Song Lyrics

"The One I Love" by R.E.M.

This one goes out to the one I love
This one goes out to the one I’ve left behind
A simple prop to occupy my time
This one goes out to the one I love

Fire (she’s comin’ down on her own, now)

This one goes out to the one I love
This one goes out to the one I’ve left behind
Another prop has occupied my time
This one goes out to the one I love

R.E.M. is a rock band featuring Michael Stipe, born January 4th, 1960, Peter Buck, born December 6th, 1956, Bill Berry, born July 31, 1958, and Mike Mills, born December 17th, 1958, all born in the California area. Their first E.P. was "Chronic Town". They are an extremely famous 80's and 90's rock band, with other hit songs like "Nightswimming" and "Losing My Religion."


http://www.bandbiographies.com/rem/biography.htm

A lot of people think that this song is a love song. In actuality, it's not at all. By it's lyrics, it suggests at the beginning that it is a love song. "This one goes out to the one I love." Then it switches to "A simple prop". This isn't the nicest thing to call someone. "To occupy my time". This means that this person means nothing to him and he simply uses her.

That's essentially the heart of this piece. This woman who he's sleeping with doesn't mean anything to him. All she is to him is a booty call. It's not romantic at all. It's honestly sad at how he just uses people because that's exactly what he's doing.

This is poetry because it tackles something I've really never heard in any other song. There are plenty of songs about cheating and love, but not about booty calls. Especially as the narrator of the piece, it's interesting to see what goes on in the mind. It's short, which has sparked a lot fo criticism. I praise it. It truly shows what this woman means to him. It's simple. He doesn't give a crap about her. That's all that needs to be said about it.