Contrary to what fans assume, R.E.M.’s popular song ‘Losing My Religion’ isn’t about Michael Stipe, as the singer clarified in a recent talk.
If you’ve heard (or heard of) R.E.M.’s popular track ‘Losing My Religion’, you’ve probably given a thought or two to the near-autobiographical nature of the song. Singer-songwriter Michael Stipe doesn’t blame you if you do – in fact, he takes full responsibility for it.
Speaking to Rick Rubin about the track on the Broken Record Podcast, however, Stipe admitted that he ended up changing a key lyric on the track. This, of course, eventually led people to think that he was talking about himself.
“I changed one lyric, I remember… [Instead of] ‘that’s me in a corner, that’s me in the spotlight,’ [it previously was] ‘that’s me in the corner, that’s me in the kitchen,'” Stipe told Rubin, before diving into what the song was about.
“What I was pulling from was being the shy wallflower who hangs back at the party, or at the dance, and doesn’t go up to the person that you’re madly in love with and say, ‘I’ve kind of got a crush on you. How do you feel about me?'” he explained.
“So there’s this whole relationship that’s happening only in the person’s mind. And he doesn’t know whether he’s said too much or hasn’t said enough. So he’s like, in the corner of the dance floor, watching everyone dancing, watching the love of his life, on the dance floor dancing with everyone, ’cause that’s the most exciting person. Or he’s in the kitchen, behind the refrigerator.” he continued.
So, when he switched out the word ‘kitchen’ with ‘spotlight’, the song took on a more personal, deeper undertone. One would naturally think that it was derived from Stipe’s personal experience, but ‘it never was’, he said.
Love Classic Rock?
Get the latest Classic Rock news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
“I mean, I’m pretty self-aware. But the video with Tarsem [Singh] is what really pushed it over the edge. And that was probably the queerest video of all time. And that was kind of nice.” he remarked.
Of course, the song became one of the biggest hits of the band’s career, something that Stipe still struggles to understand to this day.
“I went from being someone that was recognised by people in my age group who love a certain type of music to being universally, wildly, insanely famous. And on the street, I couldn’t go anywhere. And I was okay. It was kind of charming… But ‘Losing My Religion’ really changed it for me.” he explained.
For more on this topic, follow the Classic Rock Observer.
Check out ‘Losing My Religion’ by R.E.M.:
