The Great Beyond

Infobox Single
Name = The Great Beyond


Caption =
Artist = R.E.M.
from Album = Man on the Moon soundtrack and
A-side = "The Great Beyond" (Edit)
B-side = "The One I Love" (Live), "Everybody Hurts" (Live), "Man On The Moon" (Live)
Released = November 16, 1999
Format = CD, Cassette
Recorded =
Genre = Alternative rock
Length = 5:06
Label = Warner Brothers
Jersey Records
Writer =
Producer = Pat McCarthy
Certification =
Last single = "Suspicion"
(1999)
This single = "The Great Beyond"
(2000)
Next single = "Imitation of Life"
(2001)
Misc =

"The Great Beyond" is a song by R.E.M. It is not featured on an original studio album as it was written specifically for the 1999 movie "Man on the Moon" but was released as a single the following year, in support of the film's soundtrack album. The single reached #3 in the UK singles chart. It is also included in R.E.M.'s 2003 compilation album, "In Time - The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003", in its only unedited capacity. On the "Man on the Moon" soundtrack, there is some dialogue from the movie at the end of the track; meanwhile, the single version is a radio edit, with the bridge omitted.

In the unedited version, at 4:09 and at 4:26, the listener can hear Michael Stipe singing the following lines in the background: "Here's a little agit for the never-believer, here's a little ghost for the offering". Both lines were taken from the 1992 R.E.M. song "Man on the Moon", also about Andy Kaufman, from which the movie took its title.

The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

The song's video was directed by Liz Friedlander. It originally featured footage of Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufman, yet for the "" DVD (which accompanied "In Time" and collected R.E.M.'s major videos from 1988 to 2003) the video was remixed to feature archived footage of Kaufman himself (similar to the video for "Man on the Moon").

The song was covered by The Fray in 2007 for the compilation album "".

A live version of this song is included on "R.E.M. Live".

Track listing

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

Cassette / US CD
#"The Great Beyond" (radio edit) - 4:14
#"Man On The Moon"Recorded at the Glastonbury Festival, Somerset, England; June 25, 1999] - 5:24

UK CD
#"The Great Beyond" (radio edit) - 4:14
#"Everybody Hurts" (live) - 6:20
#"The One I Love" (live) - 3:10

Maxi-CD
#"The Great Beyond" (radio edit) - 4:14
#"The One I Love" (live) - 3:10
#"Everybody Hurts" (live) - 6:20
#"Man On The Moon" (live) - 5:24

Charts

References

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYu9E_kprEs Full video at R.E.M. HQ's YouTube channel]
* [http://remhq.com/lyrics.php?id=304 Song lyrics at R.E.M.hq]
* [http://www.songfacts.com/detail.lasso?id=1255 Entry at songfacts.com]