"So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" is a song by the American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

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 alternative ...

It was released in May 1984 as the first single from the group's second studio album, '' Reckoning''. R.E.M. performed a rough version of the song on the NBC television show ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...

'' on October 6, 1983—before the song had a title—in what was the band's first U.S. network television appearance.

Music video

The video, directed by Howard Libov, was filmed at the Reflection Studio in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, during the recording of ''Reckoning'', and first aired in June 1984. It featured the members of the band playing their instruments behind white screens ( gobos) in an otherwise empty room, with Michael Stipe singing in the foreground. Stipe refused to lip sync to the song. Guitarist Peter Buck said, "We played a recording of the track, and the rest of us faked it, but Michael insisted on singing a new vocal to make it more real for him."Black, Johnny.
The Greatest Songs Ever! So. Central Rain
. ''Blender''. June/July 2002. Retrieved on May 11, 2008. The song is also featured in the ''

Left of Reckoning ''Reckoning'' (alternatively titled ''File Under Water'')Hoskyns, Barney. "Four Guys Working For The Sainthood". ''NME''. April 21, 1984. is the second studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on April 9, 1984 by I.R.S. Rec ...

'' video shot by James Herbert.

Track listings

All songs written by

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 ...

, Peter Buck,

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 ...

, and Michael Stipe unless otherwise indicated. 7" Single # "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" – 3:16 # "Walter's Theme" / " King of the Road" (

Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping Country music, country and pop hits "King of the Road (song), Ki ...

) – 4:44 12" single # "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" – 3:16 # "Voice of Harold" – 4:25 # " Pale Blue Eyes" (

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

) – 2:54 Notes: * "Walter's Theme", "King of the Road", "Voice of Harold" and "Pale Blue Eyes" can all be found on '' Dead Letter Office''. * "Walter's Theme" is not listed on the cover. * The album title-listing contains an initial lower-case 's', following a pattern in the album's listings where random capital letters are made lower-case and random lower-case letters are capitalized. The front cover art lists it as 'So CENTRAL RAiN', with '7 chineSe bros.' on the back track listings differing from the cover art as well. * The album's inner sleeve lists the full title as "Southern Central Rain (I'm Sorry)".

Chart positions

"So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" became the second R.E.M. single to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 85.

References

External links

"So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" video at VH1 Classics.com
{{Authority control R.E.M. songs 1984 singles Songs written by Bill Berry Songs written by Peter Buck Songs written by Mike Mills Songs written by Michael Stipe I.R.S. Records singles Songs based on actual events Song recordings produced by Don Dixon (musician) Song recordings produced by Mitch Easter 1984 songs