\n<\/p>\n
\n\tAt long last, Michael Stipe<\/a> is offering answers to questions that have long plagued R.E.M.<\/a> fans: What the hell is he actually saying on \u201cIt\u2019s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)\u201d<\/a>?<\/p>\n \n\tThe single from R.E.M.\u2019s 1987 album Document<\/a> <\/em>is a masterpiece of rock & roll stream-of-consciousness with Stipe striking that perfect balance of cheery and apocalyptic as he unloads a torrent of pop culture references and koans. Certain parts of the song were always easy to distinguish \u2014 \u201cLeonard Bernstein!\u201d \u2014 but the sheer volume of Stipe\u2019s volubility has led to plenty of lyrical misreadings over the years, exacerbated by R.E.M.\u2019s decision not to print song lyrics in their album liner notes.<\/p>\n \n\tBut last week, Stipe started to clear up some of the most mysterious lines from \u201cIt\u2019s the End of the World\u201d on BlueSky. (The exercise was inspired by, of all things, a Simpsons <\/em>meme<\/a>, and not even the actual scene with an R.E.M. guest appearance<\/a> and Homer belting out obviously-wrong lines like, \u201cLeonard, what\u2019s-his-name, Herman Munster, motorcade, birthday party, Cheetos.\u201d)<\/p>\n \n\tThe first two he clarified were, \u201cLeft of west<\/a> and coming in a hurry with the Furies breathing down your neck\u201d; and \u201cTeam by team<\/a> reporters, baffled, trumped, tethered, cropped, look at that low playing, fine, then.\u201d<\/p>\n