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Songfacts:  You can leave comments about the song at the bottom of the page.

This was inspired by the late comedian Andy Kaufman. When he was a teenager, R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe saw Kaufman on Saturday Night Live, and has cited him as a huge influence ever since. See a photo and learn more about Andy Kaufman in Song Images.

Things mentioned in this song: Mott the Hoople, Life, Monopoly, Twister, Risk, checkers, chess, twenty-one, wrestler Fred Blassie, Elvis Presley, Moses, Sir Isaac Newton, and Charles Darwin.

Kaufman was known for his Elvis-impersonations, which he once performed on Saturday Night Live. Stipe tries one of his own on the line, "Hey, baby are we losing touch?"

This was used as the title for a 1999 movie about Andy Kaufman, starring Jim Carrey. R.E.M. did the soundtrack, which included this.

Andy Kaufman was never married. He met his long time girlfriend Lynn at a restaurant while shooting a short independent film. The movie told a different story of how they met. (thanks, Jessy - Pittsfield, MA)

The lyric "Mr. Fred Blassie and the breakfast mess" refers to Kaufman's movie My Breakfast With Blassie. This was the movie that Kaufman was filming when he met his girlfriend. (thanks, Patrick - Tallapoosa, GA)

On an edition of the British TV show Top Of The Pops 2, Michael Stipe claimed that when writing this song, it was a tribute to Kurt Cobain's lyrics and writing, and that the repeated "yeah yeah yeah yeah" at the end of most lines is actually his attempt at putting more "yeahs" in a song than Cobain did. Stipe claimed Cobain was the master at making them fit, and he wanted to out-do him. (thanks, Liam - London, England)

R.E.M. performed this with Eddie Vedder when they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

Comments:

For Michael in Indy.If you think the moon landings were faked, then I believe you probably still believe in Santa Claus.
- Sheldon, Indianapolis, IN

Being that Andy Kaufman was always making people question reality, The line "if you believed they put a man on the moon",Was not only a challenge to the populace ,But a tongue in cheek mocking of the gullibility of a nation and the world.
- Dasher, Brisbane, Australia

I met Michael after a show in Buenos Aires last year and had the opportunity to ask him about it, he smile and said: "I already had the music, and the words came up from somewhere so I put them in the same random way that they came to me. Not big deal, you know!" ...Anyway, who cares about the meaning, the song itself is wonderful!!!!!!! Thanks REM!!!... AND DON´T STOP "LOOKING FOR ANSWERS FROM THE GREAT BEYOND" !!!
- Jess, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The main lyric is 'if you believed they put a man on the moon." So, what does this mean? If you don't believe they put a man on the moon, it means you believe Hollywood produced the hoax. I assume then, that 'if you believed they put a man on the moon' implies the believer is fooled by Hollywood. How does this connect to Andy Kaufman/the film? At one point his girlfriend and him joke about the real Andy Kaufman. Well, "if you believed they put a man on the moon...If you believe there's nothing up their sleeve, then nothing is cool." I think the song is based around a skepticism of truth, extraordinary truths. The ultimate question being is the comedian the actual Andy Kaufman. Other ones included in the song, debate the existence of heaven, evolution, moses, and newton's apple. The central skepticism is one against production, man on the moon/andy haufman. Both of which might just be acting/hollywood lies?
- Nelson, P-Goula, MS

p.s. Mark from Austin. 'the asp bit' is most likely the skepticism surrounding Cleopatra's death. Once again we are faced with believing a myth. Did a snake kill her by the river, or did she kill herself as the Roman's had captured her city?
- Nelson, P-Goula, MS

Mark from Chicago, I doubt you would get a, pardon the pun, straight answer from Michael. He lives for abiguity.
- coffeegod, Brandon, MS

Why don't we just ask Stipe what he meant?
- Mark, Chicago, IL

R.E.M.'s album [b] Automatic For the People [b] is one of the top artistic achievements of the 1990's in popular music. "Man On the Moon" is one of the most memorable and beautiful songs from the album. It is a moving tribute to comedian Andy Kaufman, and it is much more than that. The song is also a meditation on a wide range of elements of popular culture and memory.
- Bertrand, Paris, France

I believe that most of the song is talking about how Andy's entire life was based on practical jokes... His fightings with the King/his tv special's static problems, Tony Clifton. If you believe they put a man on the moon refering to the speculation surrounding the moon landings. If you think theres nothing up my sleeve then nothing is cool. Refering to how Andy was only having fun if there was a joke involved.
- John, Btown, WI

Unbelievable song by an unbelievable, highly under-rated band.
- Ed, Incognito, IL

Man, I thought that it was saying "Now, Annie did you hear about this one?" Serves me right for thinking this to be a love song...
- Matthew, Milford, MA

I think the "here's a truck stop instead of St. Peter's" bit is about rumors that Kaufman had faked his own death, a stunt he had talked about for a while; instead of meeting St. Peter in Heaven, Kaufman might be hanging around at a truck stop. R.E.M. rocks.
- Mike, Hillsboro, NJ

Dan, Ashburn, VA has the exact same idea of this song as I do. I see it as a message about Life and how the Divine and the inspirational and BEAUTY are to be found everywhere. The first verse is about what appear to be very silly and superficial (but fun!) persuits of games and comedy entertainment. The various games mentioned reflect the aspect of "luck" and "chance" in Life. The second verse tells about much more serious and "important" studied sciences and the great contributions to society by Charles Darwin, Moses, Newton and I'm not sure about the Asp reference. Stipe sums it up with "Here's a little agit for the never-believer. Here's a little ghost for the offering. (here's a little inspiration for YOU) "Here's a truck stop instead of St. Peters"
- Mark, Austin, TX

This is for Mason. The setting is the present (late 1970s), and the first manned mission to Mars is on the pad, ready to go. When NASA authorities realize that a major subcontractor's faulty life support system design has doomed any chance of a successful flight, they decide to fake the landing rather than scrub the mission. Minutes before launch, the bewildered crew are removed from the ship and flown to an old U.S. Army base deep in a desert. They are then informed that whether they like it or not, they will fake the TV footage from Mars. Initially they refuse, but the authorities imply that their families will be murdered if they do not cooperate.
- Michael Gould, Indianapolis, IN

The song is about death. its about michaels vision of the journey. 'heres a truck stop instead of saint peters' is the reference to the fact people were claiming to see ELVIS at really random places long after his death.. like at a truck stop , hence could the truck stop be instead of st peters ?
- mark, Lincoln, England

He could be talking about the Basketball game 21.
- Jon, Oakridge, OR

I'm not an R.E.M. fan, but 'Man on the Moon' is a song I like very much.
- Benjamin, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Good lord! what's wrong with all of you? 21 is a card game! it's the English name for Black Jack; to us, blackjack is a totally different game, so we call it 21.
- Dorian, Pontefract, England

The line "Heres a truck stop instead of St. Peter" is in reference to St. Peter guarding the pearly gates. Rest or Die.
- James, Sydney, Australia

I still remember when I discovered this tune and what it was about. As a long time fan of Kaufman (and REM) it remains among my favorite songs. I'm lucky enough to have a copy of most Friday's episodes including the one with Kaufman. They did a fine job recreating it for the Carrey film.
- James, Vidalia, GA

I actually think the line "Here's a truck stop instead of St. Peter" refers to a choice of stopping for a break, or losing it all. St. Peter being the guardian of the Pearly Gates
- James, Sydney, Australia

I think the line, "If you believe they put a man on the moon, man on the moon. If you believe there's nothing up their sleeve, then nothing is cool" refers to the fact that some people believe the Moon landings were faked by the US government so that it would look like we were ahead in the space race. There was even a book written about it (I forgot the title). Does anybody know if Andy Kaufman ever did any routines about this theory? I have a friend who thinks the Moon landings were faked, and what do you know? His name is Andy.
- Mason, Prior Lake, MN

The Movie Man On The Moon was a very toutching movie i have probally seen it over 20 times and it never gets old the song is excellent i really like REM and the songs they released for the movie where ALL good im only 17 but i wish i could have been there to see some of andy kaufmans stunts especially the one he pulled on the show "Fridays" The Show similar to SNL in 1980 to 82
- Dodge, LEXINGTON, KY

their are 56 uses of the word 'yeah' In this song!
- James, London, England

R.E.M. writes lyrics that speak to many different levels. "Here's a truck stop instead of St. Peter's" should make you ask yourself 'what's the difference between a truck stop and St. Peter's cathedral in Rome?' If God (or the supreme being, whatever) is everywhere, can't we find Him in a truck stop as well as St. Peter's? Is Michaelangelo's Pieta of the grieving Mary (in St. Peter's) any more representative of the Divine than an old man drinking his coffee. You don't have to go to St. Peter's to have a spiritual experience, you can have it anywhere--that's what reality is. Kaufmann was the king of challenging people's perception of "reality" in the 70s.
- Dan, Ashburn, VA

does anyone know the purpose of this verse? "Here's a little agit for the never-believer. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Here's a little ghost for the offering. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Here's a truck stop instead of Saint Peter's. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Mister Andy Kaufman's gone wrestling [wrestling bears]. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah."
- bryttany, Charlotte, NC

I think it parodies "My Dinner with Andre"
- Alex, New Orleans, LA

He mentions "Fred Blassie in a breakfast mess." This is a reference to the Andy Kaufman movie "My breakfast with Blassie," in which Andy and Fred have a talk over a breakfast meal...it parodies another movie but i can't think of the title right now
- Chad, orlando, FL

The life story of comedean Andy Kaufman. Stipe is a big fan of 'outlaw humor' since he has also metions fellow groundbreaking comedian Lenny Bruce in End Of The World
- EPP, Pittsburgh, PA

Minor correction: the movie about the game show "Twenty-One" was called "Quiz Show", not "Game Show".
- Adam, Portland, OR

Patrick, although the phrase "twenty-one" may refer to the 1950s game show, I thing it's probably more likely referring to blackjack.
- Jason Lee, New York, NY

"Mister Andy Kaufman's gone wrestling": Andy used to hold the title of InterGender Wrestling Champion and it is doing that where he met his wife.
- Dennis, Aberdeen, Scotland

The phrase "twenty-one" is mentioned along with names of board games ("Monopoly, Twenty-One, Checkers and Chess..."). "Twenty-One" was a famous TV game show during the 1950s, which was later cited for being "rigged", causing one person to constantly win every game (Charles Van Doren). The entire episode was the subject of the movie "Game Show."
- Patrick, Conyers, GA

I love REM. This album is of real quality. i like the vidoe for every body hurts. the music on here is very clinical and crisp.
- chris, Hamilton, New Zealand