Michael Stipe talked about the song in a 2008 Q&A with the excellent Popsongs blog...
Hi Michael:
I know The Wrong Child is about the boy in the bubble that made headlines back in the late 80’s. I love the song and so does Mike Mills (according to several interviews he’s given). Why doesn’t R.E.M. play the song more often? I know even Eddie Vedder has included lyrics from it within Pearl Jam songs during live performances.
My question is this: My boyfriend interprets the song as a child that realizes he’s gay very early on in his/her life, and how others react to that person (in a negative and homophobic way). Are you fine with that interpretation?
Thank you, Mike, Peter, Bertis (and Bill). Your music has meant everythin to me since my teen years. (I’m 37 yo)
Steve Miller
Pittsburgh, PA.
i’m fine with any and all interpretations that arent manifested in real life as harmful, hateful or violent. The wrong child was not written about the boy in the bubble or a gay kid, but was instead the influence of HUGO LARGO[who I was working with at the time], particularly mimi goese, and her particular and brilliant flair of singing and writing[the double tracked lead voc was at one point going to be mimi or mike]. I just wrote it about a kid who is physically handicapped, and left it purposely undefined.
Michael Stipe talked about the song in a 2008 Q&A with the excellent Popsongs blog...
Hi Michael:
I know The Wrong Child is about the boy in the bubble that made headlines back in the late 80’s. I love the song and so does Mike Mills (according to several interviews he’s given). Why doesn’t R.E.M. play the song more often? I know even Eddie Vedder has included lyrics from it within Pearl Jam songs during live performances.
My question is this: My boyfriend interprets the song as a child that realizes he’s gay very early on in his/her life, and how others react to that person (in a negative and homophobic way). Are you fine with that interpretation?
Thank you, Mike, Peter, Bertis (and Bill). Your music has meant everythin to me since my teen years. (I’m 37 yo)
Steve Miller Pittsburgh, PA.
i’m fine with any and all interpretations that arent manifested in real life as harmful, hateful or violent. The wrong child was not written about the boy in the bubble or a gay kid, but was instead the influence of HUGO LARGO[who I was working with at the time], particularly mimi goese, and her particular and brilliant flair of singing and writing[the double tracked lead voc was at one point going to be mimi or mike]. I just wrote it about a kid who is physically handicapped, and left it purposely undefined.