that artist.)