"The One I Love"
Single by R.E.M.
from the album Document
B-side"Maps and Legends" (Live)
ReleasedAugust 24, 1987[1]
RecordedApril 1987
Genre
Length3:17
LabelI.R.S.
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
R.E.M. singles chronology
"Superman"
(1986)		 "The One I Love"
(1987)		 "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"
(1987)
Music video
"The One I Love" on YouTube

"The One I Love" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was released on the band's fifth full-length studio album, Document, and also as a 7" vinyl single in 1987. The song was their first hit single, reaching No. 9 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 14 in Canada, and later reached No. 16 on the UK Singles Chart in its 1991 re-release.

The accompanying video's director was artist Robert Longo. The director of photography was Alton Brown.[3]

In March 2005, Q magazine placed "The One I Love" at No. 57 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In 2012, Slant Magazine listed the song as the 38th best single of the 1980s.[4]

The song is included on R.E.M. Live (2007). It was also included in Activision's Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero on Tour: Decades, both in 2008, as well as Harmonix's Rock Band 4 (2015).[5]

Lyrics and meaning

The record has become a popular radio dedication to loved ones, relying on a misinterpretation of its refrain, "This one goes out to the one I love." However, subsequent lyrics in the same verse contradict the love song interpretation and suggest a darker, more manipulative theme ("A simple prop to occupy my time").

Stipe related in 1987 to Rolling Stone, "I've always left myself pretty open to interpretation. It's probably better that they just think it's a love song at this point."[6] However, in an interview in the January 1988 issue of Musician magazine, he said that the song was "incredibly violent" and added, "It's very clear that it's about using people over and over again."[2]

The song contains only three verses, the first two of which are identical; the third verse changes the line "A simple prop to occupy my time" to "Another prop has occupied my time." The chorus consists of just the word "fire", repeated over the backing vocal of "She's coming down on her own now / Coming down on her own" (sung by Mike Mills).

Track listing

All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe unless otherwise indicated.

  1. "The One I Love" – 3:16
  2. "Maps and Legends" (Live)1 – 3:15

12": IRS / IRS-23792 (US)

Side one
  1. "The One I Love" – 3:16
Side two
  1. "The One I Love" (Live)1 – 4:06
  2. "Maps and Legends" (Live)1 – 3:15

12": IRS / IRMT 146 (UK)

Side one
  1. "The One I Love" – 3:16
Side two
  1. "Last Date" (Floyd Cramer) – 2:16
  2. "Disturbance at the Heron House"1 – 3:26

1987 CD: IRS / DIRM 146 (UK)

  1. "The One I Love" – 3:16
  2. "Last Date" (Floyd Cramer) – 2:16
  3. "Disturbance at the Heron House"1 – 3:26

1988 CD: IRS / DIRM 173 (UK)

  1. "The One I Love" – 3:16
  2. "Fall on Me" – 2:50
  3. "So. Central Rain" – 3:14

1991 Limited Edition CD: IRS / DIRMT 178 (UK)

  1. "The One I Love" – 3:16
  2. "This One Goes Out" (Live) – 4:01
  3. "Maps and Legends" (Live) – 3:13

1991 Limited Edition CD: IRS / DIRMX 178 (UK)

  1. "The One I Love" – 3:15
  2. "Driver Eight" (Live) – 3:27
  3. "Disturbance at the Heron House" (Live) – 3:40
  4. "Crazy" – 3:02

1 Recorded at McCabe's Guitar Shop, Santa Monica, California, May 24, 1987.

Certain releases list the live recording of "The One I Love" as "This One Goes Out" instead.

Charts

Chart (1987–1988) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] 84
Canadian Hot 100 11
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] 69
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] 6
South Africa (Springbok)[10] 17
UK Singles (OCC)[11] 51
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[12] 9
U.S. Cashbox Top 100[13] 10
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 2
Chart (1991) Peak
position
Germany (Official German Charts)[14] 81
Ireland (IRMA)[15] 5
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[16] 13
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 72
UK Singles (OCC)[18] 16

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[19] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "R.E.M. Timeline - 1987/88 Concert Chronology". Remtimeline.com. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Sullivan, Denise. "The One I Love - R.E.M. | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  3. ↑ Melancon, Merritt (May 12, 2010). "Brown talks TV, food, R.E.M." Online Athens. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Best Singles of the 1980s". Slant Magazine. August 20, 2012. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Rock Band 4 Core Soundtrack". Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  6. ↑ Pond, Steve. "In the Real World: R.E.M.". Rolling Stone. December 3, 1987.
  7. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 244. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Music Report chart was licensed by ARIA until the commencement of the in-house produced ARIA Chart on June 26, 1988.
  8. ↑ "R.E.M. – The One I Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  9. ↑ "R.E.M. – The One I Love". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  10. ↑ "SA Charts 1965 – March 1989". Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  12. ↑ "R.E.M. – Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  13. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits 1952-1996. Sheridan Books, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-209-0.
  14. ↑ "R.E.M. – The One I Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  15. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The One I Love". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Tipparade-lijst van week 45, 1991" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  17. ↑ "R.E.M. – The One I Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  19. ↑ "British single certifications – REM – The One I Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
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