I saw R.E.M. at Voodoo Fest in New Orleans last night (amazing for sure) and Michael revealed a tip about this song that is interesting when it comes to the interpretation. He said it was a song Peter wrote about a time when Michael was about 20 and went and lived on the streets of New Orleans for a week. Michael said it was pretty rough and some stuff happened that wouldn't be good to repeat from the stage. Elysian Fields is a pretty long street and it runs through a rough part of town. I'm not sure about when Michael was there, but now a lot of homeless gather there (especially at the end bordering the river) and drug use is common. They said the allusion to the fields meant "Elysian Fields Avenue." The French Quarter is one area west of Elysian Fields Avenue, so he could have been there.
I saw R.E.M. at Voodoo Fest in New Orleans last night (amazing for sure) and Michael revealed a tip about this song that is interesting when it comes to the interpretation. He said it was a song Peter wrote about a time when Michael was about 20 and went and lived on the streets of New Orleans for a week. Michael said it was pretty rough and some stuff happened that wouldn't be good to repeat from the stage. Elysian Fields is a pretty long street and it runs through a rough part of town. I'm not sure about when Michael was there, but now a lot of homeless gather there (especially at the end bordering the river) and drug use is common. They said the allusion to the fields meant "Elysian Fields Avenue." The French Quarter is one area west of Elysian Fields Avenue, so he could have been there.