Examine individual changes

'{{refimprove|date=July 2014}} {{Infobox single| <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Songs --> | Name = The One I Love | Cover = R.E.M. - The One I Love.jpg | Artist = [[R.E.M.]] | from Album = [[Document (album)|Document]] | B-side = "Maps and Legends" (Live) | Released = August 1987 | Format = [[7"]], [[12"]], [[compact audio cassette|cassette]], [[CD]] | Recorded = 1987 | Genre = [[Alternative rock]] | Length = 3:17 | Label = [[I.R.S. Records|I.R.S.]] | Writer = [[Bill Berry|Berry]], [[Peter Buck|Buck]], [[Mike Mills|Mills]], [[Michael Stipe|Stipe]]<ref>http://remhq.com/albums.php</ref> | Producer = [[Scott Litt]], R.E.M. | Last single = "[[Superman (The Clique song)|Superman]]"<br/>(1986) | This single = "'''The One I Love'''"<br/>(1987) | Next single = "[[It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)]]"<br/>(1987) }} "'''The One I Love'''" is a song by American alternative rock band [[R.E.M.]] It was released on the band's fifth full-length studio album, ''[[Document (album)|Document]]'', and also as a 7" [[vinyl record|vinyl]] [[music single|single]] in 1987. The song was their first hit single, reaching #9 in the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]], #14 in Canada, and later reached #16 in the [[UK singles chart]] on its UK release (1991). The song was included in [[Activision]]'s ''[[Guitar Hero World Tour]]'' and is in ''[[Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades]]''. The accompanying video's [[music video director|director]] was artist [[Robert Longo]]. The [[director of photography]] was [[Alton Brown]], who later became a [[Food Network]] personality. In March 2005, [[Q magazine|''Q'' magazine]] placed "The One I Love" at number 57 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In 2012, ''[[Slant Magazine]]'' listed the song as the 38th best single of the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/features/article/best-singles-of-the-1980s/P7|title=Best Singles of the 1980s|work=[[Slant Magazine]]|date=2012-08-20|accessdate=2013-05-12}}</ref> The song is included on ''[[R.E.M. Live]]''. ==Lyrics and meaning== The record has ironically become a popular radio dedication to loved ones, relying on a misinterpretation of its refrain, "This one goes out to the one I love." However, subsequent lyrics in the same verse contradict the [[love song]] interpretation and suggest a darker, more manipulative theme: "A simple prop to occupy my time." Stipe related in 1987 to ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', "I've always left myself pretty open to interpretation. It's probably better that they just think it's a love song at this point."<ref>Pond, Steve. "In the Real World: R.E.M.". ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. December 3, 1987.</ref> However, in an interview in the January 1988 issue of ''[[Musician (magazine)|Musician]]'' magazine, he said that the song was "incredibly violent" and added, "It's very clear that it's about using people over and over again".<ref>Dennis Sullivan, [{{Allmusic|class=song|id=t3066719|pure_url=yes}} song review on allmusic.com]</ref> The song contains only three verses, the first two of which are identical; the third verse changes "a simple prop to occupy my time" to "another prop has occupied my time." The chorus consists of just the word "fire", repeated over the backing vocal of "She's coming down on her own now/Coming down on her own" (sung by [[Mike Mills]]). ==Track listing== All songs written by [[Bill Berry]], [[Peter Buck]], [[Mike Mills]] and [[Michael Stipe]] unless otherwise indicated. # "The One I Love" - 3:16 # "Maps and Legends" (live)¹ - 3:15 === 12": IRS / IRS-23792 (US) === ;Side one # "The One I Love" - 3:16 ;Side two # "The One I Love" (live)¹ - 4:06 # "Maps and Legends" (live)¹ - 3:15 === 12": IRS / IRMT 146 (UK) === # "The One I Love" - 3:16 # "Last Date" ([[Floyd Cramer]]) - 2:16 # "Disturbance At The Heron House" (live)¹ - 3:26 ¹ Recorded at McCabe's Guitar Shop, Santa Monica, California; May 24, 1987. ==Charts== {| class="wikitable sortable" !align="center"|Chart (1987/1991) !align="center"|Peak<br>position |- |[[Canadian Hot 100]] |align="center"| 11 |- |[[Single Top 100|Dutch Singles Chart]] |align="center"|69 |- |[[Media Control Charts|German Singles Chart]] |align="center"|81 |- |[[Irish Singles Chart]] |align="center"|5² |- |[[UK Singles Chart]] |align="center"| 51¹ |- |U.S. ''Billboard'' [[Hot 100]] |align="center"| 9 |- |U.S. ''Billboard'' [[Mainstream Rock Tracks]] |align="center"| 2 |- |} *¹ - The single originally reached #51 in the UK. It reached #16 in 1991 after the song was re-released. *² - Only charted in 1991 after the song's re-release. ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://remhq.com/hqtv/videos/music-videos/the-one-i-love Video clip at REMhq.com] {{R.E.M.}} {{DEFAULTSORT:One I Love, The}} [[Category:R.E.M. songs]] [[Category:1987 singles]] [[Category:1980s ballads]] [[Category:Songs written by Bill Berry]] [[Category:Songs written by Peter Buck]] [[Category:Songs written by Mike Mills]] [[Category:Songs written by Michael Stipe]] [[Category:I.R.S. Records singles]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Scott Litt]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Mike Mills]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Michael Stipe]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Peter Buck]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Bill Berry]] [[Category:Rock ballads]]'