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"Find the River" is a song by American rock band R.E.M., released as the sixth and final single from their eighth album, Automatic for the People (1992), on November 29, 1993.

"Find the River"
Single by R.E.M.
from the album Automatic for the People
B-side	"Everybody Hurts" (live)
Released	November 29, 1993 (1993-11-29)[1]
Length	3:49
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Bill Berry Peter Buck Mike Mills Michael Stipe
Producer(s)	Scott Litt R.E.M.
R.E.M. singles chronology
"Nightswimming" (1993) "Find the River" (1993) "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" (1994)

Background

Regarding the song's backing vocals, Mike Mills explained to Melody Maker

"Harborcoat" from Reckoning has got me and Michael and Bill all doing completely unrelated things, and yet it works together. Because of the production we insisted on from Mitch and Don, which I know must have been incredibly frustrating for them, it's hard to pick out exactly what's going on. We tried it again on "Find the River". I had the idea that Bill and I would go in and do some harmonies without listening to each other. It's great because mine is this incredibly angst-ridden emotional thing, and Bill's is this really low-key sort of ambling part. They're two opposite ends of the spectrum but they're both on there, and it's a beautiful thing.[2]

Reception

"Find the River" reached number 54 on the UK Singles Charts in December 1993.[3] It did not chart in the US.[4] It was one of only three R.E.M. singles released in the 1990s (out of a total of 24) to not make the Top 40 in Britain.[5][6]

In a 1992 review of Automatic for the People, Rolling Stone writer Paul Evans said, "R.E.M. has never made music more gorgeous" than "Find the River", calling it a "masterpiece".[7]

Music video

The music video was shot in September 1992 in Malibu, California, directed by Jodi Wille, and features a stripped-down studio performance by the band and Los Angeles "outsider" artist Henry Hill. In An Hour with R.E.M., which aired on MTV UK prior to the band's televised performance at Cologne Cathedral in 2001, Mike Mills introduced the video and explained that he selected it "because... I've never seen it, and I have absolutely no idea what's on it."

In the Warner Bros. promotional film for Automatic for the People, the band is seen performing the song live in their Clayton Street rehearsal room.

Track listings

All songs were written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe.

UK 7-inch and cassette single[8][9]

1. "Find the River" – 3:49
2. "Everybody Hurts" (live) – 5:32

UK CD single[10]

1. "Find the River" – 3:49
2. "Everybody Hurts" (live) – 5:32
3. "Orange Crush" (instrumental) – 3:54

• "Everybody Hurts" was recorded at MTV Video Music Awards, Universal City, California, on September 2, 1993.

Charts

References

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