R.E.M. - Wendell Gee

[SuperKrishin]

una de las mejores canciones sin duda

[hugosalarm]

a song of heartbreaking transcendent beauty. Makes me cry every time.

[vpgnto]

country music at its best

[brosia1000]

I always loved the way this album's title could be read two ways..Fable of the Reconstruction and turned on its side...Reconstruction of the Fable,,to me a wry comment on the Reagan years..

[kimoxxx]

Brilliant. No wonder why Vic Chesnutt was so fond of this song.

[Stipe4ever]

@slicknicknirvana I'm really sorry to hear that- know what you're going through x

[slicknicknirvana]

favorite REM song.i listen to it when someone dies.My father died recently and i never got to say goodbye.

[AlienshateU]

melodious nonsense of the first order... love it

[Stipe4ever]

@omddeb me too he's lovely I met his Mum

and her new hubby just lovely they were!

If anyone wants to catch Mike singing this solo he was on Turner South a few years back!!

Don't know if it's on Youtube but it's worth hunting around for it cos he sang it beautifully:)

[mattkudzu]

@Stipe4ever I was at there at that show. It was in the sci-trec (or whatever) building during music midtown. Someone gave me the tickets so me and my brother went in. It was very emotional but there is a reason micheal is the singer. Other highlights were Angie Aparo doing "wonderland" and don mclean doin "american pie"

[Stipe4ever]

Ok some of MS lyrics are unusual but poetical, and there's always a meaning behind the words even if we don't at first get them ie I'm Pushing an elephant up the stairs= I'm trying to acheive the impossible

x x

[Stipe4ever]

@nickadge I think you're right it was that line"There wasn't even time to say, goodbye to Wendell Gee" that did it.

Michael is the sweetest guy, well they all are whenever we meet I'm struck by how pleasant and down to Earth- plus they live their Guiness! Slainte guys- and thanks x

[Stipe4ever]

My ex told Michael the story of how after his Nanna died he didn't/couldn't cry.then this sing came on and he broke down:(

Michael was really touched, thanked him fir sharing and hugged him at the aftershow!

Just beautiful x

[nickadge]

I think this is a wonderful song! Even though the words don't make a lot of sense, the beautiful sadness of the melody and the statement we've all heard before, "There wasn't even time to say goodbye", make this an excellent song with lots of metaphorical meaning.

[omddeb]

I love Mike Mills

[pdorn777]

This song is pure ATMOSPHERE!!!!

[sigmund5]

uclrichard...

I appreciate your position and very good comment but I am uneasy with the "Otherness" tag...and yes I know all of the theory behind it.

This is my favorite REM album even tho everyone picks another. It is kinda like Exile on Main Street. Having grown up in a rural area and being "rural" I got the REM bug very very early and found lots of people and musical people who could have written this song. That is what makes it brilliant. I can hear Vic doing the harmonies.

[sigmund5]

This is my favorite REM album even tho everyone picks another. It is kinda like Exile on Main Street. Having grown up in a rural area and being "rural" I got the REM bug very very early and found lots of people and musical people who could have written this song. That is what makes it brilliant. I can hear Vic doing the harmonies.

[GoSolar]

Love this song. So much. It's not one of their most well-known. But I love it.

[laidlawmather]

"He was reared to give respect

But somewhere down the line he chose

To whistle as the wind blows"

meaning he chose to look the other way while disrespect was at hand...and he lost himself in the process...

[wojtek0711]

Driver 8,and Wendell Gee are the best songs on Fables of the Reconstruction:-D

[GoSolar]

@wojtek0711 agreed. But I'd also add Maps and Legends

[proffesornutbutter]

@wojtek0711 every song is amazing!

[kerryt33]

see Donovan's Atlantis for the musical references.

[zenswing]

Hunter Thompson was always a fan of this one..

[Jenwelsh1]

amazin song! I have grown up with this song and it sounds more beautiful now than ever xx

[hiberniate]

Beautiful song. Such a great album

[stugats1]

tremendous tune

[WinstonAug]

Definitely about "otherness". I believe the "tree has lost its middle" means the boy (Stipe) lost his emotional strength..his "core". And decided to make a fake version of himself (to fit in) and covered with lizard skin (a chameleon) and then climbed inside. In doing so, the real boy was lost forever...and there wasnt even time to say goodbye to Wendell Gee...

[jellybeafter]

wendell was a poor boy who walked into a tree and was never seen again

[uclrichard]

i think it's a metaphor for 'otherness' - wendell gee is a strange old man, somewhat ostracised from the community but with a power of primordial, poetic eccentricity...rather like stipe's very complex relationship with his deeply conservative republican family and upbringing...stipe's hidden sexuality is always a buried but fundamental part of the early songs...but i'm rather glad - because he was 'forced' to use fascinating metaphors to describe his own feelings...important songs, too, imo.

[20000miles]

That's a really excellent comment. Thanks for sharing!

[uclrichard]

thank you for positive feedback, 2000miles! and for sending this great song.

[estebanpelu]

@uclrichard

Otherness woao in Spanish traslate to "Alteridad": "Capacidad de ser otro" the lyrics of this beatifull song is a nice metaphore of being other to survive of the judge of society.

[rayholtz]

What a song!!!

[foxkieran]

What are the backup lyrics?

Can't tell.

[benedictineacc]

The backing is Mike Mills singing "gonna miss you boy."

[foxkieran]

Many thanks, bro.

Always wondered.

[davecornblum]

thats awesome, i always thought he said go as you are

[fkelleghan]

According to one of the books I have about R.E.M., the Gee family operated a few shops or gas stations in Athens. It's been many years since I've read it, but I can look it up. Stipe borrowed the name for his song, but he was not writing biographically: "I had a dream one night..." He never knew Wendell Gee personally, just saw the name on businesses around town. I expect to be challenged on this, so I will look through my library on R.E.M. and try to find the exact quote. I love it too! Fiona

[beleve12]

I thought it was "whistle as the wind blows through the leaves.:

I heard Mike Mills sing it this way.

[GinAndChess]

I think Mills and Stipe are singing slightly different lines.

[beleve12]

Thanks I know the lyrics are rather fluid.

[traitor0837]

IS it just me or does it sound like Wendall is killing himself?

[GinAndChess]

That is what I always thought.

[GlueyPorch]

I've heard some people interpret this song as being about a man that is going insane, and others say that it end the album on a positive, upbeat note. So i have no idea. I love the song though, and the lyrics are really evocative.

[edhesq]

I always took Wendell Gee as a growing out of childhood song, an imaginary friend or forest pan who, like Puff the Magic Dragon, sadly disappears one day.

[ladyjanus]

My FAVE song off Reconstruction. I was 11! when the album came out.....

[mntlPurple]

fucking.....perfect.......fuck­ing....perfect

[wendellgee82]

my favourite song too!(Look at my nickname!:-) ) It always touches my heart...

[jeepdad56]

God I haven't heard this in sooo long... have to find I Believe if you like banjo

[sawyerboy13]

My fav rem song also by far. I think it's the banjo at the end. Something about the fucking banjo that plucks at my soul

[BuddyKatt]

the finest song by the boys.

[bobalverson]

One of my absolute favorite REM songs. I wish this would find it's way back in to their live set list. A beautiful song.

[dfresh0114]

beautiful song!

[bamadawgsc]

Good question. He seemed like a very down-to-earth, rural man when I met him in Jackson County, Georgia in 1991. I'm sure it amused him, but I don't think he grasped how big REM was even then. I'm sure REM was not his type of music. I'm sure he was a classical country fan.

[benedictineacc]

I have often wondered what the actual Wendell Gee thought of the song.

Anyone know?

[watchinshadows]

five stars

[hoffy081470]

I have loved this song since I was a kid and first heard it - it's so soulful, and the Mike Mills background vocals are fantastic. Thanks for putting this up on You Tube.

[Hibbleton666]

He He, this is a gem, I never realised Wendell Gee was a real person,I believe he's no longer with us anymore ,(perhaps though he is in spirit):)

A great folk song ,with a touch of grief,admiration and respect for a local character who was unafraid to let his personality shine through.

it conjures up mellow feelings of nostalgia and belonging somehow...lovely track indeed.

[Terminator7653]

Many beautiful REM songs that is underrated

[haddingtonbb41]

wonderful i really dont know why they dont play it live.

[asloem]

i heard that peter buck really hates this song hence why they don't play it. he recently said he's started to 'not mind it', but i'd be very surprised if they ever perform it. there used to be something on youtube where mike mills performed it solo on the piano in the exact way he wrote it (before stipe, buck and mills got involved). that's as close as they've come to performing it.

[KnutHamsun]

I see him around here in Seattle; next time I'm gonna talk some sense into him. I couldn't imagine being so musically accomplished to think nothing of disowning such a beautiful piece. If REM re-released this as a country single it would be a chart topper. I've always wanted them to do a classic country album. No doubt at all it would be amazing and mow down what passes for country these days as Nirvana did the the hair bands.

[jdoget07]

How could Peter Buck NOT love such a gorgeous gem like Wendell Gee? I mean, it has one of his most gorgeous melodies ever written. Has he explained why he doesn't like it?

[spooky11092001]

favorite song of Fables of the Reconstruction !

[HelenH96]

This was the song that made me absolutely fall in love with REM and seventeen years later I still love them!! Thank you so much for posting this great song, you've put a big smile on my face!!

[mike530p]

beautiful song! if only they'd do it live. has anyone heard the mike mills solo piano version? also very good... it shows how the song originally sounded when he wrote it

[Kalnapils]

One of their absolute best!

[pablonikov]

but the wire, the wire turned to lizard skin ....

[Fastolm]

As a lot have mentioned awsome REM song but so overshadowed by other more well known songs by the group. But still So So So beautiful......

[sawyerboy13]

What a great fucking song. Always my fav rem song, thx for post. Classic banjo.

[bamadawgsc]

I met Wendell Gee in Jefferson, GA in 1991. He ran a used car dealership right off Interstate 85. He constantly ate peppermint candy because he was trying to quit smoking. He told me, "If my wife catches me smoking, I'll be dead." True story.

[Vogelic]

einfach nur geil

[terminator1111111]

This song is so great

[BlameItOnThePenguin]

This song is kinda funny and sad at the same time, 'ya know? I love this CD, it's very unique and I like the banjo solo in this song! REM IS the most unique band I've ever come across. You'd never find one of those mindless/bimbo pop singers naming one of their songs "Wendell Gee".

[JoieV]

Definitely one of my Top 10 REM songs. Very fun to sing! Note to listenasthewindblows - Stipe uses both "whistle" and "listen" in the song, it's classic Stipe word switching, which he used to do so much back then.

[listenasthewindblows]

yes you're right, thanks..

[edwin0410]

long live r.e.m

[fraznat]

the best ever

[listenasthewindblows]

It's 'listen' as the wind blows... listen to mike mills 2002 on youtube..

[omddeb]

Awesome song!! Always one of my favorites. I love how their voices sound together.

[varsity3111]

Beautiful song! Thank you 20kmiles for posting it! I love REM's early material. When I first played Murmur in my late teens, i was blown away by what I heard. REM is easily my all time favourite band. Stipe was at his best when he sang like he had pebbles in his mouth :)

[marsban]

This is one of my favorite REM songs. Thank you for posting it.

[20000miles]

Cheers mate, mine too. Love the banjo solo!