According to an interview to the Canadian news site CANOE, this was the inspiration for the song:“ It came from, I was driving up and down Santa Monica Boulevard when I was putting together the Patti Smith book I was working on (2XIntro: On The Road With Patti Smith). I was consistently late. It's one of my bad personality traits. I was stuck in traffic, this mid-day traffic, on Santa Monica Boulevard, but I had the tapes, and I was listening to them in the car, and I was trying to come up with stuff. I wrote the line, 'I found a way to make you smile', and I just thought, that's the most beautiful thing in the world. ”
The single's video, directed by Nigel Dick, shows an accident-prone cellist, played by Rain Phoenix, on her way to an audition, of which the band are the panel. It appears on In View, the DVD companion to In Time, R.E.M.'s Warner Brothers 2003 "Best Of" album, which also includes the song.
At My Most Beautiful
R.E.M. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've found a way
A way to make you smile
I read bad poetry
Into your machine
I save your messages
Just to hear your voice
To awkward rhymes
You always say your name
Like I wouldn't know it's you
At your most beautiful
I've found a way to make you
I've found a way
A way to make you smile
At my most beautiful
I count your eyelashes secretly
With every one, whisper, "I love you"
I let you sleep
I know your closed eye watching me
Listening
I thought I saw a smile
I've found a way to make you
I've found a way
A way to make you smile
R.E.M.'s song "At My Most Beautiful" is a love letter set to gentle, acoustic chords. The singer describes his own desire to make his partner happy and the ways in which he tries to do this. He has an intimate understanding of her, down to her closed eyes when she sleeps, and her quietly spoken name. Describing himself as "awkward," it's an interesting metaphor as someone who possibly struggled with expressing their love, but found a way to do it through poetry.
The line "I count your eyelashes secretly, with every one, whisper 'I love you'" is particularly touching. It evokes an image of the singer intimately observing his partner and admiring even the smallest details of her. The last verse, when the singer says "I thought I saw a smile," suggests that he is anxiously waiting for some kind of feedback from his partner, and that her happiness is incredibly important to him.
Overall, "At My Most Beautiful" is a beautiful display of love, vulnerability, and intimacy. It's a message of adoration to the person that the singer loves, and a demonstration of the many small ways in which he tries to make her happy.
Line by Line Meaning
I've found a way to make you
I discovered a method to bring happiness to you
I've found a way
I've discovered a way to achieve my goal
A way to make you smile
A method to bring a smile to your face
I read bad poetry
I write cheesy poems
Into your machine
On to your answering machine
I save your messages
I save your voicemails
Just to hear your voice
To be able to listen to your voice again
You always listen carefully
You pay attention intently
To awkward rhymes
Even when the rhyming is uncomfortable
You always say your name
You introduce yourself
Like I wouldn't know it's you
As if I wouldn't recognize your voice
At your most beautiful
When you're at your loveliest
At my most beautiful
When I'm feeling my best
I count your eyelashes secretly
I quietly count the hairs on your eyelids
With every one, whisper, 'I love you'
As I count your lashes, I whisper my love for you
I let you sleep
I allow you to rest
I know your closed eye watching me
I'm aware that even when you're asleep, you're keeping an eye on me
Listening
I listen as you breathe
I thought I saw a smile
I noticed what I thought was a smile on your face
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@matthewbrookes7865
Laura Mackinnon Today
Is a new day
I've always wanted
To make a smile wider
Before I open eyes
Ive found myself
I've found someone's else??
Hey hey I just can't feel pain
My heart can't contemplate
Mix feelings
Hey hey my wall is urs to break
Don't blame for your bleeding hands
We danced in the moonlight
We can dance forevermore
You tilted my head back
I opened my eyes
I seen my destination
Surprise surprise
Ship shape
Concentrate
Dance moves
Penetrate
We dance
We waltzed
We lost
Self control
We danced until morning
Then I opened my eyes
All alone
I'm not surprised
I'm not surprised
Confused
I see
Just a
Just a
Magical dream
Dream
Dream
@juanitat10
Love this song, it is the sweetest of love songs.
I read bad poetry
into your machine
I save your messages
just to hear your voice.
you always listen carefully
to awkward rhymes.
you always say your name.
like I wouldn't know it's you,
at your most beautiful.
I've found a way to make you
I've found a way
a way to make you smile
at my most beautiful
I count your eyelashes secretly.
with every one, whisper I love you.
I let you sleep.
I know your closed eye watching me,
listening.
I thought I saw a smile.
I've found a way to make you
I've found a way
a way to make you smile
@rodrigocarvalho6523
Still listening in 2023. Who s with me?
@patrickredman4020
2024. A timeless classic!
@raconteurtroubadour
For me, Michael Stipe is one of finest lyricists of the last fifty years, a poet, quietly charismatic
and what a superb band he fronted!!
@pyt7778
I told him pretty much the same thing after declaring my love for Wendell Gee, that song is very special to me!
So sad to hear of Bill Rieflin’s passing last month too😞
@Islaras
Totally agree! ❤️❤️❤️
@faber2787
Yes Sir! 👍
@payableondeath9091
TOTALLY 👏
@thefakenews3150
No one beats Ronan Harris when it comes to lyrics.
@captainfantastic9158
Thank you, Brian Wilson, for inspiring this beautiful song.
@petestaint8312
Sounds like a Pet Sounds song. 👍