REVEAL: I'VE BEEN HIGH

   There's an interview somewhere where Michael talks about this song as a reminder in times of distress that there are peaks and valleys throughout our lives to contemplate, he also mentions there might be an element of the 'real me' in the song. Mike loves how this song asks Michael to become a singer and push his vocalizations to the level of crooner. What I like about the song is the simplicity, another solid second track on an album to move us into the body of the work. I also find this to be very typical of the late 'adult contemporary' R.E.M. in which the songs of a whole are anthemic, meant for everyone to find some seed of truth in. Michael has always written in the abstract, but the phrases and sounds have turned into axioms and aphorisms without a lot of exposition or context. Sort of like conversations you join but can never discern the origin. I think with this album I'll be trying to post live video alternatives to the songs where I can find them.



Another cool live version:



I'VE BEEN HIGH

Have you seen?
Have not, will travel
Have I missed the big reveal?

Do my eyes
Do my eyes seem empty?
I've forgotten how this feels

I've been high
I've climbed so high
But life sometimes it
Washes over me

Have you been?
Have done, will travel
I fell down on my knees

Was I wrong?
I don't know, don't answer
I just needed to believe

I've been high
I've climbed so high
But life sometimes it
Washes over me

So I dive into a pool so cool and deep that if I sink I sink
And when I swim I fly so high

What I want
What I really want is
Just to live my life on high

And I know
I know you want the same
I can see it in your eyes

I've been high
I've climbed so high
But life sometimes it
Washes over me
Washes over me
Close my eyes so I can see
Make my make-believe believe in me

   When recording this song, Peter says they stripped the acoustic guitar off completely. Luckily we have a live version to show us what that might have sounded like. At the end, the chord progression is double time the first part of the verse. On the album, there's also some picking during the final chorus, it's basically the chords with an added finger on the 3rd fret of the B string.

I'VE BEEN HIGH

Verse

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

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

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

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

A|-3---0---0---2-|-3---0---2-|

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

Chorus

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

B|-2---2--------1---3-|

G|-3---2--------2---0-|

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

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

E|-0---0---x3---0---3-|

  

Chorus

Notes

e|-------------------------|

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

G|-------------------------|

D|-------------3---5-------|

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

E|-------------------------|

  

Middle 8

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

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

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

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

A|-0---0---3---2-|-0---0-------2-|

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

End with a double timed verse progression and then C-F-C