MURMUR: WEST OF THE FIELDS

So we come to the end of Murmur.  I have to tell you that it has been extremely eye opening for me.  I know that not everything is perfect, but it's a more complete account of the album than you can find anywhere else.  This is one of the songs that inspired me in the first place.  On their Live Dublin album and, well you can also find it on YouTube, Michael is clearly reading the words straight from the internet.  Why does he do this?  To prove a point maybe?  Although he says ... "The lyrics are what they are.  I wrote them.  I don't know what they are."  Perhaps there is a ring of truth in that.  But if you don't have the lyrics, why don't you call Mitch Easter for the masters and transcribe the lyrics, or better yet have someone do it for you.  In the live version he reads out what you can now find online for the bridge: "The animals, how strange. Try to stick it in."  So, my lyrics are decidedly different, but in fairness in listening to the song I can see how one might hear about animals ...
  That snippet inspired me to research all of R.E.M.'s obsequious songs in both lyrics and guitar, for both parts are a little far from the norm.  They bear close scrutiny and at the same time welcome it.  The lyric reading in Dublin was most likely just a wink at the world to say, "See? 30 years later and you still don't get it ..."  However, due to other performances of the song, I'm pretty sure that Stipe has no transcripts either.  And now a lovely song about death ...

WEST OF THE FIELDS
Long gone intuition
To assume are gone
When we try
Dream of living jungle
In my way back home
When we die

We-hest
(West of the fields)
We-hest
(West of the fields)
We-hest
(West of the fields)
We-hest
(West of the fields)
Long … Gone
(Long … Gone)
Long … Gone
(Long … Gone)
Long … Gone
(Long … Gone)
Long … Gone
(Long … Gone)
West of the fields

Dreams of Elysian
To assume are gone
When we try
Till now, what is dreaming?
When we try to listen with your eyes
Oversimplify

We-hest
(West of the fields)
We-hest
(West of the fields)
We-hest
(West of the fields)
We-hest
(West of the fields)
Long … Gone
(Long … Gone)
Long … Gone
(Long … Gone)
Long … Gone
(Long … Gone)
Long … Gone
(Long … Gone)
West of the fields

The added walls have strained
Try drugs to get sane
The cabinet walls have strained
Try drugs to get in

Dreams of Elysian
To assume are gone
When we try
Till now what is dreaming?
When we try to listen to your eyes
When we drop

We-hest
(West of the fields)
We-hest
(West of the fields)
We-hest
(West of the fields)
We-hest
(West of the fields)
Long … Gone
(Long … Gone)
Long … Gone
(Long … Gone)
Long … Gone
(Long … Gone)
Long … Gone
(Long … Gone)
West of the fields
We-hest
(West of the fields)
We-hest
(West of the fields)
We-hest
(West of the fields)
We-hest
(West of the fields)
Long … Gone
(Long … Gone)
Long … Gone
(Long … Gone)
Long … Gone
(Long … Gone)
Long … Gone
(Long … Gone)
West of the fields

Another deceptively simple guitar part.  The intro is a simple matter of moving the bar on the F to get an open B.  This is that rare track that has no riff or Buck picking. 

WEST OF THE FIELDS

Intro:

e|-1-1-1-1---|

B|-1-0-1-0---|

G|-2-2-2-2---|

D|-3-3-3-3---|

A|-3-3-3-3---|

E|-1-0-1-0---|

Verse:

e|-7-5>6<5-0-0--3-1-1-1-1-|

B|-8-7-------1--3-1-0-1-0-|

G|-9-7-------2--0-2-2-2-2-|

D|-9-7-------3--0-3-3-3-3-|

A|-7-5-------0--2-3-3-3-3-|

E|-7-5-------0--3-1-0-1-0-|

Chorus:

e|-0-3------0-------------------------|

B|-0-3------1-------------------------|

G|-0-0—x8---2-------------------------|

D|-2-0------2-------------------------|

A|-2-2------0-------------------------|

E|-0-3------0-------------------------|

Bridge : x4

“The outer walls … “

e|-0-1-1-3---|

B|-0-1-3-3---|

G|-0-2-2-0---|

D|-2-3-0-0---|

A|-2-3---2---|

E|-0-1---3---|

Second Guitar on Last Verse:

e|-3-3-3-5-2-2-3-2-0------|

B|------------------1-1---|

End on Em

On to Reckoning ...
-BW