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Little America Lyrics
I can't see myself at thirty, I don't buy a lacquered thirty
Caught like flies, preserved for tomorrow's jewelery again
Lighted in the amber yard
A green shellback, green shellback
Preserved for tomorrow's eyes
In tree beer tar-black brer sap
The biggest wagon is the empty wagon is the noisiest
The consul a horse, Jefferson I think we're lost
Who will tend the farm museums?
Who will dust today's belongings?
Who will sweep the floors, hedging near the givens?
Rally round your leaders it's the mediator season
Diane is on the beach, do you realize the life she's led?
The biggest wagon is the empty wagon is the noisiest
The consul a horse, oh man I think we're lost
The biggest wagon is the empty wagon is the noisies,
A matter of course, Jefferson, Jeffer
Lighted in the amber yard
A green shellback, green shellback
Sky-lied, sty-tied, Nero pie-tied, in tree tar-black brer sap
Reason has harnessed the tame
A lodging, not stockader's game
Another Greenville, another Magic Mart
Jeffer, grab your fiddle,
The biggest wagon is the empty wagon is the noisiest
The consul a horse, Jefferson I think we're lost
The biggest wagon is the empty wagon is the noisiest
The consul a horse, Jefferson I think we're lost
Caught like flies, preserved for tomorrow's jewelery again
Lighted in the amber yard
A green shellback, green shellback
Preserved for tomorrow's eyes
In tree beer tar-black brer sap
The biggest wagon is the empty wagon is the noisiest
The consul a horse, Jefferson I think we're lost
Who will dust today's belongings?
Who will sweep the floors, hedging near the givens?
Rally round your leaders it's the mediator season
Diane is on the beach, do you realize the life she's led?
The biggest wagon is the empty wagon is the noisiest
The consul a horse, oh man I think we're lost
The biggest wagon is the empty wagon is the noisies,
A matter of course, Jefferson, Jeffer
A green shellback, green shellback
Sky-lied, sty-tied, Nero pie-tied, in tree tar-black brer sap
Reason has harnessed the tame
A lodging, not stockader's game
Another Greenville, another Magic Mart
Jeffer, grab your fiddle,
The biggest wagon is the empty wagon is the noisiest
The consul a horse, Jefferson I think we're lost
The biggest wagon is the empty wagon is the noisiest
The consul a horse, Jefferson I think we're lost
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LOVE THIS SONG.
The reference to "Jefferson" is not a historical reference, but a reference to R.E.M.'s manager at the time, Jefferson Holt. Somewhere in the late 90's / early '00's, Jefferson got fired by the band, I think because of some indiscretions with a member of R.E.M.'s crew. Now when Stipe sings this song, he changes "Jefferson" to "Washington."
I was never lucky enough to see R.E.M. live back in the day, but I've heard/seen a number of bootleg shows from this period, and I can honestly say that their 1984 "Little America" tour in support of Reckoning generated some of the greatest live bootlegs in my collection. I could never imagine having to play over 200 shows a year, much less being able to do so while all the while retaining my enthusiasm for the songs and my ability to play them as well as R.E.M. did. That fact alone shows that R.E.M. truly was one of the greatest live bands to ever play during their prime. The shows included with the deluxe editions of Murmur and Reckoning are only the tip of the iceberg. This band was something truly special.
REM was the perfect mix of New Wave/Punk and Southern music that I was looking for in 1984. Sometimes you’re just waiting to hear a sound, and it appears. That was my experience in 1984. Lyrically, I was always impressed their ability to include the local/regional flavors, sites, and sounds without the tendency toward maudlin, sentimental, and sometimes cliche in country music.
What’s more the ambiguity (sometimes incomprehensible) had a kind of sense to it. Little America is definitely about touring, but there is a deeper commentary about American life. They are singing about the future and a past that was fading. Who will tend the farm museums and dust today’s belongings? The insight might come from rapid and constant traveling, but it is about a world losing its meaning. There is always this gothic southern tinge in their early stuff too.
I think it\'s "I CAN see myself at 30." That makes more sense, when you consider how they got signed by Warners and became the darlings of MTV and Grammy winners.
@spencerrich Anyway, double meanings abound here.
@spencerrich Anyway, double meanings abound here.
@spencerrich I also think it\'s "balalaika." Not that that makes any more sense than "buy a lacquered."
@spencerrich I also think it\'s "balalaika." Not that that makes any more sense than "buy a lacquered."
One more thing. On the Rockpalast performance, Michael recites the pledge of allegiance before going into the lyrics, which suggests that it\'s not just a tour diary.
One more thing. On the Rockpalast performance, Michael recites the pledge of allegiance before going into the lyrics, which suggests that it\'s not just a tour diary.
One of my all time favorite R.E.M. songs.
If you ever drove any where in the south then the line "Another Greenville" makes sense... since there seems to be one in each state. Magic Mart was an old quck stop type of store.
the ultimate 'man, we're always on tour' state of mind song. but anyone whose known REM since way back when knows without being told that this song was originally recorded when the band was playing over 200 gigs a year, going show to show in an old green Ford cargo van. There is no mystery here.
I've always thought that "The consul a horse" refers to Emperor Caligula's horse Incitatus, who was made a senator and nearly became a consul.