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Begin The Begin Lyrics
Birdie in the hand for life's rich demand
The insurgency began and you missed it
I looked for it and I found it
Miles Standish proud, congratulate me
A philanderer's tie, a murderer's shoe
Life's rich demand creates supply in the hand
Of the powers, the only vote that matters
Silence means security, silence means approval
On Zenith, on the TV, tiger run around the tree
Follow the leader, run and turn into butter
Let's begin again, begin the begin
Let's begin again like Martin Luther Zen
The mythology begins the begin
Answer me a question, I can't itemize
I can't think clear, you look to me for reason
It's not there, I can't even rhyme here in the begin
A philanderer's tie, a murderer's shoe
Example: the finest example is you
Birdie in the hand for life's rich demand
The insurgency began and you missed it
I looked for it and I found it
Miles Standish proud, congratulate me
A philanderer's tie, a murderer's shoe
Let's begin again, begin the begin
Let's begin again
The insurgency began and you missed it
I looked for it and I found it
Miles Standish proud, congratulate me
Of the powers, the only vote that matters
Silence means security, silence means approval
On Zenith, on the TV, tiger run around the tree
Follow the leader, run and turn into butter
Let's begin again like Martin Luther Zen
The mythology begins the begin
Answer me a question, I can't itemize
I can't think clear, you look to me for reason
It's not there, I can't even rhyme here in the begin
Example: the finest example is you
The insurgency began and you missed it
I looked for it and I found it
Miles Standish proud, congratulate me
Let's begin again, begin the begin
Let's begin again
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Iraq War? Clinton? C'mon folks. this album was released in 1986!!! Reagan was midway through his 2nd term and America was in a serious funk... much as it is now after Bush II. It proves the brilliance of Stipe as a lyricist that his lyrics can be applied to politics today (22 years later!). If you think Life's Rich Pageant is one of REM's less-favorable albums, PLEASE listen to it again and again... AND watch REM's Tourfilm DVD. LRP is by far REM's burliest album and personally it's my favorite.
@kidkilowatt The States hasn't really moved one iota since Truman gained office. Of course human's think in 'human time', but nothing has barely changed since the advent of the Industrial Revolution and our system of exchange. We still think as we did thousands of years ago. Technology has done little but disseminate that thinking even faster and insidiously. We haven't really changed at all ... even the United States. That's the very fact of our human condition.
@kidkilowatt The States hasn't really moved one iota since Truman gained office. Of course human's think in 'human time', but nothing has barely changed since the advent of the Industrial Revolution and our system of exchange. We still think as we did thousands of years ago. Technology has done little but disseminate that thinking even faster and insidiously. We haven't really changed at all ... even the United States. That's the very fact of our human condition.
Charlie=Smack ass. Every song on this album is phenomenal, especially Swan Swan, These Days and What IF We Give it Away. REM at its prime.
Great rough sound.........and the young man had a lot to say
This song laughs at the idea that technological or social innovation is really progress. The narrator is proud (Miles Standish -- one of the first American colonialists -- proud) and wants to be congratulated. But the "progress" is simply change, not advancement.
The power of innovation is respectable (a "tiger") but it doesn't lead forward ("run around the tree") -- just in circles. The tigers in "Little Black Sambo" end up destroying themselves for their efforts.
The development of a consumerist culture enrichens a few ("the powers") and is silently approved of, and thus allowed to continue.
The words "life's rich" are a micro-homage to a previous REM album title.
The title is also a play on the popular bossa nova/jazz standard "Begin the Beguine".
"Sadly, this is the only good song off of "Life's Rich Pageant.'"
Lifes Rich Pageant is one of R.E.M.s best albums. I'd put it as one of their top 5 (or top 3) out of their whole discography.
@No. 17 .
@No. 17 .
Are we sure he's not saying "like Martin Luthers in mythology"? Both Martin Luthers began big things.
"Tiger run around the tree. Follow the leader run and turn into butter " is a direct reference to the children's book Little Black Sambo. I can still remember reading it as a small child. I think rikdad's comments are spot on.
I recently started listening to this album for the first time in 20 years, and it still sounds fantastic - my favorite R.E.M album by far.
This wonderful song's message is about subversive insurrection. Using Myles Standish as a reference point is also its telltale give away. Stipe the insurgent was always at his best when rebelling against the status quo, and with this missive he aimed his target well and good. Songs such as Green Grow The Rushes and Ignoreland emphasise the exact and complex point as this tune. And what a glorious tune it remains from the era when REM were still underground superstars, spilling the news of good for the worthwhile to pick up and plant in the Elysian fields.
you forgot "The flowers of guatemala", a very pretty song