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“Drive”

Automatic for the People

Smack, crack, bushwhacked
Tie another one to the racks, baby

Hey kids, rock and roll
Nobody tells you where to go, baby

What if I ride
What if you walk
What if you rock around the clock
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
What if you did? What if you walk
What if you tried to get off, baby

Hey, kids, where are you
Nobody tells you what to do, baby

Hey kids, shake a leg
Maybe you’re crazy in the head, baby

Maybe you did
Maybe you walked
Maybe you rocked around the clock
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
Maybe I ride
Maybe you walk
Maybe I drive to get off, baby

Hey kids, shake a leg
Maybe you’re crazy in the head, baby

Ollie, ollie
Ollie ollie ollie
Ollie ollie in come free, baby

Hey, kids, where are you
Nobody tells you what to do, baby

Smack, crack. Shack-a-lack
Tie another one to your back, baby

Hey kids, rock and roll
Nobody tells you where to go, baby

Maybe you did
Maybe you walk
Maybe you rock around the clock
Tick-tock, tick-tock
Maybe I ride
Maybe you walk
Maybe I drive to get off, baby

Hey kids, where are you
Nobody tells you what to do, baby

Hey kids, rock and roll
Nobody tells you where to go, baby, baby, baby

Applicable copyright is implicit (Copyright © R.E.M./Athens Ltd. for all R.E.M. originals).
These lyrics are official only when stated and in other cases represent a collaborative interpretation by fans.

Poems:

“The Waking,” Theodore Roethke

“Storm Windows,” Howard Nemerov

“The Song Of The Chattahoochee,” Sidney Lanier

April 22, 2013

Elegy and Allusion: Andy Kaufman, Montgomery Cliff, Dan Rather in R.E.M.

“Man On The Moon”

Automatic For The People

Mott the Hoople and the game of Life. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Andy Kaufman in the wrestling match. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Monopoly, Twenty one, checkers, and chess. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mister Fred Blassie in a breakfast mess. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Let’s play Twister, let’s play Risk. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
See you heaven if you make the list. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hey, Andy did you hear about this one? Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey Andy are you goofing on Elvis? Hey, baby. Are we losing touch?
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon.
If you believe there’s nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool.

Moses went walking with the staff of wood. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Newton got beaned by the apple good. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Egypt was troubled by the horrible asp. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mister Charles Darwin had the gall to ask. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hey Andy did you hear about this one? Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey, Andy are you goofing on Elvis? Hey, baby. Are you having fun?
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon.
If you believe there’s nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool.

Here’s a little agit for the never-believer. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Here’s a little ghost for the offering. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Here’s a truck stop instead of Saint Peter’s. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mister Andy Kaufman’s gone wrestling [wrestling bears]. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hey Andy did you hear about this one? Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey Andy are you goofing on Elvis, hey baby, are we losing touch?
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon.
If you believe there’s nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool.

“Monty Got A Raw Deal”

Automatic For The People

Monty this seems strange to me.
The movies had that movie thing,
but nonsense has a welcome ring
and heroes don’t come easy.

Now, nonsense isn’t new to me.
I know my head, I know my feet,
but mischief knocked me in the knees.
Said, Just let go. Just let go.

I saw the ocean meet the man.
I saw you buried in the sand.
A friend was there to hold your hand,
Said, Walk on by.

So, I went walking through the street.
I saw you strung up in a tree.
A woman knelt there said to me,
said, Hold your tongue, man. Hold your tongue.

You don’t owe me anything.
You don’t want this sympathy. [waste your breath]
Don’t you waste your breath. [waste your breath]
for the silver screen.

That nonsense doesn’t mean a thing,
they tried to bust you in a sting,
but virtue isn’t everything
so, don’t waste time.

Now, here’s a rhyme that you can steal.
Put this on your reel to reel.
Mischief threw a rotten deal.
Monty’s laying low, man.
He is laying low.
Just let go, y’all.
Just let go.

You don’t owe me anything.
You don’t want this sympathy. [waste your breath]
Don’t you waste your breath. [waste your breath]
Monty this seems strange to me.

“What’s The Frequency, Kenneth?”

Monster

“What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” is your Benzedrine, uh-huh
I was brain-dead, locked out, numb, not up to speed
I thought I’d pegged you an idiot’s dream
Tunnel vision from the outsider’s screen
I never understood the frequency, uh-huh
You wore our expectations like an armored suit, uh-huh

I’d studied your cartoons, radio, music, tv, movies, magazines
Richard said, “Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy”
A smile like the cartoon, tooth for a tooth
You said that irony was the shackles of youth
You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh
I never understood the frequency, uh-huh

“What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” is your Benzedrine, uh-huh
Butterfly decal, rearview mirror, dogging the scene
You smile like the cartoon, tooth for a tooth
You said that irony was the shackles of youth
You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh
I never understood the frequency, uh-huh
You wore our expectations like an armored suit, uh-huh
I couldn’t understand
You said that irony was the shackles of youth, uh-huh
I couldn’t understand
You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh
I couldn’t understand
I never understood, don’t fuck with me, uh-huh

Poems:

“When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” Walt Whitman

“To Helen,” Edgar Allan Poe

Montgomery Cliff and Elizabeth Taylor: