REM: Losing My Religion Meaning

Song Released: 1991

Losing My Religion Lyrics

Oh, life is bigger
It's bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no, I've said too much
I set it up

That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to...

1. anonymous

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   Sep 4th 2010 !⃝

   To m320753....your platitude; "michael, not micheal, is and was a fag. He knew how God felt about them. In the book of leviticous and again in duetoromity he specificly says man shall not lay with another man it is dispictable to Me" is about as ridiculous as it gets. He just so happens to be a person of Faith, and if you are one of the Fred Phelps "God Hates Fags" guys, I pray for your soul. He loves all of his children, and you are not fully informed, or choose not to be. God also told us that we do not know anyone else's salvation other than our own.
   
   You don't know him, and I have a question for all of you Leviticus fans out there....Do you eat shrimp? They are listed in the same group of abominations. The word despicable does not appear in that verse, it is Abomination. Another thing, genius. Abomination in Hebrew has nowhere near the same condemning definition that we use in English.
   
   I know of what I speak. Unless you are stuck in the concrete of being right no matter what facts are presented, study some of the things Ive mentioned, It is never enough in Faith to take everything you see at face value, I could easily tell you, "Judge not, Lest ye be judged", or even better, "He among you who is without sin, cast the fist stone."
   
   If you are totally closed minded to the possibility you could be wrong about things, this is a wasted exercise, but if nothing else, Im not going to allow personal swipes, especially inane ones, to be taken at JMS unchallenged.
   
   Let's play Twister, let's play Risk. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
   I'll See you in heaven if you make the list. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
2. anonymous

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   Sep 3rd 2010 !⃝

   Having read the other interpretations, I can see how it could be to do with love and the end of the relationship.
   
   Listening to it myself my first thought was that it was about having lost someone he loved, and that they are constantly in his mind haunting him "I thought that I heard you laughing; I thought that I heard you sing"
   
   With the lines "Oh no, I've said too much; I haven't said enough" possibly being the last words he spoke to her, (as most people can't find the words to say goodbye to a loved one).
   
   Religion = faith in my mind, so he's losing faith in his life/love/ just everything generally. A sort of struggle to carry one, and if it was someone close to him that died, then there is a constant spot light due to well wishers and people trying to help when all you want to do is hide away in a corner.
3. m320753

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   Sep 2nd 2010 !⃝

   michael, not micheal, is and was a fag. he knew how God felt about them. in the book of leviticous and again in duetoromity he specificly says man shall not lay with another man it is dispictable to Me.this is in the old testament when God talked with moses on the mountain. so michael felt he was losing his faith no matter which faith he belonged to because of his homosexuality.
4. anonymous

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   Aug 28th 2010 !⃝

   I have always thought that this song is about an unacceptable love. You mean the kind that makes you feel like you are losing your religion. So it could be about romantic feelings towards someone of your own sex, someone else's spouse or partner etc which are often looked down upon by society. There is no positive note in the song at all, no sense of hope in it. I feel this is not just about a crush for girl
5. anonymous

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   Aug 6th 2010 !⃝

   First, as a son of the south, the term is interchangeable with, "Im at my wit's end." or just an expression of exasperation to the point of just giving up.
   
   Now. I've felt Ive known this song a long time. I've never asked JMS when Ive had the chance if I were correct, but Im pretty damn sure I am.
   
   Substitute the idea about this being about a girl, and replace it with being about his relationship with his audience.
   "Me in the Spotlight, Losing my religion", Trying to keep up with you (his public), he doesn't know if he can do it, then again realizes he has perhaps revealed too much.
   
   Think of the fear of all of your fan's fantasies came flailing around you? I thought that I heard you laughing (Ive failed, and Im the clown..incidentally he's talked many times of the fear of being thought of as the clown of his time) I thought that I heard you sing...as we all do at concerts, and I think I thought I saw you try....to understand whats below the shiny surface. Or as Rush would say "Beyond the Gilded Cage"
   
   Ultimately, I see it as the hint of the century. In those alone times, In a hotel, plane, bus, or even the station wagon back in 1982, he's had cause to wonder, am I reaching anyone, do they care, or is it just noise for them to drink to?, Everybody wants to know me, but they all think they know who I am already, have I told them too much?
   
   Ultimately, the line about choosing his confessions tells me that he is unsure about how much he should show of himself in his music and performance. He is a somewhat delicate creature, or at least, really used to be, even when this single came out.
6. anonymous

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   May 26th 2010 !⃝

   I think it is about seeing someone you love who has an addiction (i.e. alcohol or drugs) or maybe is not being treated for a mental illness. And how you struggle with trying to get the person to realize they have a problem and their denial of it which makes you appear and feel crazy. But then thinking you see them trying to make some sort of effot to get better, but then they revert back to their old ways. And it makes you feel like you are getting to the end of your rope.
7. serpent

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   Sep 2nd 2009 !⃝

   "Oh no I said too much" can be intended to have more than one meaning. One being the fear of saying the wrong thing, ie. Saying something stupid/not funny or something that does not convince her he is mr. right. "I haven't said enough" can be a reference to not having found the words that will convince her.
   
   I think this text can both be seen in the light of a new love and an old flame/relationship I dire straits
8. wondering

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   Apr 6th 2009 !⃝

   I have found some of the interpretations interesting but I still have my doubts. I was married for 9 years but the man of my life was an alcoholic. By the time the song came out we were in diferent countries but I was on my way to meet him again and he knew it, he was just waiting for my arrival, maybe he wasn't sure if I could make it. He told me every time he heard the song he though of me. We got divorced many years later. I am convinced that we were deeply in love with each other but his problem ruined the relationship. That's why I am so interested in the meaning of the song. By the way, every time I hear "One" by U2 I think of him.
9. anonymous

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   Dec 24th 2008 !⃝

   so many interpretations ... for a woman: same meaning the main user chosen gave, yet more where you know the truth and are waiting for him to tell you ... losing my religion, keep an eye on you ... i don't know, maybe it's about what you are going through atm, yet for me it has a lot to do with unspoken truths, knowing what should be and waiting for something to fall into place.
10. CHAD

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    Oct 17th 2008 !⃝

    I always thought that "losing my religion" was a term that originated in the south, but not in my native Florida, that means losing your composure in anger, and using profanity.
11. anonymous

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    Sep 17th 2008 !⃝

    The chorus when they are saying in the spotlight in the corner shit. I think that means..when your trying to avoid being the center of attention and suddenly it feels like your the center of attention? that what I feel that it might be! but then again I'm fucking crazy.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
12. anonymous

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    May 26th 2008 !⃝

    Relationship = Religion
13. anonymous

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    Apr 22nd 2008 !⃝

    Believe it or not it was said that it was the singers way of coming out of the closet. He's gay. and apparently that was his way of telling people what he feels and that he was coming out of the closet. listen to the song with this in mind and it does kinda make sense.
14. anonymous

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    Feb 9th 2008 !⃝

    Everyone here is just putting they're own interpretation. The song is about unrequited love. It was said in an interview. The song is about how he loves her but she doesn't feel the same way.
15. anonymous

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    Dec 31st 2007 !⃝

    "Losing my religion" is actually a southern expression meaning like you're losing yourself or losing grip of your life. I interpret this song as the singer talking about his struggle with fame. If you look closely at the some of the lyrics, "That's me in the corner That's me in the spotlight Losing my religion Trying to keep up with you And I don't know if I can do it" He feels like he's falling apart and can't handle the demands of fame.
    
    "Consider this The slip that brought me To my knees failed. What if all these fantasies Come flailing around" He's insecure and concerned that his fame won't last. It was something he wanted and got but is thinking about how it could crash and burn so suddenly.
    
    "I thought that I heard you laughing, I thought that I heard you sing, I think I thought I saw you try" Could be his perception of the public and how they se him. He's concerned about what they think of him. He's not sure if their going to love him, hate him, make fun of him or praise him.
    
    In the end, when he states "But that was just a dream, That was just a dream" is him realizing that maybe he's focusing too much on the "what if's" and letting his insecurities go to his head. He's saying like yeah, there's the possibility of failure but that's not what's happening in reality.

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