Stand

Long time listener, first time caller here...
For those of you who think the song lacks meaning, I suggest you work on your imagination. Go outside of your house. Face north (or maybe you don´t really know which way north is- use a compass if you need some help). Look at the big picture... Where are you in relationship to the big picture? Stand in the place where you work (now face west- you know which way that is, right??). If youŕe confused, check with the sun (rises in the east and sets in the west, we all know that, right?). Think about the impact of our existence as humans. I wish global warming would go away. If wishes were trees, the trees would be falling... Your feet are going to be on the ground (nobody can miss that, kinda tough to deny gravity) your head is there to move you around (are you using your brain to interact with this environment in an intelligent/ respectable manner?-not sure everybody´s doing this). The people who feel it as a call to action are right. The albumś called Green. Look at your home planet and take a look at how you are helping/ hurting/ impacting the situation. Are you too busy? Too lazy? Have you been sitting on your a$$ for too long? Most of us have. Don´t think about what you´ll do one day... You can make a difference right now if you care. Stand in the place where you are!

Why do people hate this song? It rules. I used to rock out to this when I was a little kid.

GET A LIFE

"call to action"? I'm a big REM fan, but the only action this song ever called me to was to reach for the remote.

This is a typical REM song about privilege. The northern hemisphere of the world is much, much more affluent than the south. The western world is more developed than the east. In fact, when an eastern nation becomes developed they are said to have become "westernized."

The point of the song, however, isn't just that some people are better off than others. It's about how people born to affluent societies take their privilege for granted. REM is asking their listeners to appreciate why they have what they have, and to do something about it.

The irony is that despite this high mindedness, Michael Stipe was recently identified by a waitress at Babbo as a terrible tipper.

No, you are NOT a big REM fan. You are a very little person with a very small brain, with very little knowledge, ego, or personality to go along with it.

Its impossible to call this anything but one of their all time best tracks, ever.

this has gotta have a deep meaning...wat it is, i don't know...

Don't knock yourself out. REM considers this the worst song they've ever recorded.

They said it's the "stupidest" song (meaning stupid meaning-wise) not the worst. That's from the In Time insert. You can have a good song without deep meaning. The tune here is decent, but not amazing or anything.

althought they say theres no meaning, i think it obviously has 1. its about figuring out what to do with your life. you can jsut stand around and no nothing or you can try to make something out of your life.