• Track: Losing My Religion
• Artist: R.E.M.
• Album: Out of Time
• Year: 1991

Lyrics:

Oh life, it’s bigger
It’s bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no, I’ve said too much
I set it up

That’s me in the corner
That’s me in the spotlight
Losing my religion

That’s me in the corner
That’s me in the spotlight
Losing my religion

Trying to keep up with you
And I don’t know if I can do it
Oh no, I’ve said too much
I haven’t said enough

I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try

Every whisper
Of every waking hour
I’m choosing my confessions
Trying to keep an eye on you

Like a hurt, lost and blinded fool, fool
Oh no, I’ve said too much
I set it up

Consider this
Consider this, the hint of the century
Consider this, the slip
That brought me to my knees, failed
What if all these fantasies come
Flailing around
Now I’ve said too much

I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try
But that was just a dream
That was just a dream

That’s me in the corner
That’s me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don’t know if I can do it
Oh no, I’ve said too much
I haven’t said enough

I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try
But that was just a dream
Try, cry, why try
That was just a dream
Just a dream
Just a dream, dream

Get It:

The deluxe 25th-anniversary edition of Out of Time is well worth the additional bucks:

If you’re only interested in the original release, you can get it here:

This is quite possibly my favorite song of all-time. And no, it’s not necessarily about religion.

“Losing my religion” is a southern phrase meaning, “at my wit’s end,” as if things were going so bad you could lose your faith in anything—a person, an idea, or religion. According to an interview in Rolling Stone magazine, R.E.M. vocalist Michael Stipe said, “I wanted to write a classic obsession song. So I did.”

Stipe has also said the song is about “unrequited love in which all actions and words of the object of your obsession are scrubbed for hidden meaning and hopeful signs.”

Now, if you want to listen to an R.E.M. track that seriously questions the existence of a god, listen to Undertow from R.E.M.’s 1996 album, New Adventures in Hi-Fi.

Video:

Here is the official video for Losing My Religion:

And here R.E.M. performs Losing My Religion live; this appearance is from the band’s Road Movie concert film:

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