# Song Lyrics: R.E.M., "Hairshirt"



## wingchun100 (Mar 17, 2014)

Yes I am back with another song interpretation! I hate to stick with the same band, but I have been listening to R.E.M. a lot lately, and this is another personal favorite off their album GREEN. (It wasn't a single, but then again I'm often drawn to the non-single tracks.) Plus I was excited because it's another one whose meaning I have figured out...at least, I think I have.

First of all, I have to explain something here: a "hairshirt" was a garment made of coarse cloth or animal hair worn close to the skin. It was used in some religious traditions to  induce discomfort or pain as a sign of repentance and atonement.

*"Hairshirt"*

*I am not the type of dog
That could keep you waiting
For no good reason
Run a carbon-black test on my jaw
And you will find it's all been said before

I can swing my megaphone
And long arm the rest
It's easier and better
To just beat it from the chest
Of desire

I could walk into this room
And the waves of conversation are enough
To knock you down in the undertow
So alone, so alone in my life
Feed me banks of light
And hang your hairshirt on the lowest rung

It's a beautiful life
And I can hang my hairshirt
Away up high in the attic of
The wrong dog's life chest
Or bury it at sea
All my life I've searched for this 

Here I am, here I am
In your life
It's a beautiful life
My life
It's a beautiful life
Your life  *

Since hairshirts were worn in repentance...ie, of a sin...I think he is talking about letting go of that feeling of guilt and realizing "it's a beautiful life." That is a simple summary, although I could go deeper. 

For example, the opening of the song seems to indicate someone was waiting for him to get over this guilt...possibly so they could get it on? And given that Michael Stipe is the lyricist, he could be singing it to a man...not that that really makes any difference. I mean, some religions don't think you should feel guilt over homosexual feelings; they also think you should feel guilty about pre-marital sex as well. In that sense, it is still universal to anyone despite being written by Michael. But at any rate, I think this other person started to complain the wait was too long, and Michael assures them it isn't pointless when he says, "I am not the type of dog that could keep you waiting for no good reason." And apparently he has had to assure them of this many time, as the next lines indicate: "Run a carbon black test on my jaw,/and you will find it's all been said before."

Next time I do this, I will pick another band.


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