Album: Reckoning (1984)

License This Song 

• Looking at your watch a third time
  Waiting in the station for the bus
  Going to a place that's far
  So far away and if that's not enough
  Going where nobody says hello
  They don't talk to anybody they don't know
  
  You'll wind up in some factory
  That's full time filth and nowhere left to go
  Walk home to an empty house
  Sit around all by yourself
  I know it might sound strange but I believe
  You'll be coming back before too long
  
  Don't go back to Rockville
  Don't go back to Rockville
  Don't go back to Rockville
  And waste another year
  
  At night I drink myself to sleep and pretend
  I don't care if you're not here with me
  'Cause it's so much easier to handle
  All my problems if I'm too far out to sea
  But something better happen soon
  Or it's gonna be too late to bring you back
  
  Don't go back to Rockville
  Don't go back to Rockville
  Don't go back to Rockville
  And waste another year
  
  It's not as though I really need you
  If you were here I'd only bleed you
  But everybody else in town only wants to bring you down and
  That's not how it ought to be
  I know it might sound strange, but I believe
  You'll be coming back before too long
  
  Don't go back to Rockville
  Don't go back to Rockville
  Don't go back to Rockville
  And waste another year
  
  Don't go back to Rockville
  Don't go back to Rockville
  Don't go back to Rockville
  And waste another year Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 10

• Bigg from Rockville MdNot a factory town at all. Its a mecca for DNA and Gene labs, the county seat and too damn many people that don't know how to drive. It's also expensive (2k+ for a 1 bedroom apt.) and where I have lived on and off all my life. Not a bad place really, "just outside the beltway".
  
  **It's also the home of McRuff, the crime fighting dog.
• Richard from GaIt's really old news that the song is about Mike Mills's girlfriend, Ingrid Schorr, who was from Rockville. At one point, in an interview in the late 1980s, he claimed it was some girl that he dated but didn't even remember her name. That wasn't true. He was trying to maintain her privacy. When Mills learned the info was going to come out in a book, he let Ingrid know. Not that it was much of a secret even then. I went to school in NC, on the tour route for all the old Southern alt bands of the day, and REM lore was freely traded among the college radio aficionados. Google the article on Hilobrow.
• Cody from Madera, CaMichael Stipe sings lead on the song, but in more recent live performances Mike Mills sang lead instead (one instance is on the R.E.M. Live album).
• Jeff from Mt. Pleasant, ScThe lyrics suggest that it could be about a bump in a relationship between two band members, one of which has left for a spell. "At night I drink myself to sleep and pretend I don't care that your'e not here with me." -- "Something better happen soon or it's going to be to late to bring you back." rejoin the band? There are no factories in Rockville MD.
• Claude from Kingston, MaMike Mills does not sing the lead in this song. He sings the harmony on the chorus and that's it. Stipe sings lead. It's very obvious.
• Chris from Newcastle Upon Tyne, United KingdomI don't think the speaker actually loved her, he only wanted her because he couldn't have her, as she was leaving.
  'It's not as if I really need you'
  'If you were here I'd only leave you'
  It's also about sticking to education, as it's what's best, ie ending up in some factory, 'stay another year' is also interesting, it's one year, it may seem a long time, but the benefits will be huge.
• Doctor from Birmingham, United KingdomOne of my favourite songs of all time...
  
  MIKE MILLS is my idol! he's a legend!
• John from Poprt Washington, WiMichael Stipe is in fact, bi..As if that has anything to do with anything.
• Lisa from Herzegova, BosniaMichael Stipe is gay! So I don't think it was him..but I believe it was another band member who was going out with her.. They're not too keen on this song. It's one of my favourites though!
  
  
• Mark from Lincoln, EnglandAnd Mike had a crush on her and was tempted to throw it all away chasing her and forgoe his chances with the band .....the ' dont go back to rockville' and ' you will wind up in some factory' are references to how close and infactuated he was to this woman

More Songfacts:

Take It EasyEagles

The Eagles' first single, "Take It Easy," was written by Jackson Browne, who was living in the apartment below Glenn Frey when he wrote it.

Mary, Did You Know?Pentatonix

The lyrics for "Mary, Did You Know?" were written by Christian singer and comedian Mark Lowry, after his pastor asked him to write a Christmas musical for their church. Southern gospel musician Buddy Greene later added music to his words.

LevonElton John

Elton John's classic "Levon" runs 5:22, and Elton wouldn't let his record company edit it down for the single. His next single was "Tiny Dancer," which is even longer, running 6:12.

Cleveland RocksIan Hunter

"Cleveland Rocks" was written by an Englishman. Ian Hunter wrote the song after touring America in the late '70s and finding that Cleveland was by far the most receptive city to his brand of Glam Rock.

TrueSpandau Ballet

"True" by Spandau Ballet has some lyrics based on parts of the Vladimir Nabokov novel Lolita, including "Take your seaside arms," which in the book is "That little girl with her seaside limbs."

Paper PlanesM.I.A.

"Paper Planes" was inspired by M.I.A.'s hassles trying to get a visa to enter America.

Editor's Picks

Gary NumanSongwriter Interviews

An Electronic music pioneer with Asperger's Syndrome. This could be interesting.

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)Songwriter Interviews

Steve Cropper on the making of "In the Midnight Hour," the chicken-wire scene in The Blues Brothers, and his 2021 album, Fire It Up.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys - "Fisherman's Blues"They're Playing My Song

Armed with a childhood spent devouring books, Mike Scott's heart was stolen by the punk rock scene of 1977. Not surprisingly, he would go on to become the most literate of rockers.

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)Songwriter Interviews

Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.

Janis IanSongwriter Interviews

One of the first successful female singer-songwriters, Janis had her first hit in 1967 at age 15.

Women Who RockSong Writing

Evelyn McDonnell, editor of the book Women Who Rock, on why the Supremes are just as important as Bob Dylan.