Nightswimming deserves a quiet night/
It’s not like years ago.
R.E.M.’s “Nightswimming” is about the carefree days of our youth. Remember those fun days? Not every time was great, but there are certain memories we have that are precious to us that are so vivid in our mind that we can see them play out as if they happened yesterday. Michael Stipe of R.E.M. imagines one such memory he had as a kid—a time he went skinny-dipping at night with his friends: or as he calls it “Nightswimming”.
Thinking about “Nightswimming” brings back feelings of nostalgia for REM and Stipe. It takes him back to that time. Regardless of the struggles he was having at the time, he remembers that time when he and his friends jumped naked into the lake and enjoyed their night together. It is a touching story about lost youth and memory.
The music goes so well with the lyrics, which is why this song is so resonant and beloved. The orchestration is tender, as is Stipe’s voice. We feel that this event was special to him. Although he does not describe the event in much detail, we still picture young kids cannon-balling off a pier naked into a lake in the moonlight. And it is a happy thought. But his days of “Nightswimming” are behind him, as the fear of repercussions he would face as an adult lead him to simply remember the fun times as a young man. The feeling is bittersweet.
Nightswimming Lyrics
Nightswimming deserves a quiet night
The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago
Turned around backwards so the windshield shows
Every streetlight reveals the picture in reverse
Still, it’s so much clearer
I forgot my shirt at the water’s edge
The moon is low tonight
Nightswimming deserves a quiet night
I’m not sure all these people understand
It’s not like years ago
The fear of getting caught
Of recklessness and water
They cannot see me naked
These things, they go away
Replaced by everyday
Nightswimming, remembering that night
September’s coming soon
I’m pining for the moon
And what if there were two
Side by side in orbit
Around the fairest sun?
That bright, tight forever drum
Could not describe nightswimming
You, I thought I knew you
You I cannot judge
You, I thought you knew me
This one laughing quietly underneath my breath
Nightswimming
The photograph reflects, every streetlight a reminder
Nightswimming deserves a quiet night, deserves a quiet night
written by Bill Berry / Peter Buck / Michael Mills / Michael Stipe