R.E.M. Singer Tells Fans: ‘You’re Singing My Song Wrong’

For nearly four decades, fans have struggled to decipher the exact words Michael Stipe quickly sings in R.E.M.’s 1987 song “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine),” with only bits and pieces being understood by the casual listener.

Now, Stipe is finally clarifying some of the track’s most misunderstood lyrics – and we have a Simpsons meme to thank for it.

Last week, Stipe shared an image to Bluesky of Homer Simpson claiming that he can sing all of the lyrics to “It’s the End of the World as We Know It,” only to be told “No you can’t” because “No one can.”

In response to the meme, the R.E.M. frontman wrote: “I can.”

https://x.com/StereoBuzzX/status/1963034264687333584

Michael Stipe clarifies R.E.M. lyrics

In the days that followed, Stipe began to clarify a few of the track’s unintelligible lyrics.

“It’s ‘Left of west and coming in a hurry with the Furies breathing down your neck,’” he wrote regarding one of the song’s lines.

“It’s ‘Team by team reporters, baffled, trumped, tethered, cropped, Look at that low playing, fine, then,’” he said of another.

Stipe’s posts prove that many popular online lyric sources have been wrong for years.

While he has finally cleared up a couple of these lines, there is no telling just how many more we are all still singing incorrectly.