#1 “That’s great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, and snakes…”

We’ll start with one entry that has managed to confuse even the biggest REM fans, yet it stands to show that even the biggest lyricists are sometimes a bit too metaphorical for some of their listeners.

It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) is one of REM’s most well-known songs, and while there are many other popular and well-known songs and lyrics from the band, this one song is extremely lyrical. It is one of those songs that can be analyzed and everyone can learn and understand something from it.

Written as some sort of hommage to Bob Dylan’s famously complicated lyrics in Subterranean Homesick Blues, REM managed to also achieve that level of an over-lyrical song! And while it isn’t our favorite REM song, it is one that everyone remembers!