LIFES RICH PAGEANT: JUST A TOUCH

There is a great story behind this one.  'Just A Touch' is one of the first songs R.E.M. wrote as a band.  It's the story of the day Elvis died.  According to Michael when he was working as a busboy in St. Louis as a teen (17), there was to be an Elvis impersonator performing at the restaurant.  Instead of canceling the show when the death of the king was reported the impersonator, who had not heard the news, showed up anyway and was perplexed that the audience was made up entirely of women dressed in black.  The poster for the show advertised "Is it Elvis? ...or just a touch?"
  This is definitely one of my favorite songs on the album, I'm not sure what got into Stipe's performance from when he performed the song in earlier incarnations, but there is a fervor and intensity that sets it apart from a lot of the work on this album.  The wild, live Stipe really comes out in this song.  Again, Mills vocals are doubled therefore very hard to make out, but if you sing along with what is below, you'll be darn close.   Not sure what "Sun is path" means, perhaps a statement about Sun Records, but he clearly says it in earlier live shows.  In a snippet on YouTube at one point (below) it sounds like "Son is his path."  Love the shout out to Tyrone's in a seemingly garbled stretch and of course the nod to Patti Smith at the end ...



JUST A TOUCH
What in the world?
Women in black
Don’t you remember?
Sun is path

Day in the life
When nobody laughed
Worked in a daze
How long can this last?
(How long)

Kevin heard it on the radio
(Yessir is the way to go)
You informed the word of mouth
(New law the word down south)
Carla read it in the news
(I kept it in my shoes)
Call it off just a touch

You set the pace
What was to come
We’ll have to carry on alone
Now that you’re gone

Day in the life
Nobody laughed
Worked in a daze
How long can this last?

Kevin heard it on the radio
(Yessir is the way to go)
You informed the word of mouth
(New law the word down south)
Carla read, read it in the news
(I kept it in my shoes)
Call it off just a touch

There’s someone in our dream
In our preassembled dream
Lost dream will burn

What in the world?
Women in black
Don’t you remember?
Sun it, Tyrone, path, back

Day in the life
When nobody laughed
Worked in a daze
How long can this last?
(Whatever)

Kevin heard it on the radio
(Yessir is the way to go)
You informed the word of mouth
(New law the way down south)
Carla read it in the news
(Got a picture in my shoe)
Call it off just a touch

Just a touch
Just a touch
Just a touch

I can’t sing
Where to
What’s a papa know ‘bout me
I can’t sing
“I’m so young, I’m so god damn young.”


The guitar here is ridiculously simple, just turn up the electric and rock!

JUST A TOUCH

Intro:

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

B|-2-2-2-3-3---------|

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

D|-2-2-2-2-0---x4----|

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

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

Verse:

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

B|-2---3---2---3---2---3---2---3---|

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

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

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

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

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

B|-2-2-2-3-3---------|

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

D|-2-2-2-2-0---x4----|

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

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

Chorus:

e|-4---5--------3----|

B|-5---5--------3----|

G|-6---6--------4----|

D|-6---7---x3---5----|

A|-4---7--------5----|

E|-4---5--------3----|

Bridge:

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

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

G|-1---2--------0----|

D|-2---0---x3---0----|

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

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

End on A.