| R.E.M. – Country Feedback Lyrics | 21 years ago |
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IMO, the writer (Stipe) is not claiming all of the blame, for the failed marriage or destruction of the relationship, which is clearly what the song is about. "these clothes don't fit us right ... " Clearly, as one said, either the clothes they were married in don't fit them anymore OR possibly just the clothes they both wore when they were younger, or metaphorically this could also represent the cloth or fabric of the relationship, which composes the relationship's "clothing" Regardless, Stipe is completely assigning blame as well, though he claims he's to blame ... a typical exaggeration when you're trying to soft pedal a tough message. His blame is shrouded slightly, but pointed .... "You come to me with a bone in your hand" ,,, His lover always comes to him with some sort of BONE to pick with him. (He never does anything right or she is never happy, in other words). Then, he follows with "you come to me with your hair curled tight." which can only be taken as meaning that he feels his lover is always too uptight about everything, as in, "did you curl you hair too tight or what?" Then, it's all cemented by his next comments, revealing that his lover ALSO, always comes to him with his/her positions and excuses for everything, "all ducked out in a row" (perfectly laid out and ordered), finishing with, "You wear me out, you wear me out." Finally, after rambling through everything they've been through to fix the broken marriage, he can only summarize by uttering, "Fuck All" Lastly, the live version is a treat to have the opportunity to hear and if you can find it, R.E.M. played a live version at Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit a few years ago and Mr. Young came up on stage and stroked the struts with Peter Buck for the whole song, which is simply amazing. It's fairly available online in various places and shouldn't be missed. Peace (& R.E.M.) |
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