Songfacts®:

• This was the fourth and final single from R.E.M.'s sixth studio album.
• This song was born out of frontman Michael Stipe's exasperation at having to wake bassist Mike Mills up to go to work on the Green sessions. The band's former drummer, Bill Berry, remembered in the liner notes for Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: "Michael mentioned, only once, that these lyrics were a polite jab at Mike's proclivity to sleep late when afforded the opportunity. Notice, however, that Mike's vocal enters before Michael's. He must have beat Mr. Stipe to the studio on that particular occasion!"
• Bill Berry came up with the idea to play multiple music boxes simultaneously during the bridge. He claimed the concept came to him in a dream, fitting in with his lyric, "dreams, they complement my life."
• Eric Darnell, who would go on to co-direct the computer-animated features Antz (1998) and Madagascar (2005), directed the music video for this song. He thought it was a prank when Michael Stipe called his house asking if he wanted to direct a video for the band.