Electrolite by R.E.M. Lyrics Meaning – Decrypting the Twilight of the 20th Century
Lyrics
I’m gasoline
I’m burnin’ clean
Twentieth century, go to sleep
You’re Pleistocene
That is obscene
That is obscene
You are the star tonight
Your sun electric, outta sight
Your light eclipsed the moon tonight
Electrolite
You’re outta sight
If I ever want to fly
Mulholland Drive
I am alive
Hollywood is under me
I’m Martin Sheen
I’m Steve McQueen
I’m Jimmy Dean
You are the star tonight
Your sun electric, outta sight
Your light eclipsed the moon tonight
Electrolite
You’re outta sight
If you ever want to fly
Mulholland Drive
Up in the sky
Stand on a cliff and look down there
Don’t be scared, you are alive
You are alive
You are the star tonight
Your sun electric, outta sight
Your light eclipsed the moon tonight
Electrolite
You’re outta sight
Twentieth century, go to sleep
Really deep
We won’t blink
Your eyes are burning holes through me
I’m not scared
I’m outta here
I’m not scared
I’m outta here
In the expansive lexicon of R.E.M.’s enigmatic songcraft, ‘Electrolite’ holds a special place as a glittering farewell to an era. Off their tenth album, ‘New Adventures in Hi-Fi’, the track unfolds as a dreamlike panorama, reminiscent of the twilight hours where reflections and goodbyes intermingle.
Draped in the vintage R.E.M. sound – with Michael Stipe’s pensive lead vocals, Peter Buck’s jangly guitar, Mike Mills’ melodic basslines, and Bill Berry’s disciplined drumming – ‘Electrolite’ transcends as a love letter to Los Angeles, fame, and the closing of the twentieth century. Beyond its serenade lies a layered odyssey through time, stardom, and human connections.
A Celestial Homage to the City of Angels
The song’s chorus, ‘You are the star tonight, your sun electric, outta sight,’ can be seen as the personification of Los Angeles – a city where stars are born, and where dreams radiate with the ferocity of an uncontrollable blaze. To discern the lyrical depths of ‘Electrolite’ is to wander through LA’s veins, feeling the city’s pulse and the inexorable energy of its electric spirit.
Stipe channels the luminescence of the city’s allure, even as he suggests the fleeting nature of fame and the passage of time. Hollywood becomes metaphorical – representing both the pinnacle of success (with references to venerable screen icons like Martin Sheen, Steve McQueen, and Jimmy Dean) and the impermanence that shadows even the brightest lights.
Decoding Nostalgia’s Elegy – The Song’s Hidden Meaning
‘If I ever want to fly, Mulholland Drive, I am alive,’ sings Stipe. Here, he conjures the boulevard’s reputation as a vista for dreamers and seekers – a place where reality intersects with the imagined. There is an underlying acknowledgment of the end of an era, a veiled sorrow for the ‘Twentieth century’ that the narrator urges to ‘go to sleep.’
The repeated refrain ‘That is obscene’ – perhaps the most cryptic line – raises the specter of an era abundant in excesses and hubris. ‘Electrolite’ might thus be a contemplative rejection of these excesses, or a poignant commentary on the capstones of a period that remade the world in both wonderful and horrific ways.
The Spiritual Flight Beyond Fame’s Fleeting Flames
With the lyrical incantation to stand on a cliff and look down without fear, Stipe seems to transmit the liberation inherent in accepting the transient nature of existence. Fame, like the electric glow of LA, is intense but ephemeral – a momentary flash that cannot rival the enduring velocity of life itself.
The song then is a paean to life, beckoning the listener to transcend the shimmer of superficial success and to embrace the thrill of simply being ‘alive.’ This wakefulness vis-à-vis one’s mortality offers a comforting and redemptive thread throughout the song’s reflective texture.
Unraveling The Elegiac Tapestry of Memorable Lines
‘Twentieth century, go to sleep. Really deep. We won’t blink,’ echoes like a lullaby for an epoch. In these lines, there is a significant weight of meaning, almost as if Stipe is urging an entire age to rest peacefully, with the assuredness that its inheritors will march on with open eyes and hearts.
The inclination towards historical closure and the readiness for the new millennium is palpable, weaving a narrative that is both contemplative and courageously forward-looking. Consistent mentions of celestial imagery pepper this song and bring weight to the words – ‘star’, ‘sun’, ‘moon’, ‘electric’ – as symbols of endurance, power, and natural change.
A Musical Journey Through Nostalgia to Revelation
The musical arrangement of ‘Electrolite’ complements its lyrical journey – the gentle piano intro setting the reminiscing mood, the steady drumbeat like the ticking of time, and the melody building up to a climax as if to mimic the rising sun of the coming era.
By the song’s end, when Stipe proclaims ‘I’m not scared, I’m outta here,’ it is as much a defiant stand as it is an invitation to join him in shrugging off the dusty coat of yesteryears and stepping into the new dawn unafraid. ‘Electrolite’ isn’t just a song, but a passage – a medium to transport the listener across the threshold of change with grace and awareness.
