R.E.M. – Country Feedback: My friend's son has cancer. They are in hospital on the ward. He has just come back from neurosurgery for his brain tumour (his second in under a month). It is his last chance. But it could leave him blind, paralysed; who knows only god,. The mix of fear and hope and trying not to have too much of either. I can’t sleep. I’ve been playing R.E.M. a lot. But this is the track that counts. The knotted tight emotions. The feeling that no-one else can understand. Like sex and drugs and alcohol, you just can’t adequately explain how watching your child die in your care and you can't do nothing about it over a protracted period feels to those who haven’t gone through it. And anger below the surface. I’m not normally good at hearing lyrics but the words “We've been through fake-a-breakdown, Self hurt, Plastics, Co
llections, Self help, self pain, EST, psychics, fuck all” express it all. The anger at the religious who in their pity will pray for you. The anger at the New Angers who will cure with crystals and incantation. The unutterable sadness from the repeated refrain of “It's crazy what you could've had”. Knowing that he's dying. Knowing I am right. And hating myself for it. Life and it's ways at times we can only hope. Only god, knows how and why.....
llections, Self help, self pain, EST, psychics, fuck all” express it all. The anger at the religious who in their pity will pray for you. The anger at the New Angers who will cure with crystals and incantation. The unutterable sadness from the repeated refrain of “It's crazy what you could've had”. Knowing that he's dying. Knowing I am right. And hating myself for it. Life and it's ways at times we can only hope. Only god, knows how and why.....
