R.E.M. - Sweetness Follows

R.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by Michael Stipe (lead vocals), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass guitar and backing vocals), and Bill Berry (drums and percussion). R.E.M. was one of the first popular alternative rock bands, and gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's unclear vocals. R.E.M. released its first single, "Radio Free Europe", in 1981 on the independent record label Hib-Tone. The single was followed by the Chronic Town EP in 1982, the band's first release on I.R.S. Records. In 1983, the band released its critically acclaimed debut album Murmur, and built its reputation over the next few years through subsequent releases, constant touring, and the support of college radio. Following years of underground success, R.E.M. achieved a mainstream hit in 1987 with the single "The One I Love". The group signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1988, and began to espouse political and environmental concerns while playing large arenas worldwide.

By the early 1990s, when alternative rock began to experience broad mainstream success, R.E.M. was viewed as a pioneer of the genre and released its two most commercially successful albums, Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992), which veered from the band's established sound. R.E.M.'s 1994 release Monster was a return to a more rock-oriented sound. The band began its first tour in six years to support the album; the tour was marred by medical emergencies suffered by three band members. In 1996, R.E.M. re-signed with Warner Bros. for a reported US$80 million, at the time the most expensive recording contract in history. The following year, Bill Berry left the band, while Buck, Mills, and Stipe continued the group as a three-piece. Through some changes in musical style, the band continued its career into the next decade with mixed critical and commercial success. In 2007, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Readying to bury your father and your mother,
What did you think when you lost another?
I used to wonder why did you bother,
Distanced from one, blind to the other?

Listen here, my sister and my brother
What would you care if you lost the other?
I always wonder why did we bother,
Distanced from one, deaf to the other

(chorus)
Oh, oh, but sweetness follows

It's these little things, they can pull you under
Live your life filled with joy and wonder
I always knew this altogether thunder
Was lost in our little lives

(repeat chorus 3x)

It's these little things, they can pull you under
Live your life filled with joy and thunder
Yeah, yeah, we were altogether
Lost in our little lives

Oh, oh, ah

(repeat chorus)

Oh, oh, oh, but sweetness follows

Category:

Music

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• R.E.M.
• Sweetness
• Follows
• automatic
• for
• the
• people
• original
• studio
• version
• with
• lyrics
• high
• quality

[txeire]

one of their best songs. emotional, haunting,..what music is supposed to be

[NewandDifferentsun]

Having left my own family, this song does haunt, but I pulled away to live my life with joy and thunder rather than allow the past to pull me under. I am poorer materially, but the richness in spirit is something I will never abandon.

[kierovacaciones]

LIVE YOUR LIFE FILLED WITH JOY AND WONDER ;)

[Dookiebassplayer7]

best album i've bought in a long,long time.

[psychedelicfright85]

This is especially haunting to me. "Distanced from one, blind to the other." I lost my dad when I was 5, and i'm living with the regret that I never really had a good relationship with my mother. When I was 18, she died too. This song just touches me, but i've yet to see the sweetness following this and i'm now 26.

[grimlund]

Oner of the best songs from Automatic. This whole album has a haunting aura of sadnes, depression and thoughts about life and death..,,

This is the perfect song to listen to sitting alone in a bar with a whiskey..

[4momanddad]

this song makes me want to hug my parents

[haastaboozia]

@NewandDifferentsun

Sometimes you have to cut your losses and set out to make your own way. I did that back in 1984. I was poor in the material sense, but rich in the spiritual. Now, I'm old and have found I can go back home and find the love that I thought wasn't there when I was younger. We all grow older and change. I hope you can reconnect with your family. It's worth a try. If they cannot accept you, then continue on you path of life. Just remember, you're not alone.

[stagleap07]

HHHHaaaahhhh beauty.

[naumanfakharbayarea]

I have always felt this song prepares me for the inevitable day I will have to bury my parents (unless I go before them). And all that will remain will be the sweet memories they left behind. They don't make music like this anymore, coldplay comes close to some of these deeper themes.