Lotus

"Lotus" is a song by R.E.M., released as the second single from their eleventh studio album Up. The song's recurring line "I ate the lotus" appeared in an alternate form ("I'll eat the lotus...") in a previous R.E.M. song, "Be Mine". The line "dot dot dot and I feel fine" is a reference to R.E.M.'s 1987 hit "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)". The song is somewhat minimalist, with Michael Stipe singing surreal lyrics in a robotic manner. The song is based around a four-note keyboard part, with a distorted guitar riff at the beginning and after the second chorus. The single's video, directed by Stéphane Sednaoui, was included as a bonus video on the DVD release of In View - The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003. "I wanted to work with Stephane for a long time," Stipe explained to MTV UK during An Hour with R.E.M. in 2001 after selecting the video for airplay. "Since I saw the video that he did with Björk for, what was that called, "Big Time Sexuality" or something? Where she looks exactly like Shirley MacLaine, 1959-1961. The Apartment, I think, was the name of the film. Shirley McLaine and Björk as Shirley MacLaine on the back of a pick-up truck driving down 5th Avenue in New York City, probably. But I thought this guy exudes sex, he's like sex on a stick, and I wanted to work with him for that reason. He somehow transmogrified that very thing through me. I look very, very foxy in this video, which is why I chose it; it shows off my incredible stomach muscles." For live performances of the song, Peter Buck alternates between electric guitar (chorus) and keyboard (verse). "[Playing keyboard] always excites me," Buck explained in a soundbite during MTV Uplink, a recording of the band's performance at New York's Bowery Ballroom in October 1998, "even though it's only with one finger." "But it's a big finger," joked Mills. "It's great."

[Intro] Hey, hey! Hey, hey! [Verse 1] I was hell, sarcastic silver swell That day it rained Tough spun, hard won, no Ocean flower aquarium Badlands, give a hand Honey dip, flim flam Hey hey, hey hey That cat can walk like a big bad man [Chorus] So happy to show us Oh, I ate the lotus Say, haven't you noticed? Oh, I ate the lotus [Verse 2] Storefront window, I reflect Just last week I was merely heck Tip the scale, I was hell It picked me up, then I fell Who's this stranger? Crowbar spine Dot, dot, dot, and I feel fine Let it rain, rain, rain Bring my happy back again [Chorus] So happy to show us Oh, I ate the lotus Say, haven't you noticed? Oh, I ate the lotus Oh, I ate the lotus [Verse 3] Let it rain, rain, rain Save me from myself again Wash away my ugly sins Opposing thumb, dorsal fin That monkey died for my grin Bring my happy back again Let it rain, rain, rain Bring my happy back again [Chorus] So happy to show us Oh, I ate the lotus Say haven't you noticed? Oh, I ate the lotus Oh, I ate the lotus Oh, I ate the lotus Oh, I ate the lotus