The lyrics are not correct. Very close though. The Mike Mills counter lines aren't listed "I'm not trying to Second Guess You". Also it's not 'Be in my club, write a book this season'. It's 'Peter, Mike and Bill write a book this season.'. Stipe has said during shows that he wrote them into the song. Why, I am not sure. There could be meaning to that like maybe they have tried to predict him and pissed him off, or he just wanted to write them into the song.
However, clearly the song though is about someone Stipe knows who he doesn't like very much. (So since he has been with his band mates over 27 years I tend to think it's not about them and he just wanted to write them into the song like he says.) The person likes to guess or predict what he's going to say before he finishes saying it. I think the other two questions are rhetorical to Stipe. Stipe wonders what their look will be this season and what book will book they will read this season. Clearly the person isn't a voracious reader if it takes them a whole season to read a book. Book could also symbolize a lover. Therefore, I think both rhetorical questions are filled with sarcasm. The "Here we are" comment either means 'this is the way things are' or this is 'where we are at.' Or, it could be simply he's driving this person somewhere and when they get there he says 'Here we are'.
The lyrics are not correct. Very close though. The Mike Mills counter lines aren't listed "I'm not trying to Second Guess You". Also it's not 'Be in my club, write a book this season'. It's 'Peter, Mike and Bill write a book this season.'. Stipe has said during shows that he wrote them into the song. Why, I am not sure. There could be meaning to that like maybe they have tried to predict him and pissed him off, or he just wanted to write them into the song.
However, clearly the song though is about someone Stipe knows who he doesn't like very much. (So since he has been with his band mates over 27 years I tend to think it's not about them and he just wanted to write them into the song like he says.) The person likes to guess or predict what he's going to say before he finishes saying it. I think the other two questions are rhetorical to Stipe. Stipe wonders what their look will be this season and what book will book they will read this season. Clearly the person isn't a voracious reader if it takes them a whole season to read a book. Book could also symbolize a lover. Therefore, I think both rhetorical questions are filled with sarcasm. The "Here we are" comment either means 'this is the way things are' or this is 'where we are at.' Or, it could be simply he's driving this person somewhere and when they get there he says 'Here we are'.
@REMFIELD Just a late comment to suggest that the narrator doesn't even need to be Stipe at all (regardless of the mentioning of the band)
@REMFIELD Just a late comment to suggest that the narrator doesn't even need to be Stipe at all (regardless of the mentioning of the band)