Nightswimming

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This article is about the 1993 song and single by R.E.M.. For other topics, see Night swimming.

"Nightswimming"
Single by R.E.M.
from the album Automatic for the People
B-side"Losing My Religion" (Live)
ReleasedJuly 12, 1993 (1993-07-12)
Genre
Length4:16
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
R.E.M. singles chronology
"Everybody Hurts"
(1993) 		"Nightswimming"
(1993) 		"Find the River"
(1993)
Music video
"Nightswimming" on YouTube

"Nightswimming" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in July 1993 by Warner Bros. as the fifth single from the band's eighth album, Automatic for the People (1992). The song is a ballad featuring singer Michael Stipe accompanied only by bassist Mike Mills on piano (lyrics and music respectively, but credited to the whole band as usual), a string arrangement by former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, and a prominent oboe by Deborah Workman in the latter part of the piece. Stipe sings about a group of friends who go skinny dipping at night, which draws from similar experiences in the band's early days. The music video for the song was directed by Jem Cohen.

Background and recording

Bassist Mike Mills recalled he was playing a piano riff at John Keane's studio in the band's hometown of Athens, Georgia. While Mills almost discarded the melody, it attracted the interest of singer Michael Stipe. Mills said, "I never thought it would amount to much because it was just a circular thing that kept going round and round and round. But it inspired Michael."[3] While the song was not included on Out of Time, the demo recorded during those sessions was used for Automatic for the People, with a string arrangement by John Paul Jones added to the track.[4] Mills has also claimed he recorded the piano part at Criteria Studios in Miami, on the same piano used by Derek and the Dominos on the recording of "Layla".[5]

"[Michael] listened once, nodded his head to hear it again, and on the second pass he sang the lyrics. It was 'Nightswimming,' exactly like the record we would record a year later," explained Peter Buck in 2003. "I was standing in the corner, dumbfounded."[6]

Composition and lyrics

As of 2003, "Nightswimming" was the only R.E.M. song for which the lyric was written before the music.[6] It was performed by Michael Stipe and Mike Mills; Stipe sings while Mills plays the piano. R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck noted that the absence of drummer Bill Berry and himself from the song was typical of many tracks on Automatic for the People, where one or more band members would not appear on a given song.[7] Mills plays a piano motif he has referred to as "circular" in nature.[3]

The inspiration for the song has been debated by the band members. Stipe, in a 2001 Esquire article, suggested an origin of the song. "A few years ago, I wanted to write a song about night watchmen, so I hired one to guard the R.E.M. offices in Athens. I bought him a uniform and a flashlight and everything. He turned out to be kind of crazy and called me up in the middle of the night to tell me dirty stories about the Kennedys. I wrote the song about him, but he was so paranoid he said he was going to sue me, so I changed the lyric from 'Night watchman' to 'Nightswimming.'"[8]

Conversely in the past, Mills said, "It's based on true events", explaining that in the early 1980s R.E.M. and its circle of friends would go skinny dipping after the Athens clubs closed at night. "We'd go to parties, we'd go to the clubs and we'd go to the Ball Pump, and there would be any number of these same 50 people, so it was a very tight circle of friends."[3] Peter Buck holds a similar interpretation. However, Stipe has denied that that is the topic of the song; rather, Stipe says the song is about a "kind of an innocence that's either kind of desperately clung onto or obviously lost." Stipe said there are autobiographical elements to the song, but insists most of it is "made up."[9]

Reception

"Nightswimming" was released as a single on July 12, 1993.[10] The record reached number 27 in the United Kingdom and number 71 in Australia.[11]

Steven Hyden wrote for The A.V. Club, "Automatic for the People might be the most quietly serene rock record about loss ever made. There is no fear in this music; death is the album's main character, but he's presented as a vehicle for self-empowerment ("Try Not to Breathe"), immortality ("Man on the Moon"), and spiritual fulfillment ("Find the River"). On "Nightswimming", death returns to his home in the past, and memory is revealed as the last light emanating from a star that has burned out."[12]

In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "And still they keep on plugging. R.E.M.'s fifth hit from the album is in a similar vein to "Everybody Hurts" which became their biggest hit ever back in May. Similar success may be difficult for this song, not being quite as universal as the last and due to the fact that the album Automatic for the People is now one of the biggest sellers of the year so far."[13] Alan Jones from Music Week gave the song four out of five and named it Pick of the Week. He declared it as a "rather intense song", adding that "The usual assortment of exclusive live tracks will convert this into another big hit."[14] Paul Moody from NME noted "the poignant, croaky vocal from Sir Michael, the gorgeous, gossamer piano accompaniment and the lyric dripping with adult ennui".[15] Parry Gettelman from Orlando Sentinel felt that "a repetitive piano riff and swelling strings overwhelm the slight tune."[16] In a 1992 review of the album, Rolling Stone writer Paul Evans said, "R.E.M. has never made music more gorgeous than 'Nightswimming'", calling it a "masterpiece".[17]

In 2011, a Rolling Stone Readers Poll ranked "Nightswimming" as R.E.M.’s second best song, behind "Losing My Religion".[18] Rolling Stone noted, “The track didn't do that well as a single, but in the past 20 years it's slowly become one of R.E.M.'s most beloved songs.”

In 2021, it was listed at No. 160 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."[19]

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Afghan-born American filmmaker Jem Cohen. Two versions of the video were made with the uncensored version of the video included on the Parallel video compilation.[20] The British version was later made available on YouTube in October 2009, and had generated more than 10 million views as of January 2023.[21]

Cover versions

American pop vocalist Ingrid Michaelson discussing covering the song in front of the members of R.E.M. at a charity event.

Track listing

All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe.

  • 7" Single
  1. "Nightswimming" – 4:16
  2. "Losing My Religion" (acoustic live) – 4:55
  • 12" and CD Maxi-Single
  1. "Nightswimming" – 4:16
  2. "World Leader Pretend" (acoustic live) – 5:16
  3. "Belong" (acoustic live) – 4:40
  4. "Low" (acoustic live) – 4:59

(All four acoustic live b-sides recorded live in Charleston, April 28, 1991, for the Mountain Stage radio program. "Losing My Religion", "Belong" and "Low" all taken from the album Out of Time)

Charts

Chart performance for "Nightswimming"
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[26] 71
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[27] 61
Europe (European Hit Radio)[28] 36
Germany (Official German Charts)[29] 93
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[30] 48
UK Singles (OCC)[31] 27

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Nightswimming"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  • Black, Johnny. Reveal: The Story of R.E.M. Backbeat Books, 2004. ISBN 0-87930-776-5
  • Buckley, David. R.E.M.: Fiction: An Alternative Biography. Virgin, 2002. ISBN 1-85227-927-3
  • Platt, John (editor). The R.E.M. Companion: Two Decades of Commentary. Schirmer, 1998. ISBN 0-02-864935-4

Notes

  1. ^ Macdonald, John (March 12, 2009). "Stipe, Patti Smith, Others Play R.E.M. Tribute in NYC". Spin. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  2. ^ "The Best of R.E.M. In Time 1988-2003 - Craft Recordings". June 20, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Buckley, p. 226
  4. ^ Fricke, David. "Living Up to Out of Time/Remote Control: Parts I and II". Melody Maker. October 3, 1992.
  5. ^ Black, p. 192
  6. ^ a b Peter Buck's liner notes in In Time: The Best of R.E.M.
  7. ^ Cavanagh, David. "Tune in, cheer up, rock out". Q. October 1994.
  8. ^ "Michael Stipe Has Great Hair". Esquire. January 4, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  9. ^ Black, p. 193
  10. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. July 10, 1993. p. 21.
  11. ^ Buckley, p. 358
  12. ^ Hyden, Steven (April 24, 2012). "Part 3: So fast, so numb (Automatic For The People to New Adventures In Hi-Fi)". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  13. ^ Masterton, James (July 18, 1993). "Week Ending July 24th 1993". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  14. ^ Jones, Alan (July 17, 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles — Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 6. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  15. ^ Moody, Paul (July 17, 1993). "Singles". NME. p. 14. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  16. ^ Gettelman, Parry (October 9, 1992). "R.E.M.". Orlando Sentinel.
  17. ^ Evans, Paul (October 29, 1992). "Automatic For The People". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  18. ^ "Readers Poll: The 10 Best R.E.M. Songs". Rolling Stone. September 28, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
  19. ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 15, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  20. ^ MTV News Staff. "R. E. M.'s Video Album Includes Uncensored "Nightswimming"". MTV News. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  21. ^ "R.E.M. - Nightswimming (Official Music Video) [British Version]". YouTube. October 27, 2009. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  22. ^ "Dashboard Confessional : A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar (2004 Bonus DVD) - Listen, Review and Buy at ARTISTdirect". Artistdirect.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  23. ^ allmusic ((( Where Are They Now? [#1] > Overview )))
  24. ^ "Coldplay On Austin City Limits On Jambase". Jambase.com. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  25. ^ Video on YouTube
  26. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 232.
  27. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 31. July 31, 1993. p. 19. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  28. ^ "EHR Top 40" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 33. August 14, 1993. p. 18. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  29. ^ "R.E.M. – Nightswimming" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  30. ^ "R.E.M. – Nightswimming". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  31. ^ "REM: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  32. ^ "British single certifications – R.E.M. – Nightswimming". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
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