Michael Stipe said that he wrote the song at 3 o'clock in the morning on a train trip after splitting up with his girlfriend (who later featured in the video for "The One I Love"). On the next three tours he would preface the song with stories about her. When he looked at the lyrics three months later, he had no idea where they came from.
The song clearly has two apparently unrelated themes:
The end of a relationship resulting in a train journey
An auction
But the juxtaposition creates an almost cinematic drama in which two people go their separate ways against a backdrop of a bustling old-time train yard, with goods being auctioned and loaded.
Michael Stipe said that he wrote the song at 3 o'clock in the morning on a train trip after splitting up with his girlfriend (who later featured in the video for "The One I Love"). On the next three tours he would preface the song with stories about her. When he looked at the lyrics three months later, he had no idea where they came from.
The song clearly has two apparently unrelated themes:
But the juxtaposition creates an almost cinematic drama in which two people go their separate ways against a backdrop of a bustling old-time train yard, with goods being auctioned and loaded.