World Leader Pretend

This article is about the R.E.M. song. For the band named after the song see World Leader Pretend (band).

"World Leader Pretend" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M. from their sixth album, Green. It is notable for being the first R.E.M. song to feature printed lyrics on the album sleeve. Michael Stipe has described it as the album's "big moment". Stipe deliberately sang the lyrics clearer than he normally does, so the song's message could get across, something he did on a later song, "Everybody Hurts". He performed the vocal in one take. This song is included on the band's Tourfilm DVD and the compilation album iTunes Originals - R.E.M. It is the namesake of the band World Leader Pretend.

Lyrics

The song's lyrics describe a narrator struggling with a conflict within, saying "This is my mistake. Let me make it good." The song uses the metaphor of walls several times, saying "I raised the wall, and I will be the one to knock it down." Michael Stipe said in a 2008 interview with Rolling Stone looking back on Green: "For me the big moment was 'World Leader Pretend'. It's a tribute to Leonard Cohen, using millitary terms to describe a battle within. I was so proud of my lyrics and my vocal take that I refused to sing it a second time. I did it once. That was it." ^[1] The song's lyrics were the first by R.E.M. to be printed on the album's inner sleeve, and is the only song on the album to feature printed lyrics.

References