Album: Out Of Time (1991)

License This Song 

Songfacts®:

• Written by the band while they were on tour, Michael Stipe explained in the October 1992 issue of Q magazine: "(It's) about a mother and child, especially the strong bond that exists between them. The voice is neither hers nor the child's, however. It's someone else commenting on the sense that the bond between a mother and child is the most powerful love of all... I think it's significant to state that it's not a song about defenestration.
  
  I took great pains to clarify that in the vocal. There's an event that's occurred somewhere far away that has come to the attention of the woman who's the protagonist of the song, and she realizes how significant that thing is to her child and herself, and she goes to the window to take a breath. I think that when I first wrote the song, it did seem like the woman hurled herself and her child out of the window, but that's not what occurs."
• Producer Scott Litt recalled to Mojo: "I kinda stole the hand claps and finger snaps from 'Under Pressure.' And Michael (Stipe) pulled a kind of John Lennon move, like how Lennon would ask for his vocal to sound like he was on the moon? Michael said he wanted to sound completely detached, like in another place. So we rigged up a Sony Walkman that would record directly to tape. So you get that weird compressed sound, and Michael actually recorded it in a garage at Prince's Paisley Park Studio in Minneapolis, which was where we mixed Out of Time."
  
  "Sometimes when a musician says to you they want something to sound like it's from another place, sometimes the best thing to do is record it in another place."

Comments: 7

• Jack C. from Oregon"Belong" is a strangely elusive track. A mother and child theme is usually analogous to all of humanity. Are they being saved or doomed here?
  
  Creatures jumping barricades and heading AWAY from land implies they weren't a threat to people, unless reaching the sea causes them to mutate and get worse. Or does it drown them like lemmings? The song would make more sense in apocalyptic terms (my general impression) if barricades were protecting the mainland FROM sea monsters.
  
  There's endless speculation on this one unless the band ever admits to something concrete.
• Tim B from EnglandThis song has always conjured images of some sort of monster movie story for me, such as films like; A Quiet Place, Bird Box, Walking Dead, Cloverfield, The Last of Us, etc… a woman trapped in a house with her young child while creatures are moving around outside. The image of barricades and the use of the word creatures makes it sound alien somehow.
  
  Probably not about that at all though!
• Lukas from Pennsylvania What's with the creatures jumping the barricade? What the hell is he talking about?
• Broomy from PerthSuch a simple, but yet emotional song, I've listened to it a thousand times and everytime with tears in my eyes. Simple, but brilliant
  
• Cjsf from Space CoastThe lyrics shown for this song are for "We All Go Back To Where We Belong" (from "Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982–2011") not "Belong". The lyrics for this song are:
  
  Her world collapsed early Sunday morning
  She got up from the kitchen table
  Folded the newspaper and silenced the radio
  Those creatures jumped the barricades
  And have headed for the sea, sea
  
  Ooh
  Ooh
  Those creatures jumped the barricades
  And have headed for the sea
  She began to breathe
  To breathe at the thought of such freedom
  Stood and whispered to her child, belong
  She held the child and whispered
  With calm, calm, belong
  
  Ooh
  Ooh
  Ooh
  Ooh
  She stood and whispered to her child, belong
  She held the child and whispered
  With calm, calm, belong
  
  Ooh
  Ooh
  Ooh
  Ooh
  Those barricades can only hold for so long
  Her world collapsed early Sunday morning
  She took the child held tight
  Opened the window
  A breath, this song, how long
  And knew, knew, belong
  Ooh
  Ooh
  Ooh
  Ooh
• Mark from New York, NyFantastic song, fantastic vocals (especially MTV live version.
• Tom from Marietta, OhI love the song and the imagery of it (although I was never quite sure what it all meant), but what amazes me most about this article is that there is a word specifically for the act of throwing something out of a window.

More Songfacts:

Mr. BojanglesThe Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

The Texas songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker wrote "Mr. Bojangles" after a weekend in jail where a fellow inmate told him his life story.

All ApologiesNirvana

When the Christian band DC Talk covered Nirvana's "All Apologies" at concerts, they would change the line "Everyone is gay" to "Jesus is the Way."

Don't Go Back To RockvilleR.E.M.

The R.E.M. song "Don't Go Back To Rockville" is about Mike Mills' girlfriend at the University of Georgia, who had to go back to Rockville, Maryland, for the summer.

Closer To FineIndigo Girls

The "Doctor of philosophy" in the Indigo Girls' song "Closer To Fine" is based on a teacher Emily Saliers had who had a poster of Rasputin on his door.

Fallin'Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys got a huge break when Oprah had her perform her debut single "Fallin'" on her show.

Dirty WorkSteely Dan

"Dirty Work" is one of the few Steely Dan songs not sung by Donald Fagen. The lead vocal is by David Palmer, who sang on two tracks from their debut album.

Editor's Picks

Dan ReedSongwriter Interviews

Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.

Tom Johnston from The Doobie BrothersSongwriter Interviews

The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."

Boz ScaggsSongwriter Interviews

The "Lowdown" and "Lido Shuffle" singer makes a habit of playing with the best in the business.

Rosanne CashSongwriter Interviews

Rosanne talks about the journey that inspired her songs on her album The River & the Thread, including a stop at the Tallahatchie Bridge.

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Jonathan Edwards - "Sunshine"They're Playing My Song

"How much does it cost? I'll buy it?" Another songwriter told Jonathan to change these lyrics. Good thing he ignored this advice.