Everybody Hurts

History

Much of the song was written by drummer Bill Berry, although as R.E.M. shares songwriting credits among its members, it is unknown how much he actually wrote. Berry did not drum on the song—a Univox drum machine took his place—but he was responsible for the sampling of the drum pattern on the track. The string arrangement was written by Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones.

Guitarist Peter Buck commented on the making of the track saying "'Everybody Hurts' is similar to 'Man on the Moon'. Bill brought it in, and it was a one-minute long country-and-western song. It didn't have a chorus or a bridge. It had the verse . . . it kind of went around and around, and he was strumming it. We went through about four different ideas and how to approach it and eventually came to that Stax, Otis Redding, "Pain in My Heart" kind of vibe. I'm not sure if Michael would have copped that reference, but to a lot of our fans it was a Staxxy-type thing. It took us forever to figure out the arrangement and who was going to play what, and then Bill ended up not playing on the original track. It was me and Mike and a drum machine. And then we all overdubbed."

In the liner notes of the album In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003, Buck writes that "the reason the lyrics are so atypically straightforward is because it was aimed at teenagers", and "I've never watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but the idea that high school is a portal to hell seems pretty realistic to me." Incidentally, the song was used in the 1992 film of the same name that preceded the show.

In 2005, Buck told the BBC: "If you're consciously writing for someone who hasn't been to college, or is pretty young, it might be nice to be very direct. In that regard, it's tended to work for people of a lot of ages."

In the video for the song, directed by Jake Scott and filmed along the double deck portions of I-10 near the I-35 Interchange in Downtown San Antonio, Texas in February 1993, the band is stuck in a traffic jam. It shows the people in other cars and subtitles of their thoughts appear on screen. At the end, all the people leave their cars and walk instead; then they vanish. The video was heavily inspired by the traffic jam in the opening dream sequence of Fellini's 8½.

In 1995, British emotional support listening service The Samaritans, in response to the high suicide rate but low crisis service take-up amongst young men, launched a UK press advertising campaign consisting solely of the lyrics to "Everybody Hurts" and the charity's hotline number.

The song was placed on R.E.M.'s Warner Bros. "best of" album In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003 in 2003. It was one of four songs from Automatic for the People to make the compilation, more than from any other album. The song is included on R.E.M. Live.

Track listing

All songs written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe unless otherwise indicated.

1. "Everybody Hurts" (Edit) – 4:46
2. "Mandolin Strum" – 3:26

1. "Everybody Hurts" (edit) – 4:57
2. "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" (Long Version) – 3:29
3. "Mandolin Strum" – 3:26

1. "Everybody Hurts" (edit) – 4:57
2. "Chance (Dub)" – 2:36
3. "Dark Globe" (Syd Barrett) – 1:51

1. "Everybody Hurts" (edit) – 4:57
2. "Mandolin Strum" – 3:26
3. "Chance (Dub)" – 2:36
4. "Dark Globe" (Barrett) – 1:51

1. "Everybody Hurts" (edit) – 4:57
2. "Mandolin Strum" – 3:26
3. "Belong" (live) – 4:32
4. "Orange Crush" (live) – 4:00

1. "Everybody Hurts" (edit) – 4:57
2. "Star Me Kitten" (demo) – 3:05
3. "Losing My Religion" (live) – 4:55
4. "Organ Song" – 3:25

1. "Everybody Hurts" – 5:20
2. "Pop Song '89" – 3:03

1. "Everybody Hurts" (edit) – 4:46
2. "Pop Song '89" – 3:03

Charts and certifications

The track sold 205,000 in the UK.

Helping Haiti charity single

In an attempt to raise money for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown asked Simon Cowell to arrange a charity single. Cowell chose "Everybody Hurts", Brown agreed to waive VAT on the single and R.E.M. agreed to waive all royalties. The release was under the name Helping Haiti.

Proceeds from the single were split between The Sun's Helping Haiti fund and the Disasters Emergency Committee. The song was premiered on radio stations nationally on February 2, 2010. The single was released both physically and digitally on February 7, 2010, with the physical release being brought forward by one day due to demand.

It has been reported as having sold approximately 205,000 copies in its first two days in the United Kingdom, and 453,000 in its first week, making it the fastest-selling charity record of the 21st century in Britain.

Artists

The song is performed by the following artists (in order of appearance):

Video

A five-minute promotional short documentary was broadcast on ITV at 20.30 on February 7. The documentary includes footage of the performers recording their vocals (except for Carey, Cyrus, Bon Jovi and Minogue) and images and footage from the aftermath of the earthquake. It opens with a statement of what had happened on January 12 and moves on with footage showing the devastation in the country and the suffering of the Haitians. The official music video was directed by Joseph Kahn and premiered on March 6, 2010. Jon Bon Jovi is the only artist not to appear in this video.

Track listing

1. "Everybody Hurts" – 5:24
2. "Everybody Hurts" (alternative mix) – 5:35

Chart performance

Following its release in the UK and Ireland on February 7, 2010, Helping Haiti's song entered the Irish Singles Chart on 12 February at number 1. On 14 February it entered the UK Singles Chart at number 1 and spent two weeks at the top spot before dropping to number 9.

On February 23, 2010, the single debuted on the Australian Singles Chart at #28.