The R.E.M. Lyric That Shows Mercy for the Underdog

R.E.M. managed the ascent from college radio to mainstream superstars as well as just about any other artist or band. Perhaps it’s because they did it so gradually, making adjustments to their sound little by little so their early fans stuck with them and new ones were drawn into the fold.

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“Fall on Me,” an incredible track from their classic 1986 album Life’s Rich Pageant, finds them somewhere in the middle of their development. The song combines a bit more accessibility within the musical approach with some of the trademark impenetrable intrigue of Michael Stipe’s lyrics.

Before the “Fall”

As we mentioned above, the development of R.E.M.’s sound was one that took place in small increments. But you can definitely point to Life’s Rich Pageant as a turning point. Released in 1986, it came at a point when the band were already alternative music heroes, but were interested in expanding their audience without compromising their artistic identity.

Enter producer Don Gehman, who came to the project with the experience of someone who understood how to add interesting touches to the basic foundations of a song. If that meant overdubs and slightly different instrumentation than the typical rock band approach, that’s the way he would go.

This represented a bit of a different approach from what R.E.M. typically did. But to their credit, they were all-in on doing it this way. After all, they were looking for a sound that was a bit brighter, a bit grabbier on first listen, than the twisting, moody attack they had perpetrated on their first three records.

“Fall on Me” was a song that took on many incarnations before settling into its final posture. The band worked it out on tour before they even reached the studio to record Life’s Rich Pageant. During that time, the melody changed often, as did the intent of the lyrics.

What began as a song about acid rain shifted into a more general lament for those who are pummeled by society and need propping up. Meanwhile, the band took some of the discarded musical ideas and snuck them into the fabric of the finished version as countermelodies.

Examining the Lyrics of “Fall on Me”

As has always been somewhat typical of Michael Stipe’s lyrical approach, “Fall on Me” can seem like a difficult puzzle when you simply read the words on the page. When you hear his vocal, however, the meaning starts to dawn. That’s the case even if you don’t realize that the mentions of feathers, iron / Bargain buildings, weights and pulleys refer to antiquated gravitational experiments.

You start to hone in on his frustration in the second verse when he sings, There’s the progress we have found a way / To talk around the problem. Meanwhile, in the margins of that verse, you can distinguish some of the acid rain concerns of the original version of the song: Keep your conscience dark / Damage the statues in the park.

In the middle eight, Mike Mills’ vocal touches on the vulnerability of the oppressed looking for help: So, if I send it to you / You’ve got to promise to keep it home. Stipe drives this point home by beseeching the heavens: Buy the sky and sell the sky / And lift your arms up to the sky / And ask the sky and ask the sky / Don’t fall on me.

“Fall on Me” barely squeaked into the Top 100 when released as a single. Perhaps that was a byproduct of the band still working their way out of being pigeonholed as alternative. Or perhaps, the song was just too quirky and opaque for mass consumption. These days, it’s recognized as an R.E.M. classic from a sweet-spot era of their career.

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