Lyrics for singles by R.E.M.

Radio Free Europe

Beside yourself if radio's gonna stay
Reason: it could polish up the grey
Put that put that put that up your wall
That this isn't country at all

Raving station beside yourself

Keep me out of country in the word
Deal the porch is leading us absurd
Push that push that push that to the hull
That this isn't nothing at all

Straight off the boat where to go?
Calling on in transit calling on in transit
Radio Free Europe, radio...

Beside defying media too fast
Instead of pushing palaces to fall
Put that, put that, put that before all
That this isn't fortunate at all

Raving station, beside yourself
Calling on in transit, calling on in transit
Radio Free Europe, radio...

Decide yourself, calling all of the medias too fast

Keep me out of country in the word
Disappoint is into us absurd

Straight off the boat, where to go?
Calling on in transit, calling on in transit
Radio Free Europe

The One I Love

This one goes out to the one I love
This one goes out to the one Ive left behind
A simple prop to occupy my time
This one goes out to the one I love

Fire (shes comin down on her own, now)
Fire (shes comin down on her own, now)

This one goes out to the one I love
This one goes out to the one Ive left behind
A simple prop to occupy my time
This one goes out to the one I love

Fire (shes comin down on her own, now)
Fire (shes comin down on her own, now)

This one goes out to the one I love
This one goes out to the one Ive left behind
Another prop has occupied my time
This one goes out to the one I love

It's the End of the World as We Know It

That's great it starts with an earthquake birds and
snakes an aeroplane and Lenny Bruce is not afraid.
Eye of a hurricane listen to yourself churn world
serves its own needs dummy serve your own needs. Feed
it off an aux speak grunt no strength Ladder
start to clatter with fear fight down height. Wire
in a fire representing seven games a government
for hire and a combat site. Left of west and coming in
a hurry with the furies breathing down your neck. Team
by team reporters baffled, trumped, tethered cropped.
Look at that low playing! Fine, then. Uh oh,
overflow, population, common food, but it'll do. Save
yourself, serve yourself. World serves its own needs,
listen to your heart bleed dummy with the rapture and
the revered and the right, right. You vitriolic,
patriotic, slam, fight, bright light, feeling pretty
psyched.

It's the end of the world as we know it
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

Six o'clock - TV hour. Don't get caught in foreign
towers. Slash and burn, return, listen to yourself
churn. Locking in, uniforming, 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 steer clear! A tournament,
tournament, a tournament of lies. Offer me solutions,
offer me alternatives and I decline.

[chorus]

The other night I dreamt of knives, 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 book neck, right? Right.

[chorus]

(It's time I had some time alone)

Orange Crush

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 it's time to
Serve your conscience overseas (over me, not over me)
Coming in fast, over me

(repeat chorus 1)

(chorus 2)
High on the roof
Thin the blood
Another one climbs 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

Stand

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

Losing My Religion

Oh, life is bigger
It's bigger than you
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

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

Consider this
Consider this hint of the century
Consider this
The slip that brought me
To my knees failed
What if all these fantasies
Come flailing around
Now I've said too much
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try

But that was just a dream
That was just a dream

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

But that was just a dream
Try, cry, why, try
That was just a dream
Just a dream
Just a dream
Dream

Drive

Smack, crack, bushwhacked
Tie another one to the racks, baby

Hey kids, rock and roll
Nobody tells you where to go, baby

What if I ride?  What if you walk?
What if you rock around the clock?
Tick-tock.  Tick-tock
What if you did?  What if you walk?
What if you tried to get off, baby?

Hey, kids, where are you?
Nobody tells you what to do, baby

Hey kids, shake a leg
Maybe you're crazy in the head, baby

Maybe you did.  Maybe you walked
Maybe you rocked around the clock
Tick-tock.  Tick-tock
Maybe I ride.  Maybe you walk
Maybe I drive to get off, baby

Hey kids, shake a leg
Maybe you're crazy in the head, baby

Ollie, ollie
Ollie ollie ollie
Ollie ollie in come free, baby

Hey, kids, where are you?
Nobody tells you what to do, baby

Smack, crack.  Shack-a-lack
Tie another one to your back, baby

Hey kids, rock and roll
Nobody tells you where to go, baby

Maybe you did.  Maybe you walk
Maybe you rock around the clock
Tick-tock.  Tick-tock
Maybe I ride.  Maybe you walk
Maybe I drive to get off, baby

Hey kids, where are you?
Nobody tells you what to do, baby

Hey kids, rock and roll
Nobody tells you where to go, baby, baby, baby

The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight

This here is the place where I will be staying
There isn't a number; you can call the pay phone
Let it ring a long, long, long, long time
If I don't pick up, hang up, call back, let it ring some more
Oooooooooooooooh
If I don't pick up, pick up
The sidewinder sleeps, sleeps, sleeps in a coil

Call me when you try to wake her up [call me when you try to wake her]
Call me when you try to wake her up [call me when you try to wake her]
Call me when you try to wake her up [call me when you try to wake her]

There are scratches all around the coin slot
like a heartbeat, baby trying to wake up
but this machine can only swallow money
You can't lay a patch by computer design
It's just a lot of stupid, stupid signs

Tell her
tell her she can kiss my ass, then laugh and say that you were
Only kidding
That way she'll know that it's really, really, really, really me

[chorus]

Baby, instant soup doesn't really grab me
Today I need something more sub-sub-sub-substantial
A can of beans or blackeyed peas, some Nescafe and ice
A candy bar, a falling star, or a reading from Doctor Seuss

[chorus]

The cat in the hat came back
Wrecked a lot of havoc on the way
Always had a smile and a reason to pretend
But their world has flat backgrounds and little need to sleep but to dream
The sidewinder sleeps on his back

Call me when you try to wake her up.  Call me when you try to wake her
Call me when you try to wake her up.  Call me when you try to wake her
I can always sleep standing up.  Call me when you try to wake her
Call me when you try to wake her up.  Call me when you try to wake her
Call me when you try to wake her up.  Call me when you try to wake her
I can always sleep standing up.  Call me when you try to wake her
Call me when you try to wake her up.  Call me when you try to wake her
I can always sleep standing up.  Call me when you try to wake her
I can always sleep standing up.  Call me when you try to wake her

We've got to moogie, moogie, move on this one

Man On The Moon

Mott the Hoople and the game of Life.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Andy Kaufman in the wrestling match.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Monopoly, Twenty one, checkers, and chess.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Mister Fred Blassie in a breakfast mess.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Let's play Twister, let's play Risk.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
See you heaven if you make the list.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Hey, Andy did you hear about this one?  Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey 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 believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool

Moses went walking with the staff of wood.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Newton got beaned by the apple good.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Egypt was troubled by the horrible asp.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Mister Charles Darwin had the gall to ask.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Hey Andy did you hear about this one?  Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey, Andy are you goofing on Elvis?  Hey, baby.  Are you having fun?
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon
If you believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool

Here's a little agit for the never-believer.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Here's a little ghost for the offering.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Here's a truck stop instead of Saint Peter's.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Mister Andy Kaufman's gone wrestling [wrestling bears].  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Hey Andy did you hear about this one?  Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey 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 believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool