I have heard this many times and it still leaves me puzzled. The music and lyrics both have a dire, moody feeling, as if something bad is going to happen in the middle of a perfect day. There is a darkness lurking underneath the golden surface. That is hardly an original thought when it comes to California, but Stipe and REM do it well. I get the images and memories part of it, but what is he talking about with the tides and ebbs? A nice finish with "at the end/edge of the continent" - it is a common feeling among Easterners that there is something unreal about California, that it is on the border of reality.
I have heard this many times and it still leaves me puzzled. The music and lyrics both have a dire, moody feeling, as if something bad is going to happen in the middle of a perfect day. There is a darkness lurking underneath the golden surface. That is hardly an original thought when it comes to California, but Stipe and REM do it well. I get the images and memories part of it, but what is he talking about with the tides and ebbs? A nice finish with "at the end/edge of the continent" - it is a common feeling among Easterners that there is something unreal about California, that it is on the border of reality.