‘Losing My Religion’ is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in February 1991 as the first single and the second track from the group's seventh album, Out of Time (1991). Built on a mandolin riff, it was written by lead singer Michael Stipe and is about unrequited love. The song was an unlikely hit for the group, garnering extensive airplay on radio as well as on MTV and VH1 due to its critically acclaimed music video, directed by Tarsem Singh. The single became R.E.M.'s highest-charting hit in the United States, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and expanding the group's popularity beyond its original fan-base. At the 1992 Grammy Awards, 'Losing My Religion' won two awards: Best Short Form Music Video and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. In 2017, ''Losing My Religion' was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck wrote the main riff and chorus to the song on a mandolin while watching television one day. Buck had just bought the instrument and was attempting to learn how to play it, recording the music as he practiced. Buck said that "when I listened back to it the next day, there was a bunch of stuff that was really just me learning how to play mandolin, and then there's what became 'Losing My Religion', and then a whole bunch more of me learning to play the mandolin."
Stipe has repeatedly stated that the song's lyrics are not about religion. The phrase "losing my religion" is an expression from the southern region of the United States that means "losing one's temper or civility" or "feeling frustrated and desperate." Stipe told The New York Times the song was about romantic expression. He told Q that 'Losing My Religion' is also about "someone who pines for someone else. It's unrequited love, what have you." Stipe compared the song's theme to 'Every Breath You Take' (1983) by The Police, saying, "It's just a classic obsession pop song. I've always felt the best kinds of songs are the ones where anybody can listen to it, put themselves in it and say, 'Yeah, that's me.'"
'Losing My Religion' became R.E.M.'s biggest hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single stayed on the chart for 21 weeks. It topped both the Billboard Album Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts, for three and eight weeks respectively, also personal bests for the band on both charts. It charted at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, and peaked at No. 16 and No. 11 in Canada and Australia, respectively. It was #1 in the Netherlands, the first time the band had topped a national chart. Mills said years later, "Without 'Losing My Religion', Out of Time would have sold two or three million [copies], instead of the ten [million copies] or so it did. But the phenomenon that is a worldwide hit is an odd thing to behold. Basically that record was a hit in almost every civilized country in the world." The success of "Losing My Religion" and Out of Time broadened R.E.M.'s audience beyond its original college radio fanbase. When asked at the time if he was worried that the song's success might alienate older fans, Buck told Rolling Stone, "The people that changed their minds because of 'Losing My Religion' can just kiss my ass."
Label – Warner Bros.
Songwriters – Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe
Producers – Scott Litt, R.E.M.
SONG LYRICS
[Instrumental Intro][Verse 1]
Oh, life, it's bigger
It's bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no, I've said too much
I set it up
That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight
Losin' my religion
Tryin' to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no, I've said too much
I haven't said enough
[Chorus]
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try
[Verse 2]
Every whisper
Of every waking hour
I'm choosin' my confessions
Tryin' to keep an eye on you
Like a hurt, lost and blinded fool, fool
Oh no, I've said too much
I set it up
[Pre-Chorus]
Consider this
Consider this, the hint of the century
Consider this, the slip
That brought me to my knees, failed
What if all these fantasies come
Flailing around
Now, I've said too much
[Chorus]
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try
[Bridge]
But that was just a dream
That was just dream
[Verse 3]
That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight
Losin' my religion
Tryin' to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no, I've said too much
I haven't said enough
[Chorus]
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try
[Outro]
But that was just a dream
Try, cry, why try?
That was just a dream
Just a dream
Just a dream, dream