New Test Leper Lyrics

Lyric discussion by airwolf queen 

Cover art for New Test Leper lyrics by R.E.M.

Think about being on a talk show because you have a disease, "leprosy", if you will. It's the modern day freak show, and we watch it to say, "thank god I'm not like them." I think this song addresses the assumption that people have that people who are in a bad situation put themselves there. That kind of judgement, when they can never truly know what's going on behind that person's eyes, is wrong.