"
Fall on Me" is a song by
R.E.M.R.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by Michael Stipe , Peter Buck , Mike Mills , and Bill Berry . 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...
from their fourth album, 1986's
Lifes Rich PageantLifes Rich Pageant is the fourth album by the American band R.E.M. and was released in 1986. Intended as an upbeat reaction to the sobering and historical Fables of the Reconstruction, R.E.M. chose Don Gehman to produce the album at his Belmont Mall Studios in Belmont, Indiana.-Details:The source...
. It was the first of two singles released from that LP. It peaked at #94 on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, but it never charted on the UK Singles Charts.
Though R.E.M. singer
Michael StipeJohn Michael Stipe is an American singer who is the lead vocalist for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Stipe has become well-known for the "mumbling" style of his early career and for his complex, surreal lyrics, as well as his social and political activism...
once described the song as "pretty much a song about oppression," the subject of the song was initially about
acid rainAcid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, i.e. elevated levels of hydrogen ions . It has harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is mostly caused by emissions of compounds of sulfur, nitrogen, and carbon which react with the...
and its effects on the environment, hence the first line of the chorus, "Don't fall on me."
When it first appeared during live concerts in 1985, the song had a different melody which had been entirely rewritten by the time of its recording for
Lifes Rich PageantLifes Rich Pageant is the fourth album by the American band R.E.M. and was released in 1986. Intended as an upbeat reaction to the sobering and historical Fables of the Reconstruction, R.E.M. chose Don Gehman to produce the album at his Belmont Mall Studios in Belmont, Indiana.-Details:The source...
.
"
Fall on Me" is a song by
R.E.M.R.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by Michael Stipe , Peter Buck , Mike Mills , and Bill Berry . 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...
from their fourth album, 1986's
Lifes Rich PageantLifes Rich Pageant is the fourth album by the American band R.E.M. and was released in 1986. Intended as an upbeat reaction to the sobering and historical Fables of the Reconstruction, R.E.M. chose Don Gehman to produce the album at his Belmont Mall Studios in Belmont, Indiana.-Details:The source...
. It was the first of two singles released from that LP. It peaked at #94 on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, but it never charted on the UK Singles Charts.
Meaning and origin
Though R.E.M. singer
Michael StipeJohn Michael Stipe is an American singer who is the lead vocalist for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Stipe has become well-known for the "mumbling" style of his early career and for his complex, surreal lyrics, as well as his social and political activism...
once described the song as "pretty much a song about oppression," the subject of the song was initially about
acid rainAcid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, i.e. elevated levels of hydrogen ions . It has harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is mostly caused by emissions of compounds of sulfur, nitrogen, and carbon which react with the...
and its effects on the environment, hence the first line of the chorus, "Don't fall on me."
When it first appeared during live concerts in 1985, the song had a different melody which had been entirely rewritten by the time of its recording for
Lifes Rich PageantLifes Rich Pageant is the fourth album by the American band R.E.M. and was released in 1986. Intended as an upbeat reaction to the sobering and historical Fables of the Reconstruction, R.E.M. chose Don Gehman to produce the album at his Belmont Mall Studios in Belmont, Indiana.-Details:The source...
. The
counter-melodyIn music, counter-melody is a sequence of notes, perceived as a melody, written to be played simultaneously with a more prominent melody....
in the second verse is actually the song's original tune and features the original
acid rainAcid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, i.e. elevated levels of hydrogen ions . It has harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is mostly caused by emissions of compounds of sulfur, nitrogen, and carbon which react with the...
inspired lyrics.
In an interiew with
David FrickeDavid Fricke, is a senior editor at Rolling Stone magazine, where he writes predominantly on rock music. In the 1990s, he was Managing Editor before stepping down.-Background:...
, singer Michael Stipe commented that the finished version of the song "is not about acid rain. It's a general opression song about the fact that there are a lot of causes out there that need a song that says, 'Don't smash us.' And specifically, there are references to the
Leaning Tower of PisaThe Leaning Tower of Pisa or simply The Tower of Pisa is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa...
and the guy dropping weights and feathers."
In audience patter prior to a performance of the song on
VH1 StorytellersStorytellers is a television music series produced by the VH1 network.In each episode artists perform in front of a live audience, and tell stories about their music, writing experiences and memories, somewhat similar to MTV Unplugged...
in 1998, Stipe again mentioned the apocryphal tale of
Galileo GalileiGalileo Galilei was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the Scientific Revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations, and support for Copernicanism...
dropping feathers and lead weights off the Leaning Tower of Pisa (to test the laws of gravity) as partial inspiration for the first verse:
“I was reading an article in BostonBoston magazine is a monthly magazine concerning life in the Greater Boston area and has been in publication for more than 40 years.-About the magazine:The magazine is self-described as:...
when I was on tour with the Golden Palominos, and Chris StameyChris Stamey is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. After a stint playing with Alex Chilton, and a brief partnering with Mitch Easter under the name Sneakers, he formed The dB's, whose stewardship he would share with Peter Holsapple.In 1977 in New York, Chris founded the...
showed me this article about this guy that did an experiment from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, whereby he dropped a pound of feathers and a pound of iron to prove that there was... a difference in the... density? What did he prove? I don’t even know. [A man shouts out from the audience] What? ["They fall just as fast," repeated the disembodied voice] They fall just as fast. Thank you very much.”
The song is something of a duet between Stipe and
Mike MillsMichael Edward Mills is the bass player of the band R.E.M. Though known primarily as a bassist, piano player and background singer, his musical repertoire includes many other keyboard, guitar, string, wind and percussion instruments...
, with the two of them sharing vocals prominently during the bridge and chorus. Mills takes lead vocals for the bridge.
Stipe filmed and directed the
videoA music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music/song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos go back much further, they came into their own in the...
for this song, in which the lyrics are seen superimposed over upside-down, black and white footage of a quarry.
Track listing
All songs written by
Bill BerryWilliam "Bill" Thomas Berry is an American former musician and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer in alternative rock band R.E.M. for 17 years, before retiring from the group and becoming a farmer...
,
Peter BuckPeter Lawrence Buck is the guitarist and co-founder, along with Bill Berry, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe, of the alternative rock band R.E.M....
, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe unless otherwise indicated.
- "Fall on Me" - 2:50
- "Rotary Ten" - 1:58
UK 12"
- "Fall on Me" - 2:50
- "Rotary Ten" - 1:58
- "Toys in the Attic" (Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American hard rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and seen by some as America's greatest rock and roll band. Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues,, and has...
cover, written by Steven TylerSteven Victor Tallarico , better known as Steven Tyler, is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known for his work as the lead singer and primary songwriter of Boston-based rock band Aerosmith....
& Joe PerryAnthony Joseph Perry is the lead guitarist, backing and occasional lead vocalist, and contributing songwriter for the rock band Aerosmith...
) - 2:26
The B-side to this single is an instrumental entitled "Rotary Ten", a song which has been described by guitarist Peter Buck as "a movie theme without a movie." It would gain a sequel of sorts, "Rotary Eleven," for the "
Losing My Religion"Losing My Religion" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. The song was released as the first single from the group's 1991 album Out of Time. Based around a mandolin riff, "Losing My Religion" was an unlikely hit for the group, garnering heavy airplay on radio as well as on MTV due...
" single in 1991.
Charts
| Chart (1986) |
Peak
position |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 |
94 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock stations are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981 issue...
|
35 |
Cover versions
The
folkThe term folk music originated in the 19th century as a term for musical folklore. It has been defined in several ways; as music transmitted by word of mouth, music of the lower classes, music with no known composer...
supergroupIn the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups." Supergroups tend to be short-lived, often lasting only for an album or two...
,
Cry Cry CryCry Cry Cry was a folk supergroup, consisting of Richard Shindell, Lucy Kaplansky, and Dar Williams. The band released a single eponymous album of cover songs on October 13, 1998.- Tour :...
(
Dar WilliamsDar Williams is an American singer-songwriter specializing in pop folk.She is a frequent performer at folk festivals and has toured with such artists as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Patty Griffin, Ani DiFranco, The Nields, Shawn Colvin, Girlyman, Joan Baez, and Catie Curtis.-Biography:Williams was born...
,
Richard ShindellRichard Shindell is an American folk songwriter. He currently lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with his wife and their children....
, and
Lucy KaplanskyLucy Kaplansky is an American folk musician based in New York City. Kaplansky also has a PhD in clinical psychology from Yeshiva University.-Biography:...
) used "Fall on Me" as the opening track for their eponymous album of cover songs.