"Half A World Away" by R.E.M.

1. I loved REM. They were my favorite band throughout the nineties.
2. You can see the past tense above, and its no mistake. After Bill Berry left in 1997, to me REM seems diminished somehow.
3. Bill Berry is not just a drummer. He can play guitar, bass, ukulele, supply backing vocals and sundry stuff besides. And he has eyebrows to rival Liam Gallagher. Bill Berry played bass on this song while Mike Mills go on organ duties.
4. Berry’s also a great songwriter. REM’s best ballads like “Perfect Circle” and “Everybody Hurts” were developed from his initial ideas.
5. My favorite REM ballad has always been “Half a World Away” from their 1991 album “Out of Time”.. “Electrolite” comes a close second and I have a soft spot for “Wendell Gee”, but “Half a World Away” is still untouchable.
6. However, if someone asks me to tell them some good songs from REM, I usually mention “Man on the Moon” and “Everybody Hurts”… you know, the usual suspects. I never mentioned “Half a World Away”. I guess I feel that this song belongs to me and myself only.
7. Why, you may ask? I don’t know. I just love the tune. It’s sad yet hopeful. I love the lyrics (“This could be the saddest dusk ever seen, to turn to a miracle”). I love the instrumentation (mandolins and harpsichords ahoy!)
8. “Half a World Away” cannot be called a unique song. Sonically it resembles “You Are The Everything” and “Hairshirt” from the band’s previous effort “Green”.
9. To me that defines its appeal. There’s something nondescript yet totally unique about it.
10. “Out of Time”’s tracks is arranged in such a way that it seems cyclical. The narrative starts climbing on the first song (‘Radio Song’), peaks on the third track (‘Low’), before ending in a calm, content instrumental (‘Endgame’). Side 2, on the other hand, starts with the protagonist seemingly blissful (‘Shiny Happy People’) and one-by one conflicts come into his life (On ‘Me in Honey’, end of side 2, the guy got his girlfriend pregnant). With the conflict unresolved, you have to turn the tape, start again (‘The world is collapsing….”) and hear side 1 again to get some closure. To me at least, this goes on and on and on until I can recite all the lyrics off the top of my head.
11. But that was when I was a teen. Now I even find it hard to remember my ATM pin number.
12. The video, which is available on the “This Film is On” video comp, features a guy brooding and hitch-hiking.
13. I still hope that REM can rekindle the magic they had in the 80’s and 90’s. I’d love to be thrilled again.
14. I also hope Bill Berry can quit his farming business and go back to make REM the best band in the world once more.