One of REM's best. To me, this song has always about finding your purpose in life. In the first verse, the lyrics appeal to the everyday working lives of the listener. From there, Stipe tells you parts of his story with beautiful imagery and an appeal to the shortness of life and the length of time. This song has always resonated with me to make the most of my lifetime as our time here is limited and the time of the universe is long beyond our comprehension. Notice the play between the lines "Is only just light years to go" and "We're closer now than light years to go" (We're closer now, emphasis mine on the key words). As if Stipe is saying your life is passing right in front of you and the time left of the light years is still long but already moments shorter....so get to it. Get to your life.
To me, this is likely the highlight of Automatic for the People. A song that I'll listen to when I need to appreciate the world and my small place in it for an unknown time. I hope this song means as much to you as it does to me.
One of REM's best. To me, this song has always about finding your purpose in life. In the first verse, the lyrics appeal to the everyday working lives of the listener. From there, Stipe tells you parts of his story with beautiful imagery and an appeal to the shortness of life and the length of time. This song has always resonated with me to make the most of my lifetime as our time here is limited and the time of the universe is long beyond our comprehension. Notice the play between the lines "Is only just light years to go" and "We're closer now than light years to go" (We're closer now, emphasis mine on the key words). As if Stipe is saying your life is passing right in front of you and the time left of the light years is still long but already moments shorter....so get to it. Get to your life.
To me, this is likely the highlight of Automatic for the People. A song that I'll listen to when I need to appreciate the world and my small place in it for an unknown time. I hope this song means as much to you as it does to me.