I’ve found a way/
A way to make you smile.

In R.E.M.s “At My Most Beautiful” Stipe talks about how he is happy he has found ways to make his lover smile. Just doing simple things, like reading bad poetry into her answering machine makes her smile; so that makes him happy. He notices things about her. He sees her. Like how she always says her name when leaving a message—like he couldn’t have guessed by her voice.

He also notices the things she likes that he does: like when he whispers “I love you” while she is sleeping. These small things that they do for each other that they each enjoy is them at their most beautiful…or the best version of themselves. This is the best kind of love.

These small, specific details make the song special and unique to a particular relationship. However, finding joy in treating your lover well is a universal theme. Taking the particular and making it universal is a way to make great art.

The melody of “At My Most Beautiful” is great, and we get to hear the band harmonize and they do it well. We hear an instrument combination that is hit or miss—the piano and organ combo. The key when combining the two is to go light on the organ or alternate them. REM is successful in this sense. The piano part is especially fun, and the playfulness of the piano part matches the theme of the song.

Other great R.E.M songs.

At My Most Beautiful Lyrics

I’ve found a way…to make you,
I’ve found a way,
A way…to make you smile.

I read bad poetry
Into your machine.
I save your messages
Just to hear your voice.
You always listen carefully
To awkward rhymes.
You always say your name,
Like I wouldn’t know it’s you.
At your most beautiful.
I’ve found a way to make you,
I’ve found a way…
A way to make you smile.
At my most beautiful.

I count your eyelashes, secretly.
With every one, whisper, “I love you”.
I let you sleep.
I know your closed eye watching me
Listening,
I thought I saw a smile.
I’ve found a way to make you,
I’ve found a way,
A way to make you smile.

Written by R.E.M. (Michael Stipe, Michael Mills, Peter Buck)