R.E.M.

R.E.M. was 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). The band members shared equal credit on all songs produced by the band, no matter who did most of the writing.

Murmur (1983)
Calling all, in transit, Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Europe.'''
 * '''Calling all, in transit,
 * "Radio Free Europe"

Take our turn, take our turn Take our fortune, take our fortune.
 * The pilgrimage has gained momentum,
 * "Pilgrimage"

Combien reaction, Empty prayer, empty mouths, Talk about the passion.
 * Empty prayer, empty mouths,
 * "Talk About the Passion"

Shoulders high in the room.
 * Standing too soon,
 * "Perfect Circle"

Reckoning (1984)
Can't go outside without it.
 * Please find my harborcoat,
 * "Harborcoat"

I waited for your call, These rivers of suggestion Are driving me away. The trees will bend, The cities wash away, The city on the river, There's a girl without a dream. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
 * Did you never call?


 * "So. Central Rain"

Waiting in the station for the bus. Going to a place that's far, so far away And if that's not enough, Going where nobody says 'Hello,' They don't talk to anybody they don't know.
 * Looking at your watch a third time,
 * "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville"

And waste another year.
 * Don't go back to Rockville,
 * "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville"

Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)


Let me show you what I can do with it.'''
 * '''It's a Man Ray kind of sky,
 * "Feeling Gravitys Pull"

'Take a break, Driver 8, Driver 8, take a break, We can reach our destination But it's still a ways away.'
 * And the train conductor says,
 * "Driver 8"

Bad to swallow you whole, Philomath, they know the lowdown, Throw your trolls out the door.
 * If your world is a monster,
 * "Cant Get There from Here"

Look at his shoes.
 * When you greet a stranger,
 * "Good Advices"

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.
 * That's when Wendell Gee
 * "Wendell Gee"

Lifes Rich Pageant (1986)


The insurgency began and you missed it. I looked for it and I found it, Myles Standish proud, congratulate me. Life's rich demand creates supply in the hand Of the powers, the only vote that matters Silence means security, silence means approval Watching zenith on the TV, tiger run around the tree Follow the leader, run and turn into butter.
 * Birdie in the hand for life's rich demand,
 * "Begin the Begin"

Let's begin again like Martin Luther, Zen. The mythology begins the begin.
 * Let's begin again, begin the begin.
 * "Begin the Begin"

And bleed the sky and tell the sky, don't Fall on me.'''
 * '''Buy the sky and sell the sky,
 * "Fall on Me" - Official video at YouTube

To 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.
 * Let's put our heads together
 * "Cuyahoga"

And change is what I believe in I believe my shirt is wearing thin And change is what I believe in
 * I believe my humor's wearing thin
 * "I Believe"

Document (1987)
You'd better best to rearrange. I'm talking here to me alone, I listen to the finest worksong.
 * The time to rise has been engaged;
 * "Finest Worksong"

To improve your business acumen.
 * We're sharpening stones, walking on coals,
 * "Exhuming McCarthy"

Birds and snakes and aeroplanes. Lenny Bruce is not afraid. Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn. World serves its own needs, don't misserve your own needs.
 * That's great, it starts with an earthquake,
 * "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" - Official video at YouTube

(It's time I had some time alone) And I feel fine.'''
 * '''It’s the end of the world as we know it,
 * "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"

Slash and burn, return, listen to yourself churn. Lock him in uniform, book burning, blood letting, Every motive escalate, automotive incinerate. Light a candle, light a votive, step down, step down, Watch your heel crush, crushed, uh-oh. This means no fear, cavalier renegade and steering clear, A tournament, a tournament, a tournament of lies. Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives, and I decline.
 * Six o'clock, TV hour, don't get caught in foreign tower
 * "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"

Continental drift divide Mountains sit in a line, Leonard Bernstein. Leonid Brezhnev, Lenny Bruce and Lester Bangs, Birthday party, cheesecake, jelly bean, boom! You symbiotic, patriotic, slam but neck Right? Right!
 * The other night I dreamt of knives,
 * "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"

This one goes out to the one I've left behind. A simple prop to occupy my time. This one goes out to the one I love.'''
 * '''This one goes out to the one I love.
 * "The One I Love" - Official video at YouTube

Green (1988)


I know you, I knew you, I think I can remember your name, name.
 * Hello, I saw you,
 * "Pop Song 89"

Hi! Hi, hi! Should we talk about the government? Hi! Hi, hi, hi!
 * Should we talk about the weather?
 * "Pop Song 89"

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.'''
 * '''All you hear is time stand still in travel
 * "You Are The Everything" - YouTube video

You have been here and you are everything.'''
 * '''You are here with me
 * "You Are The Everything"

Now face North '''Think about direction Wonder why you haven’t''' Now stand in the place where you work Now face West '''Think about the place where you live Wonder why you haven’t before. '''
 * Stand in the place where you live
 * "Stand" - YouTube video

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 razed the walls that I've constructed.
 * This is my world and I am the world leader pretend,
 * "World Leader Pretend"

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.
 * '''Follow me, don’t follow me.
 * "Orange Crush" - YouTube video

I’ve had my fun and now its time to Serve your conscience overseas (over me, not over me) Coming in fast, over me.
 * We are agents of the free
 * "Orange Crush"

Out of Time (1991)


I turned up the radio, but I can't hear it.
 * The world is collapsing around our ears;
 * "Radio Song"

And you are not me.''' The lengths that I will go to, The distance in your eyes. Oh no, I've said too much, I set it up. '''That's me in the corner, That's me in the spotlight Losing my religion''', Trying to keep up with you, And I don't know if I can do it. '''Oh no I've said too much. I haven't said enough.''' I thought that I heard you laughing I thought that I heard you sing I think I thought I saw you try
 * '''Oh, Life is bigger, it's bigger than you,
 * "Losing My Religion" - Official video at YouTube

Of every waking hour, I'm choosing my confessions.''' Trying to keep an eye on you, Like a hurt, lost and blinded fool, fool. Oh no, I've said too much, I set it up.
 * '''Every whisper
 * "Losing My Religion"

Put it in your hands, take it, take it. There's no time to cry, happy, happy. Put it in your heart where tomorrow shines. Gold and silver shine.
 * Everyone around, love them, love them.
 * "Shiny Happy People" - YouTube video

She got up from the kitchen table, Folded the newspaper and silenced the radio. Those creatures jumped the barricades And have headed for the sea, sea.
 * Her world collapsed early Sunday morning.
 * "Belong"

Stood and whispered to her child, belong. She held the child and whispered With calm, calm; belong.
 * She began to breathe, to breathe at the thought of this freedom,
 * "Belong"

On a maddening loop, these clothes, These clothes don't fit us right and I'm to blame. It's all the same, it's all the same.
 * This flower is scorched, this film is on,
 * "Country Feedback"

You come to me with your hair curled tight You come to me with positions You come to me with excuses Ducked out in a row You wear me out.
 * You come to me with a bone in your hand
 * "Country Feedback"

It's crazy what you could have had, I need this, I need this.
 * It's crazy what you could have had,
 * "Country Feedback"

It seems a lot to waste your time for me. Left me to love, What it's doing to me.
 * It seems a shame to waste your time on me.
 * "Me in Honey"

Automatic for the People (1992)


Nobody tells you what to do, baby.''' Hey kids, rock and roll, Nobody tells you where to go, baby.
 * '''Hey kids, where are you?
 * "Drive"

Today I need something more sub, sub, sub, substantial, A can of beans or black-eyed peas, Some Nescafe and ice, A candy bar, a falling star Or a reading from Dr. Seuss.
 * Baby, instant soup doesn't really grab me,
 * "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite"

And the night, the night is yours alone, When you're sure you've had enough Of this life, well, hang on. Don't let yourself go 'Cause everybody cries. And everybody hurts, Sometimes.'''
 * '''When the day is long
 * "Everybody Hurts" - Official YouTube video - Live Aid performance, London (2005)

Andy Kaufman in the wrestling match. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
 * Mott the Hoople and The Game of Life. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
 * "Man on the Moon" - YouTube video

See you heaven if you make the list. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
 * Let's play Twister, let's play Risk. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
 * "Man on the Moon"

Tell me, are you locked in the punch? Andy, are you goofing on Elvis? Hey, baby. Are we losing touch? If you believed they put a man on the moon, Man on the moon. If you believed there's nothing up his sleeve, Then nothing is cool'''
 * '''Now, Andy, did you hear about this one?
 * "Man on the Moon"

I'm not sure all these people understand. It's not like years ago. The fear of getting caught, Of recklessness and water. They cannot see me naked. '''These things, they go away, Replaced by everyday.'''
 * Nightswimming deserves a quiet night.
 * "Nightswimming"

Monster (1994)


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.
 * "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" is your Benzedrine, uh-huh.
 * "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?", the opening line of the song, based on the remark "Kenneth, what is the frequency?" which a mentally disturbed man kept repeating, during a spontaneous attack on Dan Rather in 1986. - YouTube video

I'm the real thing.
 * I am smitten.
 * "Crush with Eyeliner"

New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996)


I wore it like a badge of teenage film stars Hash bars, cherry mash and tinfoil tiaras, Dreaming of Maria Callas, Whoever she is.
 * I said your name,
 * "E-Bow the Letter"


 * This fame thing, I don't get it.
 * "E-Bow the Letter"

Your sun electric, out of sight, Your light eclipsed the moon tonight. Electrolite. You're out of sight.
 * And you are the star tonight,
 * "Electrolite"

Up (1998)
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.
 * '''I’ve found a way to make you
 * "At My Most Beautiful" - YouTube video

Reveal (2001)
That's cinnamon, that's Hollywood, Come on, come on, No-one can see you try.
 * That sugarcane, that tasted good,
 * "Imitation of Life"

Accelerate (2008)


Because living well is the best revenge.'''
 * '''Well, I'm not one to sit and spin
 * "Living Well Is the Best Revenge"

The government will.'''
 * '''If the storm doesn't kill me,
 * "Houston"

Laredo is a beautiful place, '''Galveston sings like that song that I loved, Its meaning has not been erased.'''
 * Houston is filled with promise,
 * "Houston"