Leaving New York

"Leaving New York" was the first single from R.E.M's 2004 album Around the Sun. Although it was not as heavily promoted as earlier singles, it reached as high as #5 on the UK Singles Chart. However, the song failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first lead single from an R.E.M. studio album not to chart in the U.S. since "Cant Get There From Here" from Fables of the Reconstruction in 1985.

Details

As Michael Stipe stated in interviews, the tune is a love song to the city. Stipe regards New York as his second hometown. Once, flying out of the city and seeing it from above, Stipe was overwhelmed by its beauty and wrote the song right there on the plane.

The music video was shot with real friends of the band members, throwing a party, and snapshots of Michael Stipe in different places of the city, giving the video a spontaneous and private atmosphere.

Track listing

CD1

#"Leaving New York"#"(Don't Go Back to) Rockville" (live)

CD2

#"Leaving New York"#"You Are the Everything" (live)#"These Days" (live)

External links

*"Leaving New York" (CD1) at MusicBrainz
*"Leaving New York" (CD2) at MusicBrainz