I like this song, too, but sure as hell not for the words. I gave up caring much about words long ago, exactly because of songs like this. You CAN'T squeeze any real meaning out of this song, just like 99.9% of any other song out there now. Everyone Michael Stipe these days--taking the low road, the easy way out, and just rhyming without giving a damn if it makes any sense. Why, you ask? Think about it--it's easier, and it allows the "artist" to be ambiguous and meaningless, while still saying SOMETHING, and therefore able to appeal to a wider audience. So, everyone comes here and says "It's about pain". Then someone else says "No, it's about existential torment". Then a third person comes in and says "No, uhh, I think it's about drugs". And so on. No one is right, no one is wrong, and the "artist" laughs all the way to the bank. Now, where the hell is my wine?
I like this song, too, but sure as hell not for the words. I gave up caring much about words long ago, exactly because of songs like this. You CAN'T squeeze any real meaning out of this song, just like 99.9% of any other song out there now. Everyone Michael Stipe these days--taking the low road, the easy way out, and just rhyming without giving a damn if it makes any sense. Why, you ask? Think about it--it's easier, and it allows the "artist" to be ambiguous and meaningless, while still saying SOMETHING, and therefore able to appeal to a wider audience. So, everyone comes here and says "It's about pain". Then someone else says "No, it's about existential torment". Then a third person comes in and says "No, uhh, I think it's about drugs". And so on. No one is right, no one is wrong, and the "artist" laughs all the way to the bank. Now, where the hell is my wine?