REM - boy in the well, 2004

"The song, like a lot of songs from this album, starts off in a slow and dark sounding way. We get some acoustic guitar playing a bleak progression that starts with two minor chords (Em and a variation of F sharp minor). There’s also some piano and dramatic synth strings. I think the fake strings make this intro sound a little corny and overall it’s a sound from this album we’ve heard a ton of already. Lyrically, this song starts off with this character leaving a situation or a person/people that are dragging them down. Michael sings about this character walking away and how this other person or people are “drowning” while on display. The reason I think it could be “people” is because he sings “every time I've dropped by, I've tried to say ‘the water is rising.” This gives me vibes that this character could be talking about their parents. And maybe they feel like the boy in the well because they feel like getting out this metaphorical well."