Fireplace

what do you think? Slow song? or otherwise?

Sometimes you get the feeling that you should burn everything you built. I don't know if Stipe was riding that kind of emotion when he wrote this song, but I can connect it with that feeling.

This is a fantastic song. One of my favorites from REM. I believe it's about acceptance and letting go. Accept all as it is and throw your construction into the fireplace. Really great song and well crafted.

me no likee

"Fireplace" is clearly about revolution

"Throw the walls into the fireplace" is especially implicative of a liberation uprising.

i love the sax in this song, its just awesom; maybe DMB should cover this one..with Dave's smooth voice..oh yeah!

One strange little song. I love it. Edgy guitars, free-form beebop style sax, Stipe's off-beat lyrics. The more I listen to REM I also respect the instrumentalists- fine beat from then-drummer Bill Berry and bass playing by Mills. Peter Buck sounds better and better as a guitarist- creating a mood and an atmosphere while minimizing soloing. The song itself? It seems to be about sweeping everything out in a time of utter chaos. Even the floor and the walls. More relevant now in 2016 than it was 30 years ago when this album was first released.

The lyrical structure reminds me of some of the repetition in the lyrics of earlier R.E.M. songs, especially stuff off Chronic Town, with a reversal of verse and chorus added in for good measure. The "verses" are now the most repetitive part, which is often the chorus of other songs.

I think this is significant. Combined with the political themes of the record, I think he's trying to channel a feeling of restlessness, similar to "Finest Worksong," for what was then the upcoming election for a president to follow Reagan's 2nd and last term.

He also channels a bit of an old rustic Southern vibe with the lyrics. To sweep floors into the fireplace implies winter, cuz otherwise, it would be warm enough that you'd sweep the dirt outside. The same is true of shaking out a rug. Hanging up chairs is something done in a busy place, so we're talking about a church, dance hall, etc., which were the centers of many communities back then.

So now, a dance is mentioned--lots of people normally expected, except it's "winter outside," so who's going to brave the elements to come to the dance? This is a metaphor for apathy, a theme also touched on in "Finest Worksong."

The "chairs" reference also invokes several other things involving meetings, protocols followed in Congress, etc. Soon, the chairs are going into the fireplace, because, metaphorically speaking, change is needed, much like a harsh winter being the death of furniture. Finally, into the fireplace go the walls--crazy times, indeed. But, did he mean the outside walls fending off winter, or the interior ones separating people from each other?

Once again the boys have anticipated the work routine of Starbucks