Tongue
R.E.M. · Monster
90 to nothing, watch me run.
You call.
I am ashamed to say.
Ugly girls know their fate.
Anybody can get laid.
You want a room with a fire escape.
I wanna tell you how much I hate this.
Don't leave that stuff all over me. It pains me.
Please just leave it.
I should toss that vanity license plate.
Toss that make-up painted face.
Box those poems, chocolate cake.
Scratch that name on the record player.
Please just leave me be.
Don't lay that stuff all over me.
It crawls all over. All over me.
Call my name, here I come.
Your last ditch lay, will I never learn?
Caramel turn on a dusty apology.
It crawls all over me.
You turn all over.
It pains me.
Please just leave it.
Tongue
Tongue stands as a defining track from R.E.M.'s 1994 album Monster, marking a significant shift toward a harder-edged, alternative rock sound. The recording features the band's signature interplay between Peter Buck's angular guitar work and Michael Stipe's enigmatic vocal delivery, capturing the group's evolution during a period of intense experimentation. Released during a time when the band was moving away from the softer textures of their previous work, the song showcases their ability to blend melodic sensibilities with a more aggressive rhythmic drive. As part of a critically acclaimed era in their discography, Tongue reflects the creative energy that helped solidify R.E.M.'s status as one of the most influential acts in modern rock music.