Nightswimming- A liner note from the Special Edition of R.E.M. Greatest Hits album 'In Time' written by Peter Buck
Nightswimming from the R.E.M. album Automatic for the People
"Nightswimming is the only we've ever written where the words came first during the mixing stage of Out of Time, Micheal came to us with a complete set of lyrics amd suggested that we might want to put them to music. Being competitive bastards that we are, Mike and I started auditioning chord changs and tunes for Micheal. The two tunes of mine that Micheal rejected eventually became Drive and Try Not to Breathe. Mike had a piano instrumental that he played to Micheal. He listened once, nodded his head to hear it again, and on the second pass he sang the the lyrics. It was Nightswimming, exactly like the record we would record a year later. I was standing in the corner dumbfounded."
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When I saw R.E.M. play in New Plymouth a few years back there was a big lake the separated the band and the audience. It was a cold rainy night but a few souls dived in. As R.E.M. played Nightswimming everyone in the water went nuts. Micheal Stipe said they only played the song because opeing act The Checks had begged them to play it. Lucky us.
Here's a comment from R.E.M. blog Popsongs that explains it better !
And here's a youtube of the two Mikes doing Nightswimming on Live with Jools Holland (a popular British show where bands showcase their songs, with Jools often joining in on the piano).
Extra for experts: Nightswimming lyrics
Nightswimming deserves a quiet night
I'm not sure all these people understand
It's not like years ago,
The fear of getting caught,
Of recklessness and water
They cannot see me naked
These things, they go away,
Replaced by everyday
Nightswimming, remembering that night
September's coming soon
I'm pining for the moon
And what if there were two
Side by side in orbit
Around the fairest sun?
That bright, tight forever drum
Could not describe nightswimming
You, I thought I knew you
You, I cannot judge
You, I thought you knew me,
This one laughing quietly underneath my breath
Nightswimming
The photograph reflects,
Every streetlight a reminder
Nightswimming deserves a quiet night, deserves a quiet night
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