Sleep and dreams have often played an important part in R.E.M. lyrics, for example "Get Up" and "I Don't Sleep, I Dream".
Sung from the point of view of a nightworker corresponding with far eastern colleagues, the song focuses on the disorientation of time and "circadian rhythm" in such a lifestyle, leading to despair and loss of identity.
During R.E.M.'s performance for VH1 Storytellers, Stipe explained the background to the song:
"I was in New York, putting together a book of haikus that I worked on with several dear friends of mine over the course of a year. And I was walking down the steps of this building, it was probably four o’clock in the afternoon, and I come to a door — it’s apartment 3d or something — and there's a sign on it that says "Daysleeper," and I walked a lot more carefully, quietly down the steps, thinking about that poor person who's trying to sleep, and me and my big old boots interrupting her sleep. So I wrote this song about a daysleeper that's working an 11-7 shift and how furious the balance is between the life that you live and the work that you have to do in order to support the life that you live."
The video, shot at Broadway Studios in the Astoria district of New York City in September 1998, was filmed in stop-frame photography to get what Stipe called a "really druggy, really great look."] It features Stipe as the office worker who goes to work at night. All three band members then wear pajamas and bed socks, while failing to get to sleep during the day. The video was directed by the Icelandic Snorri brothers. "I think it's about the sort of alien nature of a night shift," explained Mike Mills. "The weird lighting, the fluorescent lights that you find and the isolation of working the graveyard shift - how it screws up your sleep patterns and that sort of thing, and I think that's the main image we're trying to get across."
The song "The Lifting" from R.E.M.'s 2001 album Reveal is a prequel to "Daysleeper" and features the same character.
According to the Daysleeper Songfacts, the lyrics document the nocturnal trials of an international share trader on the verge of a breakdown.
Daysleeper
R.E.M. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Staff cuts have socked up the overage
Directives are posted, no callbacks, complaints
Everywhere is calm
Hong Kong is present, Taipei awakes
All talk of circadian rhythm
I see today with a newsprint fray
Daysleeper
Daysleeper
Daysleeper
The bull and the bear are marking their territories
They're leading the blind with their international glories
I am the screen, the blinding light
I'm the screen, I work at night
I see today with a newsprint fray
My night is colored headache gray
Don't wake me with so much
Daysleeper
I cried the other night
I can't even say why
Fluorescent flat caffeine lights
It's furious balancing
I am the screen, the blinding light
I'm the screen, I work at night
I see today with a newsprint fray
My night is colored headache gray
Don't wake me with so much
The ocean machine is set to nine
I'll squeeze into heaven and Valentine
My bed is pulling me, gravity
Daysleeper
Daysleeper
Daysleeper
Daysleeper
Daysleeper
The song "Daysleeper" by R.E.M. depicts a somewhat melancholic and introspective look into the life of a person who works at night and tries to maintain a balance between work and personal life. The first stanza describes a working environment where there has been a reduction in staff, which has caused the remaining staff to take on extra work. The directives posted on the board suggest that there will be no callbacks or complaints, and everything appears to be calm. However, the absence of circadian rhythm suggests that the workers' biological clock is messed up, which affects their sleep pattern.
The second stanza uses metaphors to explain the current state of the world. The bull and bear, which represent stock market trends, are marking their territories, and the blind are being led by their international glories. The singer of the song is depicted as the "screen" or the medium through which people receive their news, which is a "blinding light" that works at night. The singer sees the world through a "newsprint fray" and feels that the world is a gloomy place that gives him a "colored headache." He begs not to be woken up with so much activity around him.
The third stanza describes the singer crying the other night and not being able to articulate why. The fluorescent lights and caffeine give the singer a sense of urgency to balance his work and personal life. The singer feels that his bed is pulling him towards rest, which he craves but knows he cannot indulge in right away. The "ocean machine" is set to "nine," which means that the singer still has a lot of work to do before he can squeeze into heaven and have a Valentine.
Line by Line Meaning
Receiving department, three A.M
It's the early hours of the morning and someone is working in the receiving department
Staff cuts have socked up the overage
There have been staff cuts and the remaining people are overworked
Directives are posted, no callbacks, complaints
Management has posted instructions but there is no feedback, good or bad
Everywhere is calm
Despite the workload and management's silence, everything is quiet and peaceful
Hong Kong is present, Taipei awakes
While certain parts of the world are awake and active, others are drifting off to sleep
All talk of circadian rhythm
Discussions regarding natural sleep-wake patterns are ignored
I see today with a newsprint fray
The day is seen through the haze and grime of a newspaper
My night is colored headache gray
The night is so stressful that it is associated with pain and discomfort
Daysleeper
The person is a night worker and sleeps during the day
The bull and the bear are marking their territories
Stock traders are busy competing with each other
They're leading the blind with their international glories
The traders' successes are not affecting the people they claim to be helping
I am the screen, the blinding light
The person works on a computer screen, which is their main source of light
I'm the screen, I work at night
Their occupation requires them to work at night
Don't wake me with so much
The person does not want to be disturbed by too much noise or activity
I cried the other night
The person was so overwhelmed that they felt the need to cry
I can't even say why
The person cannot explain the reason behind their emotional outburst
Fluorescent flat caffeine lights
The person is surrounded by artificial light while they consume caffeine to stay awake
It's furious balancing
Juggling work and personal life is a difficult and stressful task
The ocean machine is set to nine
The person's sleep aid is set to a volume of nine
I'll squeeze into heaven and Valentine
The person is looking forward to snuggling in bed, which is their version of heaven and Valentine's Day combined
My bed is pulling me, gravity
The person is so tired that they feel as if their bed is pulling them towards it with the force of gravity
Daysleeper
The repetition of this word emphasizes that the person is a night worker and sleeps during the day
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Peter Buck, Michael Mills, Michael Stipe
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MrVirtube
I miss REM so much. There's nobody else like them.
@Maxibo234
@ERASING YOUR MEMORY!!! alla akbar
@boodoggy
Go to Athens Georgia. They own half the town and are local celebrities. You seem them around all the time.
@vitreousphantasm
I miss sleep
@carlosvera9957
Everyone
@Johnthemanc22
Completely agree MrVirtube.
@AlexanderGeneralov
"I am the screen,
the blinding light
I'm the screen,
I work at night"
What a SONG, guys!!!
@annah8728
Work at night too, so quit and great time to getting something done
@robertk9753
This song always reminds me of being a kid going to work with me da who was a truck driver, still dark at 4 and 5am when we'd be taking off in the truck, now whenever I wake at this hour in the morning I think of this song and put it on, my da passed away in 2017 and I am 32 now but I will never forget the great days he gave me and the things he thought me. Great thing about music and certain songs is that it can preserve precious memories clear in your mind forever. RIP Da, and thank you REM for this great song...
@johnberkley1721
Love your story mate, sorry about your dad