"It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" is a song by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
, which first appeared on their 1987 album, ''
Document
A document is a written, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ''Documentum'', which denotes a "teaching" or ...
''. It was released as the album's second
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
in November 1987, reaching No. 69 in the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and later reaching No. 39 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
on its re-release in December 1991.
Lyrics
The track is known for its quick-flying, seemingly
stream of consciousness
In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator. The term was coined by Daniel Oliver (physician), Daniel Ol ...
rant with many diverse references, such as a quartet of individuals with the initials "L.B.":
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
,
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet Union, Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Gener ...
,
Lenny Bruce
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...
, and
Lester Bangs
Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs (December 14, 1948 – April 30, 1982) was an American music journalist, critic, author, and musician. He wrote for ''Creem'' and ''Rolling Stone'' magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock music c ...
. In a 1990s interview with ''
Musician
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
'' magazine, R.E.M.'s lead singer
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence.
Poss ...
claimed that the "L.B." references came from a dream he had in which he found himself at a party surrounded by famous people who all shared those initials. "The words come from everywhere," Stipe explained to ''
Q Magazine
''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series ''The Old Grey Whistle Test''. '' ...
'' in 1992. "I'm extremely aware of everything around me, whether I am in a sleeping state, awake, dream-state or just in day to day life, so that ended up in the song along with a lot of stuff I'd seen when I was flipping TV channels. It's a collection of streams of consciousness."
The song originated from a previously unreleased song called "PSA" ("Public Service Announcement"); the two are very similar in melody and tempo. "PSA" was itself later reworked and released as a single in 2003, under the title "
Bad Day". In an interview with ''
Guitar World
''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original art ...
'' magazine published in November 1996, R.E.M. guitarist
Peter Buck
Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his car ...
agreed that "End of the World" was in the tradition of
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
's "
Subterranean Homesick Blues
"Subterranean Homesick Blues" is a song by Bob Dylan, recorded on January 14, 1965, and released as a single by Columbia Records, catalogue number 43242, on March 8. It was the lead track on the album ''Bringing It All Back Home'', released some ...
".
The song was included on the
2001 Clear Channel memorandum of songs thought to be "lyrically questionable" after the
September 11 terrorist attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
.
Leonard Bernstein by Jack Mitchell.jpg, Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
Leonid Brezhnev Portrait (1).jpg, Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet Union, Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Gener ...
Lenny Bruce 1961.jpg, Lenny Bruce
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...
Reception
''
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' said that "Overdriven guitars push this blazing rock ode to the modem calamity. A high energy AOR smash with R.E.M.'s unique stamp of disapproval."
Chart performance
In 1992, the song was played repeatedly for a 24-hour period (with brief promos interspersed) to introduce the new format for
WENZ Wenz may refer to:
Broadcasting
* WENZ, a radio station (107.9 FM) licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, United States
People
* Alfred Wenz (1919–1944), a German soldier
* Fred Wenz aka Frederick Charles Wenz (born 1941), a baseball player
* Peter Wenz ( ...
107.9 FM "The End", a radio station in
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, Ohio. When the station underwent a new format change in 1996, they again played the song in 24-hour loop. There was a documentary film made about the station entitled ''The End of the World As We Knew It'', released in 2009, which featured many of the former staffers and jocks.
The song was featured in several satirical videos on YouTube, in connection with the prediction of radio pastor
Harold Camping
Harold Egbert Camping (July 19, 1921December 15, 2013) was an American Christian radio broadcaster and evangelist. Beginning in 1958, he served as president of Family Radio, a California-based radio station group that, at its peak, broadcast to ...
of Family Radio, that the world would end on May 21, 2011. Also, before the supposed
Mayan apocalypse on December 21, 2012, sales for the song jumped from 3,000 to 19,000 copies for the week. Alternative radio station
CFEX-FM
CFEX-FM is a radio station serving Calgary, Alberta. Owned by Harvard Media, it broadcasts an alternative rock format branded as ''X92.9''. CFEX's studios are located along the Red Mile on 17 Avenue SW in Calgary, while its transmitter is locate ...
in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
, Alberta, Canada,
stunted
Stunted growth is a reduced growth rate in human development. It is a primary manifestation of malnutrition (or more precisely undernutrition) and recurrent infections, such as diarrhea and helminthiasis, in early childhood and even before birth, ...
by playing the song all day on December 21, 2012, interspersed with "Get to Know a
Mayan
Mayan most commonly refers to:
* Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America
* Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America
* Mayan languages, language family spoken ...
" and "Apocalypse Survival Tips" segments.
Amid the global
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the song received an increase in downloads and streaming in March 2020 alongside other apocalypse- and sickness-themed songs. Online downloads of the song rose 184 percent, while streams rose 48 percent.
Music video
The music video was directed by
James Herbert
James John Herbert, OBE (8 April 1943 – 20 March 2013) was an English horror writer. A full-time writer, he also designed his own book covers and publicity. His books have sold 54 million copies worldwide, and have been translated into 34 l ...
, who worked with the band on several other videos in the late 1980s. It depicts a teenage skateboarder, Noah Ray, in a cluttered room of an abandoned, half-collapsed farmhouse. As he rummages through the junk, including several band pictures and flyers, he shows off various toys and items to the camera and plays with a dog that wanders into the house. As the video ends, he removes his shirt and starts performing skateboard tricks while still inside the room.
Track listing
Initial release
* "7: IRS IRM 145 (UK):
# "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" – 4:04
# "This One Goes Out" (live acoustic version of "The One I Love") – 4:19
* "7: IRS IRS-53220 (US); cassette: IRS IRSC-53220:
# "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" – 4:04
# "Last Date" (
Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "half step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signature ...
cover) – 2:13
* "12: IRS IRMT 145:
# "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" – 4:04
# "This One Goes Out" (live acoustic version of "The One I Love") – 4:19
# "Maps and Legends" (live acoustic)
* "12 Promo: IRS 7363 (US):
# "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" – 4:04
# "Disturbance at the Heron House (Live from cassette 5.24.87 McCabes Guitar Shop)" – 3:41
Re-issue
* CD: IRS DIRMT 180:
# "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" – 4:04
# "
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...
" – 4:03
# "The One I Love" (Live Acoustic) – 4:19
* CD: IRS DIRMX 180:
# "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" – 4:04
# "Radio Free Europe" (
Hib-Tone version) – 3:46
# "White Tornado" – 1:59
# "Last Date" – 2:13
* "7: IRS IRM 180; cassette: IRS DIRMC 180:
# "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" – 4:04
# "Radio Free Europe" – 4:03
Personnel
R.E.M.
*
Bill Berry
William Thomas Berry (born July 31, 1958) is an American musician who was the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. Although best known for his economical drumming style, Berry also played other instruments, including guitar, bass guitar ...
– drums, backing vocals
*
Peter Buck
Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his car ...
– guitar
*
Mike Mills
Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., hi ...
– bass guitar, piano, backing vocals
*
Michael Stipe
John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence.
Poss ...
– lead vocals
Charts
Certifications
Cover versions
*
Vic Chesnutt
James Victor Chesnutt (November 12, 1964 – December 25, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, little (album), ''Little'', was released in 1990. His commercial breakthrough came in 1996 with the rele ...
, a folk singer discovered by R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, recorded a very loose cover of the song for the 1992 R.E.M. tribute album ''
Surprise Your Pig''.
*Newfoundland folk-rockers
Great Big Sea
Great Big Sea was a Canadian folk rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year Irish, Scot ...
covered the song on their 1997 album ''
Play
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* Pla ...
'' under the title "End of the World". Their version is a minute and a half shorter than R.E.M.'s, yet still contains all the verses (the faster time is achieved primarily by their increasing the tempo). It peaked at #24 on the
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by '' Jam!''/Canoe. I ...
on the week of April 6, 1998.
*
DC Talk
DC Talk (stylized as dc Talk) is a Christian hip hop, Christian rap and Christian rock, rock trio. The group was formed at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1987 by tobyMac, Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, and Kevin Max, Kevin Max Smith ...
covered a 7 minute and 18 second version of the song with a rap medley bridge and band introduction on their 1997 live album, ''
Welcome to the Freak Show
''Welcome to the Freak Show'' is a live audio and video recording by DC Talk. Chronicling the Jesus Freak Tour in the spring of 1996, they were released separately two months apart in 1997 on CD and VHS, respectively. A DVD version was later r ...
''.
*
The Suicide Machines
The Suicide Machines are an American punk rock band formed in March 1991 in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. During the course of their career, the band has released seven full-length albums on the labels Hollywood Records, Side One Dummy Records and ...
covered the song for their 2001 release ''
Steal This Record
''Steal This Record'' is the fourth studio album by the Detroit, Michigan punk rock band The Suicide Machines, released in 2001 by Hollywood Records. It was the band's last album for the Hollywood label, as they moved to Side One Dummy Records t ...
''.
*American actress
America Ferrera
America Georgina Ferrera (; born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents, Ferrera developed an interest in acting at a young age, performing in several stage productions at her school. She made her featur ...
covered the song during episode "
Blackout!" of
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
television series ''
Ugly Betty
''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which was originally broadcast on ABC. It premiered on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian t ...
''.
*On May 21, 2011, in preparation for the apparent
2011 end times prediction, the song was covered by
Matt Nathanson
Matthew Adam Nathanson (born March 28, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter whose work is a blend of Folk music, folk and rock and roll music. In addition to singing, he plays acoustic (sometimes a 12-string) and electric guitar, and has play ...
,
Sugarland
Sugarland is an American country music duo founded in Atlanta, Georgia. The duo consists of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles (lead vocals) and Kristian Bush (vocals, guitar, mandolin). They were founded in 2002, at which point Kristen Hall (vo ...
, and
Little Big Town
Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has comprised the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbro ...
in
Holmdel, New Jersey
Holmdel Township (usually shortened to Holmdel) is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The township is centrally located in the Raritan Valley region, being within the regional and cultural influence of the Raritan Baysh ...
, and
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...
did a separate cover in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
.
*Orange County ska punk band
Starpool released a cover of the song as a digital download on
December 21, 2012.
*In 2011,
Chris Carrabba
Christopher Ender Carrabba (born April 10, 1975) is the lead singer and guitarist of the band Dashboard Confessional, lead singer of the band Further Seems Forever, and is the vocalist for the folk band Twin Forks.
Early life and education
Born ...
of
Dashboard Confessional
Dashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, led by singer Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the songThe Sharp Hint of New Tears off their debut album, ''The Swiss Army Romance''.
History
Early h ...
covered this song on his album ''
Covered In The Flood''.
*
Peter Buffett
Peter Andrew Buffett (born May 4, 1958) is an American musician, composer, author and philanthropist. With a career that spans more than 30 years, Buffett is an Regional Emmy Award winner, New York Times best-selling author and co-chair of the ...
covered the song and released it on
December 21, 2012.
* Italian rocker and songwriter
Luciano Ligabue
Luciano Riccardo Ligabue (born 13 March 1960), commonly known as Ligabue or Liga, is an Italian singer-songwriter, film director and writer.
Biography
Ligabue was born in Correggio, in the province of Reggio Emilia (Emilia-Romagna
egl, Emig ...
covered the song and released it on his fourth album ' (1994)
* American duo
Pomplamoose
Pomplamoose is an American musical duo composed of husband-and-wife multi-instrumentalist Jack Conte and singer-songwriter and bassist Nataly Dawn. The duo formed in 2008 and sold approximately 100,000 songs online in 2009. They are known for t ...
, alongside British artist
dodie
Dorothy Miranda Clark (born 11 April 1995), known mononymously as Dodie (stylised dodie), is an English singer, songwriter, author and YouTuber. Dodie began her career uploading original songs and covers to YouTube. She has over 210 videos, o ...
and
Maddie Poppe
Madeline Mae Poppe (born December 5, 1997) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and the season 16 winner of ''American Idol.'' She is a multi-instrumentalist—playing the guitar, piano, and ukulele. Prior to winning ''American Idol'', P ...
, covered the song and released it during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
(2020). It was recorded in their homes, as a result of the social distancing measures imposed around the world.
References
{{authority control
1987 singles
1988 singles
1991 singles
1998 singles
List songs
R.E.M. songs
Songs written by Bill Berry
Songs written by Michael Stipe
Songs written by Mike Mills
Songs written by Peter Buck
I.R.S. Records singles
Song recordings produced by Scott Litt
Song recordings produced by Michael Stipe
Song recordings produced by Mike Mills
Song recordings produced by Bill Berry
Song recordings produced by Peter Buck
Great Big Sea songs
Patter songs
1987 songs
Post-punk songs
Folk rock songs