Fall on Me
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| "Fall On Me" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by R.E.M. | ||
| From the album Lifes Rich Pageant | ||
| Single Released | 1986 | |
| Single Format | 7" Vinyl | |
| Recorded | 1986 | |
| Genre | College Rock | |
| Song Length | 2:50 | |
| Record label | I.R.S. Records | |
| Producer | Don Gehman | |
| Chart positions | 94 (US) | |
| R.E.M. single chronology | ||
| "Wendell Gee" 1985 |
"Fall on Me" 1986 |
"Superman" 1986 |
"Fall On Me" is a song by R.E.M. from their fourth album, 1986's Lifes Rich Pageant. It was the first of two singles released from that LP. It peaked at #94 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it never charted on the UK Singles Charts.
The song, which was officially declared by lead singer Michael Stipe in 1991 to be his then-favorite, evokes imagery of the sky falling. This is a reference to the popular children's story Chicken Little. However, though Stipe described the song once as "pretty much a song about oppression," the song is about acid rain and its effects on the environment, hence the first line of the chorus, "Don't fall on me." [1]
At first, the song was accompanied by a different melody when it started life in 1985, but it had been entirely rewritten by the time of its recording. The counter-melody in the second verse is actually the song's original tune. [1]
The song is something of a duet between Stipe and Mike Mills, with the two of them sharing vocals prominently during the bridge and chorus. Mills takes lead vocals for the third verse.
The B-side to this single is an instrumental entitled "Rotary Ten", a song which has been described by Buck as "a movie theme without a movie." It would gain a sequel of sorts, "Rotary Eleven," for the "Losing My Religion" single in 1991.
Stipe directed the video for this song, in which lyrics flash over the screen, superimposed over vague and indeterminate black and white footage. Take note of a spelling error; the word "foresight" is misspelled "forsight."
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe unless otherwise indicated.
- "Fall on Me" - 2:50
- "Rotary Ten" - 1:58
[edit] Cover
The folk supergroup, Cry Cry Cry (Dar Williams, Richard Shindell, and Lucy Kaplansky) used "Fall on Me" as the opening track for their eponymous album of cover songs.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Black, Johnny (2004). Reveal: The Story of R.E.M. Backbeat Books. ISBN 0-87930-776-5.
[edit] External links
