The first time I heard this song, I thought "wow". I'll take a stab at what Michael Stipe is singing about.
In the first verse, I get the feeling that the fun has gone out of his life, the circus has left town but the pegs/stakes are still in the ground, the broken rope could refer to a safety net and the brilliant pun on "ties that bind".
In the second verse, he's been out drinking, maybe to forget? And its resulted in his mind being free and uninhibited with language but he knows his own limits. He seems to live in the moment and I love the line about not marking his time with any conveniences.
In the third verse, he seems to confirm this living in the moment and being positive about it with the beautiful, brilliant child-like rhyming couplet of fold/gold, very powerful in its depth and meaning.
in the fourth verse, the metals seem to indicate platinum = wedding/relationship commitment, brass = money, zinc = medicine and by letting them pass, he accepts them all.
In the fifth verse, he indicates his wedding. From his apology, maybe he didn't turn up? Maybe there was an accident or an argument which resulted in tragedy? But then he laughs about it, maybe he wanted it to happen like that?
In the sixth verse, he reminisces about who I assume he was (about to get) married to. The wind and water turbulence words seem to indicate it was a stormy relationship and maybe he's sad it's either over or that he couldn't be a part of that relationship any more?
In the next section, "Patti Lee" is obviously Patti Smith who sings on this (and other REM) song\s. And again his introspection indicates that he is happy even though he has "lost" a great love of his. But with his "I want me, I want it all", he believes he can both be better and do better, ending with the super positive "this is my time and I am thrilled to be alive", closing with the profound "I understand" before finally, Patti Smith sings about being the fairy godmother with Cinderella references to take him on his journey to both being and doing better.
In summary, although it seems at first glance to be a sad, depressing song it's actually very spiritual and uplifting. Once again proving how much of a genius and wordsmith Michael Stipe is. Not many bands could pull something like this off and I'm happy it was REM who have delivered another album of both incredible quality and sublime brilliance.
The first time I heard this song, I thought "wow". I'll take a stab at what Michael Stipe is singing about.
In the first verse, I get the feeling that the fun has gone out of his life, the circus has left town but the pegs/stakes are still in the ground, the broken rope could refer to a safety net and the brilliant pun on "ties that bind". In the second verse, he's been out drinking, maybe to forget? And its resulted in his mind being free and uninhibited with language but he knows his own limits. He seems to live in the moment and I love the line about not marking his time with any conveniences. In the third verse, he seems to confirm this living in the moment and being positive about it with the beautiful, brilliant child-like rhyming couplet of fold/gold, very powerful in its depth and meaning. in the fourth verse, the metals seem to indicate platinum = wedding/relationship commitment, brass = money, zinc = medicine and by letting them pass, he accepts them all. In the fifth verse, he indicates his wedding. From his apology, maybe he didn't turn up? Maybe there was an accident or an argument which resulted in tragedy? But then he laughs about it, maybe he wanted it to happen like that? In the sixth verse, he reminisces about who I assume he was (about to get) married to. The wind and water turbulence words seem to indicate it was a stormy relationship and maybe he's sad it's either over or that he couldn't be a part of that relationship any more? In the next section, "Patti Lee" is obviously Patti Smith who sings on this (and other REM) song\s. And again his introspection indicates that he is happy even though he has "lost" a great love of his. But with his "I want me, I want it all", he believes he can both be better and do better, ending with the super positive "this is my time and I am thrilled to be alive", closing with the profound "I understand" before finally, Patti Smith sings about being the fairy godmother with Cinderella references to take him on his journey to both being and doing better.
In summary, although it seems at first glance to be a sad, depressing song it's actually very spiritual and uplifting. Once again proving how much of a genius and wordsmith Michael Stipe is. Not many bands could pull something like this off and I'm happy it was REM who have delivered another album of both incredible quality and sublime brilliance.
I think it's "Patti, Lee proud" (as in, both Patti and Lee), referring to guest vocalist Patti Smith and Jackknife Lee, who produced the LP.
I think it's "Patti, Lee proud" (as in, both Patti and Lee), referring to guest vocalist Patti Smith and Jackknife Lee, who produced the LP.