I completely forgot about this song until two weeks ago. I was listening to an REM album and this was the first track. It’s not played too much on the radio here so I’m not exactly sure where I originally heard it. Not sure what to think of the band, Michael Stipe has gone a little crazy….
Drive was released as a single in October of 1992 from the band’s eighth album, Automatic for the People. This album also carried their hit tracks “Everybody Hurts” and “Man on the Moon.” The single was their second biggest hit in the UK peaking at #11. It went to #28 on Billboard’s Hot 100, #1 on Modern Rock Tracks, and #2 on Mainstream Rock.
According to Songfacts, Michael Stipe once talked about the song in an interview with Rolling Stone. “There were, before Punk, a few songs that resonated with me. One was David Essex’s “Rock On.” “Drive” is a homage to that. It was the first song I wrote on computer. Before, I had a typewriter. The reason is my handwriting changes dramatically day to day. I don’t trust it. I will write one of the best lyrics ever and discard it because the handwriting looks like s–t. Or the handwriting looks good but it’s a crap lyric, lo and behold, it’s in the song. Too late.”
Above is a live performance. And no, it’s not your eyes, you are seeing orange…
