Find the River

“Find the River”
Single by R.E.M. from the album Automatic for the People
Released	October 21, 1993 (1993-10-21) (UK)
Format	CD single, 7" single
Recorded	1992
Genre	Rock
Length	3:49
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Scott Litt & R.E.M.
R.E.M. singles chronology
"Nightswimming" (1993) "Find the River" (1993) "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" (1994)

"Find the River" is a song by R.E.M., released as the sixth and final single from their eighth album Automatic for the People. It was the twelfth and final track on this critically acclaimed release. The song failed to chart on the Hot 100 and struggled on the UK Singles Charts, reaching only #54. It was the first R.E.M. song to fail to reach the top 40 on either chart since "Get Up" in 1989.

Regarding the song's backing vocals, Mike Mills explained to Melody Maker: "'Harborcoat' from 'Reckoning' has got me and Michael and Bill all doing completely unrelated things, and yet it works together. Because of the production we insisted on from Mitch and Don, which I know must have been incredibly frustrating for them, it's hard to pick out exactly what's going on. We tried it again on "Find The River." I had the idea that Bill and I would go in and do some harmonies without listening to each other. It's great because mine is this incredibly angst-ridden emotional thing, and Bill's is this really low-key sort of ambling part. They're two opposite ends of the spectrum but they're both on there, and it's a beautiful thing."^[1]

In An Hour with R.E.M., which aired on MTV UK prior to the band's televised performance at Cologne Cathedral in 2001, Mills introduced the video and explained that he selected it "because... I've never seen it, and I have absolutely no idea what's on it."

The video was shot in Malibu, California, directed by Jodi Wilde and features Southern artist Henry Hill.

In the Warner Brothers promotional film for Automatic for the People, the band is seen performing the song live in their Clayton Street rehearsal room.

Track listing

All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe.

1. "Find the River" – 3:49
2. "Everybody Hurts" (live)¹ – 5:32
3. "Orange Crush" (instrumental) – 3:54

Notes

¹ Recorded at MTV Video Music Awards, Universal City, California; September 2, 1992. The British 7" single omits the third track

Charts

References

External links

• Video clip at REMhq