This has always been on of my favorite REM songs. It is considered by Michael Stipe to be the 'big moment' on 1988's Green, and the lyrics were the first to be printed on a REM album sleeve. Stipe; "It's a tribute to Leonard Cohen, using military terms to describe a battle within. I was so proud of my lyrics and my vocal take that I refused to sing it a second time. I did it once. That was it."