In February 1991, R.E.M. released their iconic song “Losing My Religion”. The song is known for its renowned mandolin riff and became the band’s biggest commercial hit. Although the title suggests the song addresses a religious theme, “Losing My Religion’s” true meaning swerves into an entirely different direction. In this article, we will dive into the story, meaning, and legacy behind the song.
The Origin Behind the Song
The story behind “Losing My Religion” started with R.E.M.’s guitarist Peter Buck. He had bought a mandolin during one of R.E.M.’s tours and wrote the main riff of the song as he was learning the instrument. Buck admitted his mandolin part was partially inspired by Ryuichi Sakamoto’s instrumental “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence”.
“The music was written in five minutes,” Peter Buck reflected in the liner notes of the In Time compilation album. According to R.E.M.’s bassist Mike Mills, the structure of the song was basically finished when Buck showed it to the band. For the bass parts of the song, Mills drew inspiration from Fleetwood Mac’s John McVie.
“I tried to come up with bass lines, I tried all these different things, and I couldn’t come up with something I thought [would] fit,” he stated. “So for some reason, it popped into my head ‘What would John McVie do?’ So I started approaching it as though I was John McVie and that’s where the bass line came from. I owe John McVie for that one.”
The band worked out the arrangement for the song in Bearsville Studio in Woodstock, New York. “The first time the band played it, it fell into place perfectly,” Peter Buck remembered. “Michael had the lyrics within the hour, and while playing the song for the third or fourth time, I found myself incredibly moved to hear the vocals in conjunction with the music.”
The Meaning of the Song
Like most R.E.M. songs, the music of the song was written before the lyrics. After the band finished the music, they handed it to lead singer Michael Stipe, who was also the band’s main lyricist.
According to Stipe, the lyrics of “Losing My Religion” are about unrequited love. “I created a character that’s calling out to someone, and we don’t know if that someone even knows if that person exists.”
“When you have a crush on somebody, and you think that they understand that but you’re not sure, and you’re dropping all kinds of hints, and you think that they’re responding to these hints but you’re not sure; that’s what this song is about.”
Due to the song’s title, a lot of people assume the song is about religion, which isn’t true. “Losing My Religion” is simply a Southern phrase that means ‘losing one’s temper’ over someone or something.
The Legacy of Losing My Religion
R.E.M. released “Losing My Religion” as the lead single of their seventh studio album Out of Time in 1991. To release the song as the album’s lead single wasn’t an obvious choice, as the song has no real chorus and uses the mandolin as its main instrument. Nevertheless, “Losing My Religion” became a massive success.
The song peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top 20 in the UK. It was a top 10 hit in several European countries and even topped the charts in Belgium and The Netherlands, marking R.E.M.’s first national chart-topping hit.
R.E.M. also released a music video for “Losing My Religion”. The video, directed by Tarsem Singh, is known for its vivid religious imagery and Michael Stipe’s riveting dancing. At the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, the music video won six awards, including Video of the Year. On YouTube, the iconic video has amassed over a billion views.
Before the release of “Losing My Religion”, R.E.M. was already a successful band with cult status. But the release of the song sky-rocketed the band into music stardom. “There’ve been very few life-changing events in our career because our career has been so gradual,” Mike Mills reflected. “If you want to talk about life-changing, I think ‘Losing My Religion’ is the closest it gets.”
The other members of R.E.M. agree with Mike Mills. Michael Stipe stated the song ‘is this really tearful, heartfelt thing that found its way into one of the best pieces of music the band ever gave me.’ In the liner notes of the In Time compilation album, Peter Buck agreed with Mills and Stipe’s sentiment. “To me, ‘Losing My Religion’ feels like some kind of archetype that was floating around in space that we managed to lasso. If only all songwriting was this easy.”
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