R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe Lyrics






Decide yourself if radio's gonna stay
Reason: it could polish up the gray
Put that, put that, put that up your wall
That this isn't Country at all

Radio station: decide yourself

Keep me out of Country and the word
Wheel of fortune's leading us: absurd
Push that, push that, push that to the floor
That this isn't nothing at all

Straight off the boat, where to go

Calling out in transit
Calling out in transit
Radio Free Europe (radio)

Decide: defy the media too fast
Instead of pushing palaces to fall
Put that, put that, put that up your wall
That this isn't fortunate at all

Radio station: decide yourself

We're calling out in transit
Calling out in transit
Radio Free Europe (radio)

Decide yourself: come in on a boat
Media's too fast
Keep me out of Country and the word
Disappointment into us: absurd

Straight off the boat, where to go?

Calling out in transit
Calling out in transit
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe

Calling out in transit
Calling out in transit
Radio Free Europe
Radio Free Europe





Other Lyrics by Artist

Rand Lyrics

Last Posts

R.E.M. Radio Free Europe Comments
  1. T.... D....

    Radio free of Europe....

  2. R.... B....

    10 january 2020

  3. N.... F....

    January, 2020 😉

  4. C.... A....

    As a bass and guitar player I'm amazed at how can they play so good while moving through the whole stage

  5. a.... s....

    My type is legit michael stipe circa 1983, but female

  6. K.... B....

    This song has a Joy Division vibe to it, I'm sure REM learned a couple things from them.

  7. T.... I....

    No one ever said anything about the drummers eyebrows?

  8. T.... G....

    Aki em 2019 tamando cerveja em casa e ouvido a melhor banda
    Radio free Europe ♥️♥️♥️

  9. M.... N....

    Oh Fuck!

  10. D.... ....

    And then we all die

  11. v.... j....

    Así nació el rock alternativo.

  12. D.... A....

    Every band want a bassist like Mike Mills

  13. p.... ....

    Friday evenings were great on British tv in the early 80,s some great bands on the tube gun club,lords of the new church,cramps,mission etc

  14. N.... I....

    Wow, that last verse with the disco drum rhythm slaps!

  15. R.... M....

    I likey then......I likey now......

  16. G.... M....

    Pete Buck was one of the guitarists I've ever seen live.

  17. g.... m....

    What a song and what a bass line!!! Fantastic music:)

  18. S.... K....

    I watched this live, empowered. Think it was bonfire night in UK, November 5th, most folks in the pub....

  19. S.... C....

    Michael is like an embryonic Eddie Vedder here.

  20. D.... A....

    I wear my school outfit like what Mike Mills wore in this video

  21. M.... S....

    It's funny ... a few years later, the bassist and the guitarist discovered that they did not need to dance to have a presence on stage. And the singer discovered that it was much more fun to dance while singing. They all changed.

  22. M.... W....

    *this "college band" version of R.E.M. was SO MUCH BETTER than the "pop-rock" version of R.E.M. that came later*

  23. v.... j....

    This is how alternative rock was born.

  24. A.... Q....

    pearl jam singing rock and roll

  25. d.... k....

    Friday at 5.30 the tube, remember watching this and all us hip kids hahahaha at school buying the album murmur before Christmas. Brilliant band , murmur 83 reckoning 84 reconstruction 85 life's rich pageant 86 document 87 and green 88 , best 80s band and the stuff they made later wasn't that bad either lol.

  26. J.... S....

    Ladies and Gentlemen, witness the birth of Alternative Rock..

  27. D.... M....

    Michael looked so sexy in his relaxed fit jeans

  28. M.... C....

    Went to a gig at the old JFK in Philadelphia early 80's ..... The police, Madness, Joan Jett n the Blackhearts and a liitle known band at the time R.E.FuckinM. #brilliant

  29. A.... B....

    Radio free Europe.😉

  30. R.... W....

    5:35 pm March 16th 2019

  31. A.... B....

    Y en 2019 se ve shik👀Michael Stipe y todo R.E.M

  32. m.... a....

    I guess mullets were cool then, looking at the drummer.

  33. S.... T....

    When is this band getting back together?

  34. J.... d....

    Awesome song. 😎

  35. D.... ....

    One of the most influential bands of all time. This crowd is standing still because they haven't heard anything like this before in their lives. I remember being confused by Murmur when I fist bought the cassette. Then I became so obsessed that I listened to it for a month or two straight.

    D.... ....

    Like Eddie Vedder,watch the RORHF induction where he said he listened to murmur at least 300 times lol

  36. D.... O....

    I remember listening to this tune over and over incessantly when I was about 5-6 years old! Along with Sultans of Swing from Dire Straits, this was one of the big ones that really got me into music when I was very little, and made me want to be a guitar player & songwriter. What a total head trip this song was when I was a little one, and danged if I'll ever figure out what it's about :)

  37. D.... B....

    Basically, anti-Commie song as far as I can tell:

    Beside yourself if radio's gonna stay
    Reason, it could polish up the gray
    Put that, put that, put that up your wall
    That this isn't nothing at all
    Straight off the boat, where to go?
    Beside defying media too fast
    Instead of pushing palaces to fall
    Put that, put that, put that up your wall
    That this isn't nothing at all
    Raving station, beside yourself
    Calling on in transit
    Calling on in transit
    Radio free Europe, radio
    Beside defying media too fast
    Instead of pushing palaces to fall
    Put that, put that, put that up your wall
    That this isn't nothing but cattle call
    Straight off the boat, where to go?
    Calling on in transit
    Calling on in transit
    Radio free Europe, radio
    Decide yourself
    If radios gonna stay?
    Have yourself a really
    Wonderful evening and next day
    Raving station, beside yourself
    Calling on in transit
    Calling on in transit
    Radio free Europe
    Radio free Europe
    Calling on in transit
    Calling on in transit
    Radio free Europe, radio
    Free me

  38. z.... 9....

    i haven't even went to college, i'm 23 years and this song has got me feeling nostalgic for my late 80s/early 90s college days i never even went to lol

  39. S.... S....

    I remember hearing this 1st on pirate radio in NYC

  40. 7.... ....

    Reminds me of Kurt Cobain here.

  41. V.... F....

    agora tô com medo de ficar careca

  42. K.... R....

    This is my fave REM song but listening in the era myself I never realized there were so many verions until YOUTUBE. It seems Stipe just interchanged the lyrics according to his moods I guess?

  43. j.... ....

    This song changed everything for me

  44. J.... d....

    Fantastic song.😇😇😇😇

  45. N.... M....

    that bass

  46. p.... z....

    One of the best Anti-Communist songs EVER written.

  47. r.... ....

    R.E.M. on British TV long before their popular years.
    The Tube was an awesome music/entertainment show of emerging 80s culture.

  48. w.... ....

    This song is about how they love AIDS and want to spread it.

  49. n.... ....

    I hate U2.

  50. J.... S....

    omg. he looks like eddie vedder.

  51. S.... B....

    lame crowd

  52. D.... M....

    Have you seen yourself recently

  53. b.... ....

    Why is everyone saying this sounds and looks so 90s? When I think 90s I think big, fuzzy guitars and distortion pedals. This sounds clean and has a dance beat, like a lot of music (Heads, B-52s, Psychedelic Furs, Smiths) being made during the post punk/newave years. As for their looks, American rock bands always looked a little rougher than their British counterparts. Just compare the NY Dolls to like Roxy Music.

    b.... ....

    @ponponvinsky https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRtvqT_wMeY

    b.... ....

    @ponponvinsky https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhcttcXcRYY

    b.... ....

    @ponponvinsky https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvjvNncbKzw

    b.... ....

    @ponponvinsky Pearl Jam.

    b.... ....

    @Kaori Kanzaki In what world did Pearl Jam ever sounded like early R.E.M?

  54. H.... 3....

    One of my fave REM tunes. Too bad the crowd were such duds.

  55. S.... C....

    Michael Stipe actually has hair.

  56. W.... G....

    And all in front of a 'gotta be cool' Tube audience. I'd have got in to them before 'Life's Ricch Pageant' seeing this!

  57. A.... R....

    REM!!! Wow, what a great song and a terrific performance. Thank you!

  58. C.... N....

    I remember it as a Reagan era spike. Hateful to the commie libs now, but we know what to do with them.

  59. s.... ....

    (~_~) (-_-) (°_-) ( -°) (>< (o_O) (o_o)!!!!!!!!!

  60. A.... B....

    Criminally underviewed.

  61. L.... L....

    the first time i see Michael stipes with hair

    L.... L....

    You must be very young then.

  62. K.... M....

    he is soo sweet here and adorable! <3

    K.... M....

    you too

  63. E.... M....

    the 1st album didnt do the songs justice. this is what they were like!

    E.... M....

    I must have been 6 or 7 years old when I got Murmurs. It was a good enough sounding album, very well done... but, the live versions have much more energy.

  64. M.... F....

    Birth of genius

  65. c.... s....

    single version entered Billboard July 23, 1983 ..reached #78 rock chart reached #25

  66. G.... ....

    The Smiths an influence?

    G.... ....

    The Smiths' debut came out a year later, so extremely unlikely.

    G.... ....

    @op4blushift a ok, i don't know that, tanks for the information

    G.... ....

    +Gonzalotrece murmur is said to have influenced/kick-started indie rock, do you know if the Smiths were fans of REM at this point?

    G.... ....

    Considering this song was originally out in 1981 then re-released in 1983, I doubt The Smiths were an influence. The Smiths' first formed in 1982.

  67. J.... G....

    I like the sound of "honey & shrimps"

  68. J.... P....

    Back when he couldn't sing, but was still a good singer. By document, I feel like he was much better

  69. M.... ....

    I love the audiences look, "This is not Duran Duran"

    M.... ....

    Brilliant

  70. C.... B....

    So far ahead of the times. Pure genius.

  71. 7.... ....

    I searched for this song for literally 20 years before I finally found it. I was a freshman in high school in 1986 when I caught the last of it on the radio. Of course it went straight into another song. This is my favorite from R.E.M.

  72. J.... H....

    Looks and sounds like 1993 but nope, 1983!

    J.... H....

    It was most definitely 1993.

    J.... H....

    No it's not. It even says in the description "Live On the Tube 11/18/83".

    J.... H....

    maggie bridget nope. Look how young Michael looks here. He's about 23

    J.... H....

    Dedication SWTOR That's because R.E.M invented Alternative Rock in the 80s which was very popular in the 90s.

    J.... H....

    Post punk, sound strange for REM

  73. T.... E....

    pretty much was in 91

    T.... E....

    Exactly!! The song might have been from 1983, but the performance is from the early 90s.

    T.... E....

    Nope, after the Green album came out in 1988 the gained a huge following and were playing venues much larger than this. Also, by the early 90’s Stipe had much shorter hair, followed by none. Also, the clothes, accessories and hair styles has the standard mid 80’s look.

  74. D.... K....

    Love them. I listened to Kasey Kasem Sunday mornings in my room until my older brother dragged me out and made me listen to Yes, Foreigner, the Cars and dragged me to an REM concert...which turned into two and then three. Life would never be the same. Thank you brother. Love you Tim!

  75. h.... ....

    Eddie Vedder are you??

    h.... ....

    +hellberful I think the same thing

    h.... ....

    you got it the other way around brother.

    h.... ....

    Eddie worshiped Michael and REM, he loves them!!

    h.... ....

    HELL no. Stipe can be understood lol

  76. T.... N....

    3:19 would be me while actually enjoying the music while the crowd looks at me like I'm an idiot. Damn these tranquilized people.

  77. N.... ....

    man, never thought that they become such a great number in pop history. :-)

  78. S.... F....

    Love this performance. You get a sense of the aggression they needed to deal with fried chicken audiences on the deep South bar circuit howling for Freebird instead of this faggot indie crap :-) Also, Mike Mills on bass, fucking awesome.

  79. R.... R....

    Fucking adverts!!!!

    R.... R....

    u know,15-30secs overtime i try to watch.was in a hurry just needed to watch quickly. still an excellent performance by r.e.m.

  80. A.... M....

    Yeah, I know whatever, REM is great and all that--but I hate how the drummer is always speeding up--

  81. F.... W....

    I love REM ("fall on me" is one of the top 20 songs of ALL TIME IMO) ,BUT, this was a terrible performance by Stipe...just terrible (I am sure he would agree).  Anyhoo, there are way better performances by REM than this shite.

  82. P.... T....

    Was this entire crowd given tranquilizers? Jesus...

    P.... T....

    I think that was during a time when people still tried to understand what the heck he was singing. I mean, cut 'em some slack: You'd be wondering too if it was the first time you saw some skinny dude up on stage singing "ner ner ner ner transit ner ner ner ner transit..."

    P.... T....

    Their feeble minds had been torn ahead a decade in the future. A side-effect of this quantum acrobatics was a catatonic state.

    P.... T....

    they probably don't know what the fuck is happening to them

    P.... T....

    @Guy Souriandt omg, so true about the shirts. Had one back then, as did everyone. Hey, at the time it was cool. But that doesn't account for this audience, totally apathetic, unreal. I was listening to REM since the beginning. I know the people I knew then would have been totally jamming to this song. Maybe they just didn't have the same recreational past times we did!!

  83. B.... H....

    These guys were light years ahead of their time.

    B.... H....

    Barek Halfhand the fuck do you mean? they were where they were haha

    B.... H....

    No they weren't. They were guitar bass drums. Kraftwerk were light years ahead of their time. Don't get me wrong, I love early Rem, but they were right on time.

    B.... H....

    Yes they were.

    B.... H....

    Dale Cooper nah they were

  84. N.... C....

    to remember..

  85. B.... D....

    LOL, this crowd has no idea what they're listening to: history

  86. C.... A....

    Better than U2 from the same era.

    C.... A....

    My gran on Kazoo and her mate on the spoons with Terry Wogan whistling is better than U2

    C.... A....

    Not a chance Candy........close but no cigar. Don't get me wrong. I love REM, but, U2 back in the early 80's, were the best.

    C.... A....

    I love REM. But U2 from that same year was another level entirely.

  87. K.... L....

    stipe=cutie pie xoxo

  88. 2.... ....

    OMG Stipe....good thing I never met him or he'd be on my 'list'.

  89. 2.... ....

    REM's answer to London Calling....

    2.... ....

    and We Walk is the the answer to Lost In The Supermarket

    2.... ....

    @SmearJelly
    Is that right? I'll have to check it out. How many other songs have REM made that are inspired by and is an answer to another song?

    2.... ....

    What's The Frequency Kenneth is R.E.M.'s answer to Smells Like Teen Spirit

    2.... ....

    and all their music is inspired by Patti Smith. she has a somewhat similar sound

    2.... ....

    FwenchiestFwy no, What’s The Frequency Kenneth is very clearly inspired by Wire. Yes, Stipe and Kurt were friends, but the similarities between Kenneth and ‘Feeling Called Love’ are impossible to deny

  90. D.... N....

    I have some demo songs on my channel if anybody is interested.

  91. J.... W....

    oh my god, I'm sorry for my English. Thinking in German and then just writing it in English is not the best thing to do.  ;-)

    J.... W....

    Many years ago I knew just enough German to buy and pay for things in the shops.  That was back in the Mark days.  Odd how many words in English are "borrow" words from German; especially in the sciences.  The very language itself is the language of technology, but I've heard the younger generation in Europe only want to be gangstas and rappers.  Still, the major issue with me today is this..... did German girls ever start shaving their armpits?

  92. J.... W....

    Somehow I just feel lucky: I like REM. Just REM. Not REM from 1990 to 2011, not REM from 1980 to 1983, and not just REM from 1980 to 1998 or even 1998 to 2011, @mnpd3 at least you seldom get to hear, that REM were better after 98 then before, thumbs up for that, although i not quite agree. Unfortunately Radio Free Europe has at least six chords. and if you include the altered chords (sus ect.) you'll get even more. Now how punk is that? I either don't quite know what is wrong with two or three chords songs, I think not the amount of chords make a song good, but if yes, Radio Free Europe should be in top class! ;-) (you have a A, Asus2, D, E, E7M, C#m, E/C#, B)... and what's wrong with the stage performance? That IS Buck. He may not jump around that much today, but they were young, they had fun and they LIVED there music. They did in their last years, too, just in an older way. ;-)
    And for punk and REM: Well, I think REM took punk (and many other elements, just listen to Fables, and yeah, Buck jumped around there, too OMG! HOW DARE HE?) and transformed it into something, that is now known as "Alternative Rock" (REM was not alone, there were a lot of other bands, that had quite an influence, too).So, don't see anything that is wrong about that.... nah, but i don't think it makes sense, you have your opinion, I and many other have ours. 

    J.... W....

    It's punk.  It sucks. If it hadn't changed; we wouldn't be watching this garbage now.

    J.... W....

    It's nothing like punk actually. It's a mixture of different genres and is raw, yes, but better than most rock of its era.

  93. t.... ....

    Or maybe they were in awe thinking we are witnessing history. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. :)

  94. m.... ....

    Musical genius? Had REM stayed in this 3-chord punk phase few people would remember them today. After 30-years I still can't figure if Buck was standing and trying to fall down in this performance, or falling and trying to gain his feet. It'd be better for REM history if acts like this say they were parodies of the Sex Pistols.

  95. u.... ....

    Im british(scottish) and just seeing them then makes me sick

  96. 8.... ....

    Mnpd3...

  97. m.... ....

    Easily one of the worse songs to ever assault my ears... if it even rates being called one. Had R.E.M. stuck with such two-chord punk rants as this, no one this side of a backstreet alley club would have even heard of them. To match the "music", they are even moshing around on stage. Hard to believe that the clone clowns you see here would get their stuff together to become of the greatest three-piece acts of all time.

    m.... ....

    mnpd3 This is the worst song to assault your ears??? Why are u watching and commenting multiple times over years......kinda weird