EPONYMOUS: ROMANCE

This is my last IRS posting.  Definitely the end of an era as the record company put out Eponymous as an attempt to reap some dough out of R.E.M.'s greatest hits.  It didn't save the company, but it does provide a concise retrospective of the band's work and includes some cool alternative versions of 'Radio Free Europe', 'Gardening At Night', 'Finest Worksong', and of course this song, the never before released 'Romance.'
  The song is perfect for a compilation like this because it clearly stands on its own.  It wouldn't seem to fit the feel of any of R.E.M.'s previous albums, even though it was one of the first songs they wrote as a band.  The track itself is also a little flat.  There's something about it that feels a little off ... maybe it's overproduced, maybe it's too repetitive and long.  However, in learning how to play the song, I have grown fond of it. 
  Lyrically, there is the standard Stipe imagery of childhood memories.  There are also some unintelligible lyrics which I have assigned words to.  'Oscinine' is a phrase pertaining to the songbird class 'Oscines.'  It seemed appropriate and sounds like what he is saying, however I hold to the theory that he might not be saying anything here.
  Below, check out the live version in Dublin where he is reading the lyrics off of a page from the internet.  He is clearly laughing at the absurdity of the translation.



ROMANCE
Nations hall
Pair parallel
Neighbors call
All in all in all in all in all

That's worth saving up for
Put our heads down on the desk
Oscinine it waits for rest
Easy come, easy go

Easy come
Easy go
Easy come
Easy go

Steel skin seal
Pair parallel
Neigh neighbors call
All in all in all in all in all

That's worth saving up for
Put our heads down on the desk
Oscinine it waits for rest
Easy come, easy go

Easy come
Easy go
Easy come
Easy go

Mass is yours
And call the shot
Keep it in a parking lot
With one romance
One romance

Easy come
Easy go
Easy come
Easy go

Neighbors call
Pair parallel
Late night nations fall
All in all in all in all in all

That's worth saving up for
Put our heads down on the desk
Oscinine it waits for rest
Easy come, easy go

Easy come
Easy go
Easy come
Easy go


  As I said above, this song is really fun to play.  It's another example of the power of YouTube as I just watched the above video and stole Peter Buck's hand movements ...

ROMANCE

Intro/Riff/Chorus

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A|----------------------|

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Verse

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Bridge to Chorus

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Middle Bridge

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Middle Bridge (2^nd Half/ Mirror to first)

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End

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