I'm fairly sure this song is about Michael Stipe's sexuality. Written ten years before he came out of the closet, it's essentially a justification (to himself) for staying in the closet, written cryptically enough that he could deny it if he were asked.
Look at the first couplet:
I'll take the position
Assume the missionary part
Position... missionary... missionary position, anyone? "Position" has a double meaning: essentially "I will take the position that I have sex in the missionary position. I will remain in the closet."
You work by committee
You had me pegged from the start.
Who's "you"? You is conservative America. Fundamentalist Christianity. Those who would call Stipe a mortal sinner despite never meeting him.
I'll be pounce pony.
This ceremony
Only fills my heart.
I think "ceremony" may have a double-meaning here: the ceremony involved in scapegoating (here represented by a pounce pony, which is a sacrificial animal used to help trap a carnivore), and the marriage ceremony, which Stipe at the time was barred from.
Romantically, you'd martyr me
And miss this story's point
Again, "you" is right-wing America circa 1998, and Stipe is saying that any romance he experiences is "martyred" by right-wing America: denigrated so they can feel better about their own romances. Which is certainly not the point of his love life - to give the Right a target for hatred. But it is a reality he has accepted.
Who cast the final stone?
Who threw the crushing blow?
Someone has to take the fall
Why not me?
Yes. It is a reality he has accepted. We'd all throw stones at each other if we couldn't single out someone to throw all the stones at. Apparently that is Michael Stipe. He will accept this responsibility.
Gentlemen mark your opponents
Fire into your own ranks.
Pick the weakest as strategic
Move, square off, to
Meet your enemy.
For each and every gathering
A scapegoat falls to climb.
Kind of the heart of the song: Every group scapegoats to maintain group cohesion. Every group needs an enemy, and they pick the enemy from amongst their neighbors. The way Stipe sees it, conservative Christianity is held together by the scapegoating of people like him.
He's trying to make the best of this. He won't complain. He'll "fall to climb": he will accept the role, he will be the punch-toy volunteer, he will provide those who need a scapegoat with their scapegoat, and he won't let it destroy him. He'll take pride in the role.
My actions make me beautiful
And dignify the flesh
Me, I am free
I'm fairly sure this song is about Michael Stipe's sexuality. Written ten years before he came out of the closet, it's essentially a justification (to himself) for staying in the closet, written cryptically enough that he could deny it if he were asked.
Look at the first couplet:
I'll take the position Assume the missionary part
Position... missionary... missionary position, anyone? "Position" has a double meaning: essentially "I will take the position that I have sex in the missionary position. I will remain in the closet."
You work by committee You had me pegged from the start.
Who's "you"? You is conservative America. Fundamentalist Christianity. Those who would call Stipe a mortal sinner despite never meeting him.
I'll be pounce pony. This ceremony Only fills my heart.
I think "ceremony" may have a double-meaning here: the ceremony involved in scapegoating (here represented by a pounce pony, which is a sacrificial animal used to help trap a carnivore), and the marriage ceremony, which Stipe at the time was barred from.
Romantically, you'd martyr me And miss this story's point
Again, "you" is right-wing America circa 1998, and Stipe is saying that any romance he experiences is "martyred" by right-wing America: denigrated so they can feel better about their own romances. Which is certainly not the point of his love life - to give the Right a target for hatred. But it is a reality he has accepted.
Who cast the final stone? Who threw the crushing blow? Someone has to take the fall Why not me?
Yes. It is a reality he has accepted. We'd all throw stones at each other if we couldn't single out someone to throw all the stones at. Apparently that is Michael Stipe. He will accept this responsibility.
Gentlemen mark your opponents Fire into your own ranks. Pick the weakest as strategic Move, square off, to Meet your enemy. For each and every gathering A scapegoat falls to climb.
Kind of the heart of the song: Every group scapegoats to maintain group cohesion. Every group needs an enemy, and they pick the enemy from amongst their neighbors. The way Stipe sees it, conservative Christianity is held together by the scapegoating of people like him.
He's trying to make the best of this. He won't complain. He'll "fall to climb": he will accept the role, he will be the punch-toy volunteer, he will provide those who need a scapegoat with their scapegoat, and he won't let it destroy him. He'll take pride in the role.
My actions make me beautiful And dignify the flesh Me, I am free