 Automatic For The People (1992) [ larger cover art ] |
Share this song
Tweet this song
Wikipedia search
Musicbrainz DB;){kind=link}
Readying to bury your father and your mother
What did you think when you lost another?
I used to wonder, why did you bother?
Distanced from one, blind to the other
Listen here my sister and my brother
What would you care if you lost the other?
I always wonder, why did we bother?
Distanced from one, blind to the other
Oh, but sweetness follows
It's these little things, they can pull you under
Live your life filled with joy and wonder
I always knew this altogether
Thunder was lost in our little lives
Oh, but sweetness follows
Oh, but sweetness follows
It's these little things, they can pull you under
Live your life filled with joy and thunder
Yeah, yeah we were altogether
Lost in our little lives
Oh, but sweetness follows
Oh, but sweetness follows
| Lazarus (Bethany) | Posted: Apr 12, 2013 - 10:14 Everybody in my church loves this song... |
| ziakut (Slightly North of Obvlivion) | Posted: Jan 08, 2013 - 06:33 Rebis wrote: The songs on Automatic for the People are largely about processing grief. "Try Not to Breathe." "Sweetness Follows." "Everybody Hurts." "Find the River." It's a really profound album ... For several years I couldn't listen to it without crying sooner or later, because it came out right when my uncle was dying from lung and brain cancer. But it was great that I had it to listen to, because all that crying was important. Aw. Thanks for sharing that. A true, sympathetic human you are. Nice to have music help guide you through tough times in life. |
| ziakut (Slightly North of Obvlivion) | Posted: Jan 08, 2013 - 06:32 All the elements that make REM good are present in this song. Quite simply my favorite REM song ever! |
| impediguy | Posted: Nov 16, 2012 - 14:39 |
| supram | Posted: Nov 13, 2012 - 20:09 Beautiful merges, coming from Zoe Keating's "Escape Artist" to Flaming Lips' "Do You Realize??", that's why listening to RP still rules! |
| coloradojohn (A Mile High and then some, Cherry Creek, Denver) | Posted: Nov 13, 2012 - 20:09 oh, my...is this another one of those stretches where I am in orbit around the RP constellation and sound system around my desk here, can't get anything else done but ... lost in our little vibes? Fantastic song, evocative of a fantastic era... |
| impediguy | Posted: Nov 13, 2012 - 20:07 I would like to hear more REM |
| bseib (40 21' N 86 53' 40" W) | Posted: Nov 06, 2012 - 12:11 sajitjacob wrote: Cellotastic! +1 |
| olivertwist (Atlanta GA) | Posted: Oct 13, 2012 - 11:34 rockpommel16 wrote: ...r.e.m. AFTER zoe keating?????..........."look,..there´s a PleaseStopDis-button!"-"fine,thanks for that......" Well, can't please everyone. I like this tune, and the segue. I also like your new term for the PSD button. |
| rockpommel16 (rockpommel´s land...near the netherlands) | Posted: Oct 13, 2012 - 11:31 ...r.e.m. AFTER zoe keating?????..........."look,..there´s a PleaseStopDis-button!"-"fine,thanks for that......" |
| oldsaxon (Wales via Vancouver, BC.) | Posted: Oct 13, 2012 - 11:31 Just wow on that segue... |
| aspicer (Chicago, IL) | Posted: Oct 13, 2012 - 11:30 VERY Nice transition Bill from Zoe Keating!!! |
| sajitjacob (Christchurch NZ) | Posted: Sep 11, 2012 - 22:03 Cellotastic! |
| lunatic | Posted: Sep 04, 2012 - 13:57 RKeaton wrote: I've been saying it for years - so many traits are in the eye of the beholder. You see sadness and depression in Michael Stipe - but that's you. You're choosing to see it. This band and this album have plenty of upbeat songs, yet you opt to dwell on the sad ones. Why? I don't know why people do it, but they do. Just ask Leonard Cohen. He writes beautiful songs, but to listen to some people you'd think he was the grim reaper. I gotta agree. I met Stipe several times. He was always fun and talkative. He loves word games and has a true interest in making the world a better place. |
| lunatic | Posted: Sep 04, 2012 - 13:53 I attended the release party at 40 watt. It was a mix of locals, fans, big shots and the band. The music was magical and the food from Weaver D's was yummy. |
| bluecshells | Posted: Sep 04, 2012 - 13:46 romeotuma wrote: marvelous... from a great album... Yes I agree! |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Jun 01, 2012 - 19:40 marvelous... from a great album... |
| DD rabbi_phil (beach) | Posted: Apr 17, 2012 - 18:29 RKeaton wrote: I've been saying it for years - so many traits are in the eye of the beholder. You see sadness and depression in Michael Stipe - but that's you. You're choosing to see it. This band and this album have plenty of upbeat songs, yet you opt to dwell on the sad ones. Why? I don't know why people do it, but they do. Just ask Leonard Cohen. He writes beautiful songs, but to listen to some people you'd think he was the grim reaper. LEONARD COHEN??!!........aaarrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!........be what you wanna be..see what you came to see..been what i wanna be... i dont like what i see.....do what you wanna do...go out and seek your truth..when i'm down and blue...rather be me than you.....i'm not blind...just see through, faded.. super jaded... |
| RKeaton (South of Paradise) | Posted: Apr 06, 2012 - 20:24 rabbi_phil wrote: jeepers...could this guy be more tortured!?...there"s absolutely no way we're inviting him over to fish, shoot ducks and grill out....what a killjoy.....does everything have to be a cathartic confessional...quit it! I've been saying it for years - so many traits are in the eye of the beholder. You see sadness and depression in Michael Stipe - but that's you. You're choosing to see it. This band and this album have plenty of upbeat songs, yet you opt to dwell on the sad ones. Why? I don't know why people do it, but they do. Just ask Leonard Cohen. He writes beautiful songs, but to listen to some people you'd think he was the grim reaper. |
| Rebis (Chicago) | Posted: Apr 06, 2012 - 19:12 The songs on Automatic for the People are largely about processing grief. "Try Not to Breathe." "Sweetness Follows." "Everybody Hurts." "Find the River." It's a really profound album ... For several years I couldn't listen to it without crying sooner or later, because it came out right when my uncle was dying from lung and brain cancer. But it was great that I had it to listen to, because all that crying was important. |
| DD rabbi_phil (beach) | Posted: Mar 30, 2012 - 08:59 jeepers...could this guy be more tortured!?...there"s absolutely no way we're inviting him over to fish, shoot ducks and grill out....what a killjoy.....does everything have to be a cathartic confessional...quit it! |
| mrtuba9 (most likely near Normal) | Posted: Mar 30, 2012 - 08:50 "It's these little things that can pull you under..." |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Feb 03, 2012 - 10:26 Everybody in my hotel room loves this song... |
| Jeff09 (Gainesville, Florida) | Posted: Feb 03, 2012 - 10:23 "Live your life full of joy and wonder..." |
| bluecshells (EARTH) | Posted: Nov 24, 2011 - 12:44 Beautiful one.... |
| ick (...out of the primordial ooze) | Posted: Sep 22, 2011 - 06:31 Thanks for the music guys! Big part of my life in the college years. An important American band I think many would agree. |
| Olaf_Cummings (Indianapolis) | Posted: Sep 22, 2011 - 06:30 REM breaking up is kind of like Ken Griffey Jr. retiring. It's been over for years. The later product is not nearly as electrifying as the early and middle stuff. Still deserves a standing O upon the exit. |
| Byronape (Snorkeling in the River Styx) | Posted: Aug 21, 2011 - 21:39 With a few exceptions, every song on this album is fantastic to most REM fans. I'm also one of those people that have teenage memories that are so closely tied to this album as to be almost inseparable. The years have passed, my grandparents no longer have their riverside cabin, and I'm not the borderline lost kid I used to be... but any song from this album instantly transports me back to those days and for a few minutes I can put aside the burdens and worries of adulthood. While I have not really enjoyed a lot of the newer REM stuff over the years, nothing can take away from how much I loved this cd. |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Aug 21, 2011 - 21:38 lathyris wrote: Bliss. Yes... |
| lathyris (Houston, TX) | Posted: Jul 21, 2011 - 12:54 Bosami wrote: Simply awesome. Bliss. |
| Bosami (Deep in the heart of nowhere) | Posted: May 19, 2011 - 05:53 Simply awesome. |
| Ahnyer_Keester (Chicago Il) | Posted: May 19, 2011 - 05:50 Wow Horstman, that's really hard. I'm sorry you and your son went through that but I'm glad it worked out well. My ache pails in comparison but I'll tell it anyway. I was in the USAF and got a one year, unaccompanied tour to Korea. My wife and my kids stayed in the US and I went alone. I stopped at the BX when I got to Osan AB and picked up a boom box on sale and grabbed this CD to have something to listen to. It really spoke to my mood. |
| horstman (Syracuse, New York) | Posted: Apr 17, 2011 - 16:40 zaknafein wrote: I have a lot of vivid memories tied to this song / record. Not all of them good unfortunately. I listened to this album after my son was born. Everyone would think "Wow that's great". And it was. But truth be told, my son was born 4 1/2 months premature, weighed less than two pounds and his life hung by a thread. When the song "Everybody Hurts" played, I slowly rocked myself to sleep in a very painful emotional way.Probably the album of my youth that most influenced the person I am today. I still cannot listen to this album without that day (and the days that followed) playing themselves out for me. But my son is good. He's 17, loves rock and roll, and is doing well. I am glad that REM influenced you so profoundly. Music has a wonderful way of pushing and pulling us this way and the other. Be good. |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Apr 17, 2011 - 16:37 gandalfbmg wrote: For my money, probably the best album ever. Definitely a contender... |
| zaknafein (Kansas City, MO) | Posted: Oct 26, 2010 - 09:28 I have a lot of vivid memories tied to this song / record. Not all of them good unfortunately. Probably the album of my youth that most influenced the person I am today. |
| gandalfbmg (3 mi from Paradise (Missouri)) | Posted: Oct 26, 2010 - 08:51 romeotuma wrote: This song is sweet... this album has a lot of great stuff on it... For my money, probably the best album ever. |
| scocam | Posted: Aug 07, 2010 - 19:40 I just don't care for REM anymore. Michael Stipe is such a blowhard. |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Aug 07, 2010 - 19:39 Jeff09 wrote: Yes. This song is sweet... this album has a lot of great stuff on it... |
| Jeff09 (Gainesville, Florida USA) | Posted: Jul 22, 2010 - 17:07 romeotuma wrote: Always good to hear it... love it... Yes. |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: May 04, 2010 - 09:42 Always good to hear it... love it... |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Apr 02, 2010 - 17:32 Yeah, this song is fantastic... |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Mar 17, 2010 - 16:34 awesome... love it... |
| Teko (out there somewhere) | Posted: Jan 29, 2010 - 15:10 One of my favorite moments on arguably R.E.M.'s finest album. |
| sirdroseph (Outer Mongolia) | Posted: Jan 29, 2010 - 15:10 copymonkey wrote: One of many underappreciated R.E.M. tunes, from one of their several underrated albums. Nope, no, uh-uh.  |
| bokey (Up on the tightwire.One sides ice and one is fire.) | Posted: Dec 29, 2009 - 04:35 lathyris wrote: I find it so hard to believe this is a band Typo fixed.For the love of God, why play REM at 7:30 in the morning? My retching reflex isn't fully awake. Listening to this is like watching a really, REALLY bad actor vomit on black and white TV. |
| cactusmatador (Blue Ridge Mtn) | Posted: Nov 11, 2009 - 20:42 Should be paired with CarbonLeaf - Raise the Roof |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Nov 11, 2009 - 20:40 love it... |
| kaybee (Lost in the Wilds of Toronto) | Posted: Oct 27, 2009 - 17:39 peter_james_bond wrote: I am an REM fan and I recognize that this is a great album but I find it so drenched in sadness that it's hard for me to listen to. I reach more often for their older cds like Life's Rich Pagent, Document, etc. Yes, this is a very dark album, although I find this song and others off this album. especially the very beautiful "Try Not to Breathe" really resonate with me, with having elderly parents who won't be around much longer and realizing I'm not getting any younger. |
| NickDanger (Athens - not that one, the music one) | Posted: Oct 27, 2009 - 09:47 Reminds me that I haven't been to Weaver D's for lunch lately. BTW, R.E.M. is holding a release party soon for their new CD. Stay tuned. |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Oct 27, 2009 - 09:41 copymonkey wrote: One of many underappreciated R.E.M. tunes, from one of their several underrated albums. Yes, I agree... |