Losing My Religion

Story of Song

So many interpretations for ‘Losing My Religion’, Is this song really about loss of faith? The phrase “losing my religion” is an expression from the southern region of the US that means losing one’s temper or “at my wit’s end,” meaning as if things were going so bad you could lose your faith in God. “Losing your religion” over a person, could mean that you’re losing faith in that particular person. Michael Stipe said: “Okay. This song is beloved around the world. It is. It wasn’t our fault; it just happened, and it’s one of those freak things and we’re really proud of it. When you have a crush on somebody, and you think that they understand that but you’re not sure, and you’re dropping all kinds of hints, and you think that they’re responding to these hints but you’re not sure; that’s what this song is about: thinking that you’ve gone too far, you’ve dropped a hint that is just the size of Idaho, and they responded in a way that maybe confused you, or they haven’t responded at all or they responded in a way that seemed like ‘well, maybe I’m gonna- maybe I’m- maybe something’s gonna happen here!’ and I think I’ve probably said this seven thousand times, but the phrase ‘losing my religion’ is a southern phrase which means that something has pushed you so far that you would lose your faith over it. Something has pushed you to the nothing degree, and that’s what this is about. Now, some people still think that it’s a song about religion; it’s not. It’s just a song about having a crush.”

Release date

Released on February 19, 1991

Songwriter/s

Bill Berry – Peter Buck – Mike Mills – Michael Stipe

Label

Warner Bros

Chart Rankings

US – 4

UK – 19

GERMANY  – 11

A worldwide hit for R.E.M. In the US the song sold 4.2 million copies and became R.E.M’s highest charting hit, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Losing my Religion” was nominated in nine categories at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1991 and won six awards, including Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Breakthrough Video, Best Art Direction, Best Direction, and Best Editing. It also won awards like Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Short Form Music Video. By 1996, this hit had sold about 12 million copies worldwide.

Artist’s age on release date

The band was active for 11 years when they released the song. Michael Stipe (lead singer) was 31, Peter Buck (lead guitarist) was 35, Mike Mills (Bassist) and Bill Berry (drummer) were both 32 years old.

Cover Versions

Gregorian – Apologetix – Hardwell – Jacqui Naylor – Trivium – Graveworm – Lacuna Coil – Finn Hudson – Tori Amos – Scary Kids Scaring Kids – “Weird Al” Yankovic.