 Automatic for the People (1992) [ larger cover art ] |
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Hey now, little speedyhead
The read on the speedmeter says
You have to go to task in the city
Where people drown and people serve
Don't be shy, your just deserve
Is only just light years to go
Me, my thoughts are flower strewn
Ocean storm, bayberry moon
I have got to leave to find my way
Watch the road and memorize
This life that pass before my eyes
Nothing is going my way
The ocean is the river's goal
A need to leave the water knows
We're closer now than light years to go
I have got to find the river
Bergamot and vetiver
Run through my head and fall away
Leave the road and memorize
This life that pass before my eyes
Nothing is going my way
There's no one left to take the lead
But I tell you and you can see
We're closer now than light years to go
Pick up here and chase the ride
The river empties to the tide
Fall into the ocean
The river to the ocean goes
A fortune for the undertow
None of this is going my way
There is nothing left to throw
Of Ginger, lemon, indigo
Coriander stem and rose of hay
Strength and courage overrides
The privileged and weary eyes
Of river poet search naiveté
Pick up here and chase the ride
The river empties to the tide
All of this is coming your way
| Ahnyer_Keester (Chicago Il) | Posted: May 15, 2013 - 13:25 I absolutely love this song and this album. Thanks! And the pictures that go with it are amazing. |
| Lazarus (Bethany) | Posted: Mar 13, 2013 - 20:14 Everybody in my church loves this song... |
| Euskadita (MX) | Posted: Feb 02, 2013 - 10:23 rdo wrote: Miss you, Michael et al.. REM is the best US band. There is no debate about this fact. No debate |
| Lazarus (Bethany) | Posted: Jan 21, 2013 - 20:06 marvelous song... love it... |
| gypsyman (just passing through....) | Posted: Dec 01, 2012 - 17:35 coloradojohn wrote: EVERY TIME, this sonic poetic masterpiece can put me doing a j-break with friends and CU classmates at a yard party, farewell for me before I went off to Ishikawa for a seven year stretch, in a very green and breeze-kissed space down by Boulder Creek, in the chill sofa seats of the cherry old '61 Impala, and my how it even though that was long ago...with many things having gone by in The River since...the Chevy, the marriage, and...well, that's just the way The River of Life goes... Heartbreaking and yet uplifting at the same time, kinda like Neil Young can do, and did, just one song ago, and God I wish the flow of this set can just keep drifting along in its current eddies... All of this is coming your way... Poetic. Unusual for Cherry Creek. Lived in Glendale in the Eighties. Worked at Colorado & I-25. Lived in Lakewood and worked in Cherry Creek again 10 yrs ago. The Riv is no more. Rick's cafe, no more. How terrible.....but the Bull & Bush survives! |
| rdo (DC) | Posted: Dec 01, 2012 - 17:28 Miss you, Michael et al.. REM is the best US band. There is no debate about this fact. |
| Grayson (Atlanta) | Posted: Nov 08, 2012 - 09:30 gandalfbmg wrote: THIS is the song I want played at my funeral. Also, I think the album is the best album released during my lifetime; Perfect through and through... Agree. See my comment above/below. |
| Grayson (Atlanta) | Posted: Nov 08, 2012 - 09:29 If there's a more achingly beautiful song I can't think of it right now. |
| gandalfbmg (Thankfully now a little more than 3 mi from Paradise (Missouri)) | Posted: Nov 08, 2012 - 09:27 THIS is the song I want played at my funeral. Also, I think the album is the best album released during my lifetime; Perfect through and through... |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Sep 06, 2012 - 11:06 Culture Bewildered, bewildering primate. Absinthe. Circumcision. Couplets. Scarification. Conceptual art. Classic celebrated scholarly papers Absorbed or transmitted always invisibly now invisibly in the air Images, music. In the comic-strip family the snob Maggie's hair Her pugnosed husband Jiggs, stocky as the bass clef, hair in two red He wanted to sneak out of their mansion to "corned beef and cabbage" In Africa I drank sweet palm wine ladled from a red vinyl bucket. In the tune, I was drinking beer in a cabaret, Oh was I having fun! But The Web says the song was a hit by Al Dexter the year I was born. Different explanations of Hutu and Tutsi, are they peoples or races Music of bold stereotypes: Irish sweepstakes Jiggs, "nouveau riche." Charlie Chan, Life with Luigi, The Goldbergs, Amos'n'Andy. Japanese Der Stürmer, lynchings, rapes, internment camps. Eliot's vicious book Virginia, Florida. The Dakotas. California, word with no known origin. After Pearl Harbor a movie sidekick changed overnight from Japanese Maggie and Jiggs had a beautiful daughter, Nora. Virginal. The strip Nouveau—and here he is photographed in costume as Jiggs, it was all a |
| rdo (DC) | Posted: Sep 01, 2012 - 15:07  Like most bands, REM did not evolve, they devolved. This is pretty damn good though. |
| SchoepTone (Duke City) | Posted: Aug 29, 2012 - 09:15 Easily a 10. What a way to finish a great album! |
| boober (KC,Mo) | Posted: Aug 29, 2012 - 09:15 coloradojohn wrote: EVERY TIME, this sonic poetic masterpiece can put me doing a j-break with friends and CU classmates at a yard party, farewell for me before I went off to Ishikawa for a seven year stretch, in a very green and breeze-kissed space down by Boulder Creek, in the chill sofa seats of the cherry old '61 Impala, and my how it even though that was long ago...with many things having gone by in The River since...the Chevy, the marriage, and...well, that's just the way The River of Life goes... Heartbreaking and yet uplifting at the same time, kinda like Neil Young can do, and did, just one song ago, and God I wish the flow of this set can just keep drifting along in its current eddies... All of this is coming your way... well said(like always)John! |
| johnjconn (chicago land) | Posted: Jun 27, 2012 - 12:36 iTuner wrote: One of the few REM songs that doesn't make me want to drive an ice pick through my eardrums. Please, don't let this single song stop you. By all means, please proceed Send pictures, 8*10 glossy |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Jun 27, 2012 - 12:36 This song puts a spring in my step this summer day... |
| coloradojohn (A Mile High and then some, Cherry Creek, Denver) | Posted: Jun 03, 2012 - 17:39 EVERY TIME, this sonic poetic masterpiece can put me doing a j-break with friends and CU classmates at a yard party, farewell for me before I went off to Ishikawa for a seven year stretch, in a very green and breeze-kissed space down by Boulder Creek, in the chill sofa seats of the cherry old '61 Impala, and my how it even though that was long ago...with many things having gone by in The River since...the Chevy, the marriage, and...well, that's just the way The River of Life goes... Heartbreaking and yet uplifting at the same time, kinda like Neil Young can do, and did, just one song ago, and God I wish the flow of this set can just keep drifting along in its current eddies... All of this is coming your way... |
| iTuner | Posted: Apr 24, 2012 - 22:19 One of the few REM songs that doesn't make me want to drive an ice pick through my eardrums. |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Apr 24, 2012 - 22:14 This song puts a spring in my step this spring night... |
| jr2571 (NYC) | Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 12:24 This is NOT the REM I like- give me early-mid 80's!! |
| Elroweho (Cheesehead in Paradise) | Posted: Feb 21, 2012 - 12:23 R.E.M - Always one of my favs! Was sorry to see them hang it up, but they left some great music for us all to enjoy!  |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Jan 20, 2012 - 18:49 Everybody in my hotel room loves this song... |
| sronis | Posted: Dec 28, 2011 - 03:57 pfnepschnee wrote: The worst REM song I've ever heard. I think that it's safe to bet that all I have to do in order to find a worse REM song is simply pick one randomly. Yes, this song is THAT great. A truly great song is measured in time and number of listenings. After hundreds of times of hearing this song, I still feel its greatness. Not many songs are like that. |
| Proclivities (Carrboro, NC) | Posted: Nov 26, 2011 - 10:18 scrubbrush wrote: I like this song because I like Rocky Mountain High by John Denver (when i'm in a singer-songwriters of the 70's kinda mood, that is). The melody is sooo similar, i can't help hearing it It is reminiscent in the chorus (which seems like a pretty standard progression), but not really the rest of the tune. The verse parts of this song sound like they hang around in D and Dminor, unlike Mr. Denver's song. |
| terrapin52 (Terrapin Station, SC) | Posted: Nov 26, 2011 - 10:16 Any album after Document is tripe. That's just my opinion. The R.E.M. I admired cannot be heard after that. |
| Grayson | Posted: Nov 18, 2011 - 07:32 Oh how gorgeous and bittersweet. Haven't heard this since its release. Thanks for pulling it today! |
| Byronape (Snorkeling in the River Styx) | Posted: Oct 25, 2011 - 19:46 Sloggydog wrote: Beautiful. As an avid REM fan I was at the shops awaiting the release of this every day. I got it and took it home. I played it and I was so disappointed. Not at all what I expected. I shelved it. Then drive was released and I went that's a bloody cool song. I got the CD out and played it. I have never been able to figure out what was wrong with me on the first listen because it grew on me like no music I had ever owned. Great album and either this, nightswimming or try not to breathe would be my favourite tracks. I had a much similar experience. I bought it, thought it was ok, than for some reason picked it back up for a long walk. It was one of those brisk autumn days in the hills of South East Ohio, the leaves were just starting to turn and it was pretty windy. I was in the midst of a teenage streak of depression and felt lost all the time. One afternoon, I grabbed my little portable cd player, the first cd I saw, and left the house. With nothing to distract me beside the majesty of a country autumn, I was able to really listen to this cd. Not every song struck a cord, but I was able to forget my troubles completely. In a stroke of irony, I started walking along the edge of the river just as Nightswimming came on. After that, Find the River... I returned to the house with a new love for the album and a couple of dead batteries. |
| Sloggydog (UK) | Posted: Sep 24, 2011 - 03:48 Beautiful. As an avid REM fan I was at the shops awaiting the release of this every day. I got it and took it home. I played it and I was so disappointed. Not at all what I expected. I shelved it. Then drive was released and I went that's a bloody cool song. I got the CD out and played it. I have never been able to figure out what was wrong with me on the first listen because it grew on me like no music I had ever owned. Great album and either this, nightswimming or try not to breathe would be my favourite tracks. |
| peter_james_bond (West Of The Burg) | Posted: Aug 23, 2011 - 18:38 johnjconn wrote: A great REM song. A great REM cd My daughter was born in 1990 too and this cd brings back fantastic memories of my now college sophomore. I just listened to this cd again. The last 3 songs (which includes this one) are amazing. |
| sirdroseph (Yes) | Posted: Jul 15, 2011 - 10:04 pfnepschnee wrote: The worst REM song I've ever heard. Oh God no, you must've stopped listening to them after this album! It was all downhill from there!  |
| sirdroseph (Yes) | Posted: Jul 15, 2011 - 10:03 scrubbrush wrote: I like this song because I like Rocky Mountain High by John Denver (when i'm in a singer-songwriters of the 70's kinda mood, that is). The melody is sooo similar, i can't help hearing it You know you're right! This song is ok I guess. |
| scrubbrush (Sea of Calm) | Posted: Apr 11, 2011 - 12:48 I like this song because I like Rocky Mountain High by John Denver (when i'm in a singer-songwriters of the 70's kinda mood, that is). The melody is sooo similar, i can't help hearing it |
| lmic (Harmless Little Bunny) | Posted: Apr 11, 2011 - 12:48 For some reason, this is really getting to me today... |
| johnjconn (chicago land) | Posted: Feb 15, 2011 - 17:33 A great REM song. A great REM cd My daughter was born in 1990 too and this cd brings back fantastic memories of my now college sophomore. |
| pfnepschnee | Posted: Feb 07, 2011 - 16:24 The worst REM song I've ever heard. |
| phlattop | Posted: Jan 15, 2011 - 11:28 mach-hog wrote: Automatic for the People was released in '92, the same year our daughter was born. Over the years the song has been something I've reflected on occasionally. Rivers are a theme within our lives - we live 1 block away from one... we fish and swim in it, walk along it, and it is a source of much beauty in our valley. Hundreds of thousands of people come every year to our area. It is historically and symbollically significant to the development of our area and has nurtured many aspects of our lives and those of generations before us. We just delivered her to her private boarding school, where she attends by her own choice. A very brave and intelligent thing for a young lady to do, she embodies the adventurous seeker of one's own river which echoes through this song. As I sit here several thousand miles away I think this band is so great and this song amongst their best. It brings me a kind solace as I think of our little gal, flying solo and finding her own way. I miss you Bean!  Well said. I suggested this song for a mixed CD of songs that my ex-wife made for my former stepdaughter when she turned 18. There were 2 other suggested songs as well but this one just stood out. |
| oufason | Posted: Jan 07, 2011 - 09:13 I think it is time to dig this one out the closet and add it to the 'play stock' again |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Dec 06, 2010 - 18:24 jyoull wrote: If for any reason you have not played this album straight through at least 10 times in your life, do it! :) Yes, well said... and this song is wonderful... |
| Stranglersfan (Revelstoke, B.C.) | Posted: Nov 25, 2010 - 15:22 I agree, it is a gem! jyoull wrote: If for any reason you have not played this album straight through at least 10 times in your life, do it! :) |
| jyoull (Cambridge, MA) | Posted: Oct 24, 2010 - 22:52 If for any reason you have not played this album straight through at least 10 times in your life, do it! :) |
| sweetangerine (B-town, ID) | Posted: Oct 12, 2010 - 14:16 RParadise wrote: "Rocky mountain hiiiiiigh . . . Coloradoooooo" Funny, I was wondering if anyone else thought of John Denver when they heard this song. I wonder if JD might have evolved into something as awesome as R.E.M... |
| linden (Santa Cruz, CA) | Posted: Oct 12, 2010 - 14:14 I'm surprised to see how many other people besides me think of their child when they hear this song. Love my little boy! |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Oct 12, 2010 - 14:14 excellent... love it... |
| scrubbrush | Posted: Oct 04, 2010 - 11:16 Rocky mountain hiiiiigghh |
| coolpeople_rule (Winter wonder land) | Posted: Sep 23, 2010 - 06:28 mach-hog wrote: Automatic for the People was released in '92, the same year our daughter was born. Over the years the song has been something I've reflected on occasionally. Rivers are a theme within our lives - we live 1 block away from one... we fish and swim in it, walk along it, and it is a source of much beauty in our valley. Hundreds of thousands of people come every year to our area. It is historically and symbollically significant to the development of our area and has nurtured many aspects of our lives and those of generations before us. We just delivered her to her private boarding school, where she attends by her own choice. A very brave and intelligent thing for a young lady to do, she embodies the adventurous seeker of one's own river which echoes through this song. As I sit here several thousand miles away I think this band is so great and this song amongst their best. It brings me a kind solace as I think of our little gal, flying solo and finding her own way. I miss you Bean! Very profound! Thank you for sharing! |
| mineralBOB (Germany/Saxony) | Posted: Sep 23, 2010 - 06:28 I'm not a declared REM-fan, but this is one of my favourite rock/pop/AOR/mainstream records (although "mainstream" might be insulting to some) |
| Radio_Man (South Carolina) | Posted: Sep 23, 2010 - 06:26 mach-hog wrote: Automatic for the People was released in '92, the same year our daughter was born. Over the years the song has been something I've reflected on occasionally. Rivers are a theme within our lives - we live 1 block away from one... we fish and swim in it, walk along it, and it is a source of much beauty in our valley. Hundreds of thousands of people come every year to our area. It is historically and symbollically significant to the development of our area and has nurtured many aspects of our lives and those of generations before us. We just delivered her to her private boarding school, where she attends by her own choice. A very brave and intelligent thing for a young lady to do, she embodies the adventurous seeker of one's own river which echoes through this song. As I sit here several thousand miles away I think this band is so great and this song amongst their best. It brings me a kind solace as I think of our little gal, flying solo and finding her own way. I miss you Bean! What a great post, thank you. |
| mach-hog (the high west) | Posted: Sep 14, 2010 - 23:02 Automatic for the People was released in '92, the same year our daughter was born. Over the years the song has been something I've reflected on occasionally. Rivers are a theme within our lives - we live 1 block away from one... we fish and swim in it, walk along it, and it is a source of much beauty in our valley. Hundreds of thousands of people come every year to our area. It is historically and symbollically significant to the development of our area and has nurtured many aspects of our lives and those of generations before us. We just delivered her to her private boarding school, where she attends by her own choice. A very brave and intelligent thing for a young lady to do, she embodies the adventurous seeker of one's own river which echoes through this song. As I sit here several thousand miles away I think this band is so great and this song amongst their best. It brings me a kind solace as I think of our little gal, flying solo and finding her own way. I miss you Bean! |
| Cynaera (South of Neanderthal) | Posted: Sep 02, 2010 - 11:23 I love R.E.M. They're so eccentric and brilliant, and they invariably create an aura of mood around me, no matter the song. Today, this song's aura of mood is perfect for paying bills with the sun shining, the hummingbirds attacking the last of the hollyhocks, and the prospect of taking a nap once all my chores are finished. |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Aug 09, 2010 - 19:09 soooo cool... love it... |
| phlattop | Posted: Aug 01, 2010 - 11:31 This album has a stunning trio of songs to close it out: Man on the Moon, Nightswimming and this one. And the preceding 9 tracks are pretty damned great too! |