My Gen X Playlist: Belong – REM

I used to go to church once in awhile growing up. It was sporadic and not on a regular basis. I also once went to a church retreat as a teenager. I admit, it was more social than spiritual, but by the end of the week, I was moved by the experience.

After college, I found a church that I occasionally attended. The messages were relatable, but I mostly enjoyed the worship singing. It was uplifting and I really liked the accompanying electric and acoustic guitars. It gave it a more modern feel – less churchy (if that is even a word). I guess I’ve had off and on feelings of wanting a connection, but nothing quite stuck.

When I find myself under very extreme stress or I’m inside my head too much, I sometimes reach back and pull out a few hymns from my teenage years. I tend to blend two partial songs together only because that’s how I was introduced to them. These songs were sung as a mash up before mash ups were ever a thing. I sing them either softly under my breath or silently inside my head. Often times, this calms me. Even though there seems to be a spiritual distance, some things like this tend to stay with me. Here are the two partial songs.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace

I love you, Lord
And I lift my voice
To worship You
Oh, my soul, rejoice
Take joy my King
In what You hear
Let it be a sweet, sweet sound
In Your ear

As you may have guessed, music is a good outlet for me. I love that music comes in all shapes and sizes. Belong is an interesting track on REM’s Out of Time album and consists of Michael Stipe’s spoken word followed by a harmony of voices. This is another song I find calming whenever I hear it. Unlike the hymns, I don’t actively search for this song. But when I hear it, certain words step out to the forefront and are all that I hear. Breathe. Calm. Belong. I never knew the meaning of the song until now.

“(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…

– SongFacts

. . . the most experimental and most gorgeous song on an album that was utterly suffused with both weirdness and beauty . . .

And those spoken verses alternate with a wordless chorus where Michael Stipe, Mike Mills and Bill Berry all sing “oooooooooooooooooh” in and around each other in varying degrees of unison and harmony while Peter Buck jangles the fuck out of his guitar and Mike Mills provides a big bass hook turnaround every few measures, kickstarting it all again.

– MediaLoper

The comforting effects make sense. Mother and child’s interwoven harmonies and echoing words. Breathe. Calm. Belong.

–

For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

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

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

Stood and whispered to her child, belong
She held the child and whispered
With calm, calm; belong

These 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