I both agree and disagree with charlieray's and Marquez's interpretations of this song, above:
Yes, Monster is filled with songs that can be described as "mean and creepy", but I DON'T necessarily think "You" is one of them. It could be about River Phoenix; guess we'll never know, but in any case Stipe confirmed he wrote it to a man. (No big surprise there)
To me, this song is like a lust-drenched dream from which the singer wakes up yearning for the person he was dreaming of - someone who seems to be unavailable to him in real life for whatever reason.
Maybe the object of the singer's love/lust has died or changed dramatically somehow. Or maybe it's an unrequieted love situation or a relationship that's already broken up. Regardless, the singer stills wants this person desperately and is feeding his fantasies with past memories.
I both agree and disagree with charlieray's and Marquez's interpretations of this song, above:
Yes, Monster is filled with songs that can be described as "mean and creepy", but I DON'T necessarily think "You" is one of them. It could be about River Phoenix; guess we'll never know, but in any case Stipe confirmed he wrote it to a man. (No big surprise there)
To me, this song is like a lust-drenched dream from which the singer wakes up yearning for the person he was dreaming of - someone who seems to be unavailable to him in real life for whatever reason.
Maybe the object of the singer's love/lust has died or changed dramatically somehow. Or maybe it's an unrequieted love situation or a relationship that's already broken up. Regardless, the singer stills wants this person desperately and is feeding his fantasies with past memories.