Talk About the Passion
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| "Talk About The Passion" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by R.E.M. | ||
| from the album Murmur | ||
| Released | Nov 1983 | |
| Format | 12" | |
| Recorded | 1983 | |
| Genre | College rock | |
| Length | 3:23 | |
| Label | IRS | |
| Producer(s) | Don Dixon and Mitch Easter | |
| Chart positions | ||
|
Did not Chart |
||
| R.E.M. singles chronology | ||
| "Radio Free Europe" (1983) |
"Talk About The Passion" (1985) |
"So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" (1984) |
"Talk About The Passion" was the second and final single released by R.E.M. from the band's debut album Murmur in 1983. It was released in Europe only, on 12" vinyl. This song failed to follow up on the success of "Radio Free Europe" released earlier in the year, as it did not chart.
Michael Stipe has referred to the song as a "hunger song", although the only direct reference in the song is to "empty mouths".[citation needed] The video, made in 1988 and featured on the compilations Pop Screen and When the Light Is Mine, made this meaning of the song more explicit by showing images of homeless people and images of a warship, ending with the caption, "in 1987 the cost of one destroyer-class warship was 910 million dollars."
The song was the first R.E.M. song to contain a foreign phrase, with the line "Combien du temps?". In French, this means "How much time?" or "For how long?" The song also includes the line "Combien reaction?", which is a blend of English and French that can be taken to mean, "How much reaction?"
The song was included on R.E.M.'s first I.R.S. Records greatest hits album, Eponymous, and released as the only single from that album in 1988.
[edit] Covers
- The 1992 tribute album Surprise Your Pig included an Italian-language version of the song by a band called Samson and the Philistines.
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe unless otherwise indicated.
- "Talk About the Passion" - 3:24
- "Shaking Through" - 4:30
- "Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)" - 3:55
- "1,000,000" - 3:07
