I think the song’s appeal rests entirely in its ability to be sung while pissed and swaying, and holding on to your mate. I also believe I am the only person here who has attended a wedding where it was the bridal waltz.

1. I agree with Dr Mickey’s first up analysis – good for late night pub / party / campfire etc..etc.. sing-a-longs.

2. Since I have actually done it myself – more often in exasperation than love, but that is another matter – I always liked the “shout it to the blue summer sky…” line.

3. Welcome back Tim, hope this works for you.

3. I have never understood Eddie Vedder’s – yes, that one – fascination with the song.

Just have a look at this clip of him with Mark Seymour(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkRNz0tR7tc&feature=related), or just look up Vedder and Throw your Arms in similar sites.

(Sorry Tim, don’t know how to do neat links in here.)

4. John Donovan, I never looked at The One I Love as a stalker song. I always took it that Stipe was taking the piss out of the banality of the lyrics of your bog standard Top 40 love song.

The switch from “A simple prop to occupy my time” to “Another prop has occupied my time” indicating the somewhat fleeting nature of “Love”, and thus the stupidity of the lyrics of all those bland ‘love’ songs promising eternal love etc… etc…?

Or maybe it was Stipe’s first ‘coming out’ song, taking the mick out of heterosexual mores?

Anyway, the fact that they wrote a great pop tune for it, and that it became their first major cross-over hit adds a certain irony to the whole story. How many people do you think mis-interpreted the meaning behind those lyrics?

Cheers All, and go The Wallabies.

I agree the lyrics are a bit silly, and I don’t know what four places/running along the street means – maybe you should get in touch with Mark and ask him what he meant? But then, like books, once out there, the singer loses control of meaning. It’s up to us. Assuming it’s not a song he wrote about the former girlfriend who was, sadly, subsequently before the courts for a little bit of close walking…

If you want a stalker song, check out Marc Cohn’s ‘True Companion’. It’s deceptive – seems like it could be an undying love love song, but has always sounded to me like the guy is going to stalk the girl beyond the grave!

Like the reels’ quasimodo dream it is easy to sing along with and hard to sing along with well. As most of the singers are going to get the lyrics wrong they feel less alone or embarrassed.

Also what is it about? Who knows? one listen and you know it is sung by Marc with absolute gusto and passion. Other versions haven’t always measured up.

This is one male who does not like the song. It is partly the peculiar and dumb lyrics as outlined above but it is also the edge of self-pity, I’m-so-sorry-for-myself in the voice of the singer that is more than a little off-putting.

It’s a song about (a) one night stand(s) – of course us blokes are going to love it

More seriously though, I always looked at the lyrics as more of a ‘promise’ to get the one night stand rather than a reflection of the event afterwards (Of course the last lot of quoted lyrics don’t much sense in this context but, as you say, when exactly did song lyrics make sense )