Around the Sun by R.E.M - Album Lyrics & Tracks

[Verse 1]

It's quiet now and what it brings is everything

Comes calling back, a brilliant night, I'm still awake

I looked ahead, I'm sure I saw you there

You don't need me to tell you now that nothing can compare

 

[Chorus]

You might have laughed if I told you

You might have hidden a frown

You might have succeeded in changing me

I might have been turned around

It's easier to leave than to be left behind

Leaving was never my proud

Leaving New York, never easy

I saw the light fading out

 

[Verse 2]

Now life is sweet and what it brings, I tried to take

But loneliness, it wears me out, it lies in wait

And all not lost, still in my eye

The shadow of necklace across your thigh

I might've lived my life in a dream, but I swear it, this is real

Memory fuses and shatters like glass, mercurial future, forget the past

It's you, it's what I feel

 

[Chorus]

You might have laughed if I told you (It's pulling me apart)

You might have hidden a frown (Change)

You might have succeeded in changing me (It's pulling me apart)

I might have been turned around (Change)

It's easier to leave than to be left behind (It's pulling me apart)

Leaving was never my proud (Change)

Leaving New York, never easy (It's pulling me apart)

I saw the light fading out

 

 

[Bridge]

You find it in your heart

It's pulling me apart

You find it in your heart

Change

I told you forever (Find it in your heart)

I love you forever (It's pulling me apart)

I told you I love you (Find it in your heart)

I love you forever (Change)

I told you forever (Find it in your heart)

I love you forever (It's pulling me apart)

I told you I love you (Find it in your heart)

I love you forever (Change)

 

[Chorus]

(You never, you never told me forever)

You might have laughed if I told you (It's pulling me apart)

You might have hidden a frown (Change)

You might have succeeded in changing me (It's pulling me apart)

I might have been turned around (Change)

It's easier to leave than to be left behind (It's pulling me apart)

Leaving was never my proud (Change)

Leaving New York, never easy (It's pulling me apart)

I saw the light fading out (Change)

Leaving New York, never easy (It's pulling me apart)

I saw the light fading out (Change)

Leaving New York, never easy (It's pulling me apart)

I saw the light fading out (Change)

[Verse 1]

You're on your ear, the ocean's near

The light has started to fade

Your high is timed, you found the climb

It's hard to focus on more than what's in front of you

Electron blue, adventure rings with a page

And when it dawns on you, it singes blue

Your buzz beginning to wane

 

[Pre-Chorus 1]

Adventure's laid its claim on you

It's all you want to do

 

[Chorus]

You, you know where to run

You run electron blue

 

[Verse 2]

And who am I? I'm just a guy

I've got a story like everyone

But in your eyes you looked surprised

And didn't know where to run

I looked to her, she's found the cure

Her future's already begun

 

[Pre-Chorus 2]

Tomorrow's gaining speed on you

It's all you want to do

 

 

[Chorus]

You, you know where to run

You run electron blue

You, you know where to run

You run electron blue

 

[Verse 3]

So bide your time, you'll feel the climb

Your high it builds like a lightning storm

It sings like pearls, you know that girl

And no one is any the wiser

So as if on cue, electron blue

 

[Pre-Chorus 2]

Tomorrow's gaining speed on you

It's all you want to do

 

[Chorus]

You, you know where to run

You run electron blue

You, you know where to run

You run electron blue

You, you know where to run

You run electron blue

[Verse 1: Michael Stipe]

You took me to the restaurant where we first met

You knocked a future shock crowbar upside my head

I got caught with the stop of the tick-tock, tick-tock clock

When you told me what you knew

Lost in the moment the day that the music stopped

And I do remember you

 

[Chorus: Michael Stipe]

Drawing patterns with a cork on the tablecloth

Promising volcanic change of plot

Where will this lead us? I'm scared of the storm

The outsiders are gathering, a new day is born

 

[Verse 2: Michael Stipe]

I tried to tell you I am not afraid

You looked up and saw it all across my face

So am I with you or am I against?

I don't think it's that easy, we're lost in regret

 

Now I'm trying to remember the feeling when the music stopped

When you told me what you knew

Lost in the moment the day that the music stopped

And I do remember you

 

[Chorus: Michael Stipe]

Drawing patterns with a cork on the tablecloth

Promising volcanic change of plot

Where does this leave us? I'm scared of the storm

The outsiders are gathering, a new day is born

 

 

[Chorus: Michael Stipe]

Drawing patterns with a cork on the tablecloth

Promising volcanic change of thought

Where does this leave us? I'm scared of the storm

The outsiders are gathering, a new day is born

The outsiders are gathering, a new day is born

The outsiders are gathering

 

[Verse 3: Q-Tip]

A man walks away when every muscle says to stay

How many yesterdays? They each weigh heavy

Who says what changes may come?

Who says what we call home?

I know you see right through me, my luminescence fades

The dusk provides an antidote, I am not afraid

I've been a million times in my mind

This is really just a technicality, frailty, reality

Uh, it's time to breathe, time to believe

Let it go and run towards the sea

They don't teach that, they don't know what you mean

They don't understand, they don't know what you mean

They don't get it, I wanna scream

I wanna breathe again, I wanna dream

I wanna float a quote from Martin Luther King

I am not afraid, I am not afraid, I am not afraid

I am not afraid, I am not afraid, I am not afraid, I am not afraid

6 ContributorsMake It All Okay LyricsYou threw away the ballast and you rowed your boat ashore

Didn't you, now, didn't you?

You made your ultimatum too big to ignore

Didn't you, now, didn't you?

 

So you worked out your excuses

Turned away and shut the door

The world's too vast for us now

And you wanted to explore

 

It's a long, long, long road

And I don't know which way to go

If you offered me your hand again I'd have to walk away

 

When I saw you at the street fair, you called out my name

Didn't you, now, didn't you?

You said we could start over, try and make it all okay

Didn't you, now, didn't you?

 

So our past has been rewritten

And you threw away the pen

You said that I was useless

But now you'll take me in again

 

Well, Jesus loves me fine

And your words fall flat this time

Was it my imagination, or did I hear you say

"We don't have a prayer between us."

 

 

Didn't you believe that I have finally turned away?

Didn't you, now, didn't you?

Anything to hold onto to help me through my day

Didn't you, now, didn't you?

 

But Jesus loves me fine

But His words fall flat this time

 

It's a long, long, long road

And I don't know which way to go

If you offered me your world, did you think I'd really stay?

If you offered me the heavens, I would have to turn away

 

Was it my imagination, or did I hear you say

"We don't have a prayer between us."

Didn't you, now, didn't you, now?

Didn't you?

[Verse 1]

As I raise my head to broadcast my objection

As your latest triumph draws the final straw

Who died and lifted you up to perfection?

And what silenced me is written into law

 

[Chorus 1]

I can't believe where circumstance has thrown me

And I turn my head away

If I look I'm not sure that I could face you

Not again. not today. not today

 

[Verse 2]

If hatred makes a play on me tomorrow

And forgiveness takes a back seat to revenge

There's a hurt down deep that has not been corrected

There's a voice in me that says you will not win

 

[Chorus 2]

And if I ignore the voice inside

Raise a half glass to my home

But it's there that I am most afraid

And forgetting doesn't hold. it doesn't hold

 

[Bridge]

Now I don't believe and I never did

That two wrongs make a right

If the world were filled with the likes of you

Then I'm putting up a fight

I'm putting up a fight

Putting up a fight

Make it right

Make it right

 

 

[Verse 3]

Now love cannot be called into question

Forgiveness is the only hope I hold

And love- love will be my strongest weapon

I do believe that I am not alone

 

[Chorus 3]

For this fear will not destroy me

And the tears that have been shed

It's knowing now where I am weakest

And the voice in my head. in my head

Then I raise my voice up higher

And I look you in the eye

And I offer love with one condition

 

[Outro]

With conviction, tell me why

Tell me why

Tell me why

Look me in the eye

Tell me why

[Verse 1]

You know where I come from, you know what I feel

You're Yul Brynner Westworld reporting from the field

I threw it into reverse, made a motion to repeal

You kicked my legs from under me and tried to take the wheel

 

[Chorus]

I told you I wanted to be wrong, but everyone is humming a song

That I don't understand

 

[Verse 2]

Now I know that the sun has shined on my side of the street

The basket of America, the weevils and the wheat

The milk and honeyed congregation, scrubbed and apple-cheeked

Salute Apollo 13 from the rattle jewelry seats

 

[Chorus]

Mythology's seductive and it turned a trick on me

That I have just begun to understand

I told you I wanted to be wrong, but everyone is humming a song

That I don't understand

 

[Verse 3]

The rodeo is staged, gold circle goat-ropers and clowns

A rumble in the third act, tie 'em up and burn 'em down

We're armed to the teeth, born a little breech

Blue-plate special analysts, cells and SUV's

We can't approach the Allies cause they seem a little peeved

And speak a language we don't understand

 

 

[Chorus]

I told you I wanted to be wrong, but everyone is humming a song

That I don't understand

 

[Outro]

Storm into the boardroom of the conquering elite

Did you recognize the madman who is shouting in the streets?

Destroy the things that I don't understand

Destroy the things that I don't understand

[Verse 1]

Looks like I pulled a fast one

Looks like I went to town

Looks like the world revolves around me

Looks like it's falling down

I thought I'd kicked the traces

I thought the wheels would spin

I thought I'd jumped the fence and bolted

Looks like I'm back again

 

[Chorus]

I got my signals crossed

It's overwhelming because

I'm all alone and I can't get back

Get back with my wanderlust

 

[Verse 2]

I had to grab a suitcase

I had to change my clothes

I had to run the shower hot

Until the water froze

I brushed against confusion

I wanted time to grow

I want the sticks and stones not to throw me

Get back to what I know

 

 

[Chorus]

I got my signals crossed

It's overwhelming because

I'm all alone and I can't get back

Get back with my wanderlust

 

[Verse 3]

I'm searching for a greatness

I smear it on my face

I want to bathe in grape must

Swim the length of the milky way

I want it to be brilliant

I want it to be sweet

I want to kiss the astronauts

When they salute to me me me me

 

[Chorus]

I got my signals crossed

It's overwhelming because

I'm all alone and I can't get back

Get back with my wanderlust

I got my signals crossed

It's overwhelming because

I'm all alone and I can't get back

Get back with my wanderlust

[Verse 1]

Look at this, it's me walking away

Look at you drowning on display

Every time I've dropped by, I've tried to say

The water is rising, you don't want to stay

 

[Pre-Chorus]

It's that sinking feeling, you know what it's bringing on

You might as well say it

I see it, I feel it, this town is going wrong

It's turning away

 

[Chorus]

You wanted me to be someone that I could never be

My new friends are offering things I've never dreamed

It's beautiful, I'd like for them to take me on

 

[Verse 2]

The track mall gang went off on the Tennessee goth

A lunar moth, you chrysalis and flail

The water is rising, you try to rappel

A rousing cheer for the boy in the well

 

[Pre-Chorus]

It's that sinking feeling, you know what it's bringing on

You might as well say it

I see it, I feel it, this town is going wrong

It's turning away

 

 

[Chorus]

You wanted me to be someone that I could never be

My new friends are offering things I've never dreamed

It's beautiful, I'd like for them to take me on

 

[Verse 3]

Here is where I look back, here is where you fell

This is where I got up, shaking off my tail

This is where your rope trick started to look stale

A Greyhound pass for the boy in the well

 

[Pre-Chorus]

It's that sinking feeling, you know what it's bringing on

You might as well say it

I see it, I feel it, this town is going wrong

It's turning away

 

[Chorus]

You wanted me to be someone that I could never be

My new friends are offering things I've never dreamed

It's beautiful, I'd like for them to take me on

 

[Chorus]

You wanted me to be someone that I could never be

My new friends are offering things I've never dreamed

It's beautiful, I'd like for them to take me on

[Verse 1]

Now the radio stutters. snaps to life

Some sour song that sets it right

And when London falls, he'd like to call

But the stars collide

They're beautiful and much maligned

In a universe where you see the worst

And it's up to you to fix it

 

[Chorus]

Now you've worked it out

And you see it all

And you've worked it out

And you see it all

And you want to shout

How you see it all

 

[Verse 2]

It's easy to dismiss the "what's it all about" crowd

There is no doubt, it's this, here, now

And you close your eyes, he's not coming back

So you work it out, overfeed the cat

And the plants are dry and they need to drink

So you do your best and you flood the sink

Sit down in the kitchen and cry

 

 

[Chorus]

Now you've worked it out

And you see it all

And you've worked it out

And you see it all

And you want to shout

How you see it all

 

[Verse 3]

Now the universe left you for a runners lap

It feels like home when it comes crashing back

And it makes you laugh and it makes you cry

When London falls and you're still alive

The radio stutters, it makes you laugh

And the aftermath, open up your eyes

You're so alive

 

[Chorus]

Now you've worked it out

And you see it all

And you've worked it out

And you see it all

And you want to shout

How you see it all

[Verse 1]

When I look into your eyes, your drop like an anchor eyes

I scudded and clipped the sky, just shy of making it

And you almost got away, I told you I was afraid

Did I really want to try, you're holding me to my claim

 

[Chorus]

I jump on a high speed train

I'll never look back again

I flail like the antelope

Who jumped from the building

 

[Verse 2]

And you caught me on the sly

You've taken me by surprise

You've mirrored my best disguise and

Turned it back on me

 

[Chorus]

I jump on a high speed train

I'll never look back again

I flail like the antelope

Who jumped from the building

 

[Chorus]

I jump on a high speed train

I'll never look back again

I flail like the antelope

Who jumped from the building

 

 

[Verse 3]

I'll bring you a big bouquet

I picked it myself today

It compliments your eyes

There's love at the end of the line

 

[Chorus]

I jump on a high speed train

I'll never look back again

I flail like the antelope

Who jumped from the building

 

[Chorus]

I jump on a high speed train

I'll never look back again

I flail like the antelope

Who jumped from the building

 

[Bridge]

And that's what I always knew

I'd like to have hung the moon

I'd wrestle you for a spoon inside your sleeping bag

Just us

 

[Outro]

No war, no hate, no past

It's real

I'm here, I'm yours, I'm fast

I'm long in the eye

I'm cry when I try

I just want to fly

Just you and I, together

[Verse 1]

You see there's this cat burglar who can't see in the dark

He lays his bets on eight more lives and walks into a bar

Slips on the eight ball, falls on his knife, says

"I don't know what I've done, but it doesn't feel right"

Some things don't hold up over the course of a lifetime

When's the first time you heard that one, 1954?

Get to the punch line, fall to the floor

 

[Chorus]

Give me a minute and I'll tell you the setup for the worst joke ever

I never

I'll tell you my version of the greatest life story

Don't bore me

 

[Verse 2]

Now I am floating, I feel released

The moorings have been dropped, the weights unleashed

Everything is crystalline, simple and free

The crime of good men who can't wrestle with change

Or are too afraid to face this life's misjudged unknowns

You're not hurting anybody else's chances but you're disfiguring your own

 

[Chorus]

Give me a minute and I'll tell you the setup for the worst joke ever

I never

I'll tell you my version of the greatest life story

Don't bore me

 

 

[Outro]

You see there's this feeling that I've heard this one before

[Verse 1]

So hesitation pulled me back

I'm stronger when I don't attract

In your eyes I'm a lamb without a rack

And I am getting confused

I'm a cactus trying to be a canoe

As you pan for ore in the desert, floored, I say to you

That I could never imagine a place so beautiful

I could never steal your gold away

 

[Chorus]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

(I try to walk like a big wham bam

I came across like a battering ram)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

(I try to float like a Telegram Sam

I'm trying to divine you)

 

[Verse 2]

My book is called "The Ascent of Man"

I marked your chapter with a catamaran

The accent's off, but I am what I am

 

[Chorus]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

(I try to walk like a big wham bam

I came across like a battering ram)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

(I try to float like a Telegram Sam

I'm trying to divine you)

 

 

[Verse 3]

I looked for you, it's my last grandstand

A motorscootered goat-legged Pan

Figure eighting in quicksand

 

[Chorus]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

(I try to walk like a big wham bam

I came across like a battering ram)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

(I try to float like a Telegram Sam

I'm trying to divine you)

 

[Outro]

So hesitation pulled me back

I'm so in love I don't attract

And with my hands tied I won't crack

[Verse 1]

I want the sun to shine on me

I want the truth to set me free

I wish the followers would lead

With a voice so strong it could knock me to my knees

 

[Chorus]

Hold on world 'cause you don't know what's coming

Hold on world 'cause I'm not jumping off

Hold onto this boy a little longer

Take another trip around the sun

 

[Verse 2]

If I jumped into the ocean to believe

If I climbed a mountain would I have to reach?

Do I even dare to speak, to dream, believe?

Give me a voice so strong I can question what I have seen

 

[Chorus]

Hold on world 'cause you don't know what's coming

Hold on world 'cause I'm not jumping off

Hold onto this boy a little longer

Take another trip around the sun

 

[Outro]

Around the sun

Around the sun

Around the sun

Let my dreams set me free

Believe, believe

Now now now now now now