Album: Green (1988)

Charted: 28

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• (Follow me, don't follow me)
  I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush
  (Collar me, don't collar me)
  I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush
  (We are agents of the free)
  I've had my fun and now it's time
  To serve your conscience overseas (over me, not over me)
  Coming in fast, over me
  
  (Follow me, don't follow me)
  I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush
  (Collar me, don't collar me)
  I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush
  (We are agents of the free)
  I've had my fun and now it's time
  To serve your conscience overseas (over me, not over me)
  Coming in fast, over me
  
  (Follow me, don't follow me)
  I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush
  (Collar me, don't collar me)
  I've got my spine, I've got my orange crush
  (We are agents of the free)
  I've had my fun and now it's time
  To serve your conscience overseas (over me, not over me)
  Coming in fast, over me Writer/s: John Michael Stipe, Michael E. Mills, Peter Lawrence Buck, William Thomas Berry
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 29

• George Pope from BcIs "The Editors" a former band of Stipes? Because he's given credit on their song "Orange Crush" much older than REM's existence. . .The Editors is an English band with multiple platinum albums to their credit. They did this song, too.
• George Pope from BcA group called The Editors did a song called "Orange Crush" earlier than REM; The Editor song was more a bubble-gum rock dance ditty without any discernible deeper meaning.
• B from Oregon (or)I found this online:
  
  "We would circle and we'd circle and we'd circle
  To stop and consider and centered on the pavement
  Stacked up all the trucks jacked up and our wheels
  In slush and orange crush in pocket and all
  This here county, hell, any county, it's just like heaven here
  And I was remembering and I was just in a different county and all
  Then this whirlybird that I headed for I had my goggles pulled off;
  I knew it all, I knew every back road and every truck stop"
• Chris Bilings from Houston TxI didn’t realize this was a debate . Being Michael Stipe, I “knew” it was anti-war, but comforted a bit by this articles represention of “facts” about its meaning. I’d love to believe it was about a soldier in a s--t conflict. My father (disabled Vet) to this day suffers from a myriad of medical issues that started 1967. He made his life, his world as he could. 4 times inexplicably near death, docs blamed and removed one organ after another. His own immune system trying to kill him. He receives meds available NOWHERE other than the VA.(weird, right?). He never even looked for help until 2016, when he couldn’t afford healthcare and a buddy from “back then” reached out and convinced him “they know!” (Bush Jr act)
  Sorry, that was long, me and Pop aint can close right now, but I’m still proud. Leave it be
• Stephan from DarmstadtInfo about birth defects linked to Agent Orange - Spina bifida is a spinal cord birth defect. A baby develops spina bifida while still in the womb. In some cases, a parent’s past contact with specific chemicals causes this birth defect. If you served in Vietnam or Thailand, or in or near the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)—and your child has spina bifida or certain other birth defects—your child may be able to get disability benefits. Find out if your child qualifies for benefits.
  
  So, I got my spine I got my orange crush might describe a lucky child who has not developed a spinal cord birth defect. See the child in the official video of "Orange Crush".
• Stephan from DarmstadtProbably here you got your spine... https://bit.ly/3xgx4LD
• Tray from United StatesEven as a child of 12 yrs old in the early to mid 90s I realized this song was about the war. "Serve" "over seas" "agents of the free" kinda gives it away. Art be it visual or otherwise is subjective to the viewer listener user etc.
• Christopher from HomeIt's clearly about Michael Stipe in a Chinese restaurant and his friend got his order and is looking for a table and Michel is behind him. Michael is hopped up on saki and hears his buddy wrong who says "follow me,follow me I've got my rice I've got my orange duck". Duh
• Trevor from TexasFirstly. Unless you are on Dysoxin (very rare) you aren't on Rx Meth-amphetamine. Amphetamine Salts is more like it, AKA, Adderall. Secondly, it is not only useful after you have been up all day. Sure, it can serve as a sort of peppy, super coffee...but, it heightens your reflexes and sensory perception and responses. But, only when you use it after full nights sleep and a good breakfast. If you only took it when you had been up for 2 days, you increase your chances of coupling sporadic bouts of drowsiness with alertness and may find yourself experiencing a visual lack of dependability.
  On, topic:
  OP Epp is spot on. Stipe has stated that, while there is no direct meaning, the song uses themes of confusion, chaos and an embattled stalemate to illustrate the often mind-numbing experiences of the Vietnam War
  That being said...Artist intent is only a part of a song's meaning. When songs are broken down and interpreted, much like all art, different people may find meaning that the artist wasn't intentionally portraying. Nevertheless, something compelled the response, and therefore, an artist is not the sole interpreter of art's meaning.
• Jacob from Brodhead, WiMethamphetamines ARE NOT TO BE abused And I take that in Huge offense Name (anonymously withdrawn from this subject) I am on Prescribed meds use them as directed and you should too. A word of advise the severe legality that comes with taking someone's pilling for another one's personal gain can have HUGE consequences like 10-20 years in jail depending on state, federal, and local jurisdiction.
• Jim from Enid, OkThe "orange" used back in the sixties and seventies as a "street" term for L.S.D. was "Orange Sunshine". And if you were in some rice paddy in Viet Nam and tracer rounds were zipping by and you were on l.s.d., the last thing you would want to do is fight. If you were on a strong dose you may become delusional and think you were somewhere else and get shot.If you were on a small dose you'd be full of fear and you'd hunker down until you were shot or overrun. Amphetamine is useful only after no sleep for two days as the adrenaline created by whizzing bullets and people screaming and dying would keep you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the first 24 hours, let me tell you!
• Tim from Houston, TxI seem to remember some reference to the situation of Admiral Elmo Zumwalt and his son when this song came out. The elder Zumwalt ordered the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam in areas were his son was serving and probably caused the cancers that eventually killed the son, and also caused birth defects in his grandson. The younger Zumwalt died in 1988 and this would have been in the news when the song was being written. There were books, and I think a TV movie
• Hailey from Charlottetown, Peit was the basist who said, "ive played this song over 300 times and still don't know what the f--k it is about" not stipe, from what people said the heroin reference seems pretty strong, but stipe said the song was about an american football player going to war..so its probably about war, i think he won't tell us specifically what orange crush is because its making us think about the meaning and analyze it..and if thats what he wanted to do or not.. he did a good job. also for the people thinking its herion, "spine" was a nickname given by the troops for the combination of drugs LSD and emphetimine used to test on soldiers to increase their preformance on the battlefield, so make your own conclusions...i did a project in analyzing the lyrics and thats just a little info on one line, i tryed looking at it from all sides but it usually always goes back to war...and if it wasn't intended to be, it is an anti-war song regardless because nine out of ten people believe very strongly it is about agent orange....meaning or not its still a pretty good song.
• Marshall from Cary, NcReferring to what Samantha said, my interpretation of the song was it being about acid. As when he says I got my spine, where I personally felt a strong connection to while I was experiencing acid, and my Orange crush which was a popular strand of acid in the 60's i think.
• Helltourist from Myspace.com/helltourist, American SamoaHAHA! Of course it's about Orange crush the drink!
  It's the best!
• Cory from Buffalo, NyAgent Orange is a chemical defoliant (a chemical used to kill plants) used to destroy plant-based ground cover. It's also extremely toxic (many soldiers who were exposed to Agent Orange later developed cancer). Just to clear up any remaining unanswered questions.
• Samantha from Gladstone, Australiaok, so a friend of mine swears this song is about heroin. "i got my spine" meaning needle and "i got my orange crush" meaning heroin. however, if you have the album in the book he says" i must of preformed this song a thousand times and i still dont know what its about"
• Austin from Smallsville,new England, --This song was featured on the video game Rock Band.
• Max from Newburyport, MaJack from Beaverton, OR. It is obvious that this song is about the Vietnam War, so even if you had met Stipes why would he say this is about suicide?
• Jack from Beaverton, OrThis song is about the lead singers struggles with suicide; he told me.
• Jay from Charleston, ScREM (stipe) states having no idea what the song was about...that it just came out and they recorded it.
  There is no mention of Agent Orange / Vietnam.
• Jason from Boston, Mai thought this was about orange crush
  a cool type of weed
• Mike from Philadelphia, PaOne of Mills greatest bass lines. A few songs have a driving beat, but none that are as out in front and in your face as this one.
• Matthew from Milford, MaR. E. M. recently created a new political song, Final Straw. By the way, Is Agent Orange some sort of plant killer?
• Nick from Arlington Heights, IlDefoilation means to kill all vegetation in an area...the US military used Agent Orange in the Vietnam war to eliminate the jungles that Viet Cong were hiding in
• Matthew from Milford, MaUh, what exactly is "defoilation"?
• Matthew from Milford, MaMy brother Michael actually thought that this song was about Orange Crush! Ha ha ha! Wait until I tell him about this!!!!!
• Peter from Fort Worth, TxOn a show stipe claims that people misunderstand what it's about and it has nothing to do with his dad.
  
• Epp from Pittsburgh, PaThe song is a look back at the pointlessness of Vietnam and how Agent Orange killed so many of the innocent. It's 1 of several REM political hits, along w/ Stand, End Of The World, and Bad Day.

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