Přepis nahrávky

As one writer put it, Rock doesn't have to be loud and noisy to succeed. Sometimes it can be gentle, like a lullaby, soothing and calming. R.E.M.'s song Everybody Hurts is a classic example of this, being one of the best rock songs of the 20th century. It is just that, a lullaby written to bring warmth, tenderness and hope to a cold world full of suffering, isolation and fear.

The message of Everybody Hurts seems to have been very important for the band. It was one of the few songs for which REM allowed the lyrics to be published. Secondly, Michael Stipe, the lead singer of the band, does not make the words sound blurry and incomprehensible, as he did in the past. The lyrics are staightforward and simple, reputedly because the song is aimed at teenagers. The simplicity of the lyrics is underscored with soothing unhurried music that leaves REM's typical rock approach behind.

People often wrongly connect the song with Kurt Cobain, the late frontman of the band Nirvana. It was neither written for him nor co-written by him. However, it was found that the album was playing at the moment of his death in 1994.

The song has been covered by many artists, such as Tori Amos, Alex Parks, the Corrs and Joe Cocker. It was also used in a few campaigns to prevent suicide. Many other artists and songs have approached the same problems, such as DON'T GIVE UP by Peter Gabriel or BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS by Simon and Garfunkel and it seems that the message is still very urgent and the song will be listened to far into the 21st century.

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