Released: September 1, 1987
Songwriter: Mike Mills (R.E.M.) Michael Stipe Peter Buck Bill Berry
Producer: R.E.M. Scott Litt
[Verse 1]
That's great, it starts with an earthquake
Birds and snakes, an aeroplane
Lenny Bruce is not afraid
Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn
World serves its own needs, don't misserve your own needs
Speed it up a notch, speed, grunt, no, strength
The ladder starts to clatter with fear of height, down, height
Wire in a fire, representing seven games
And a government for hire and a combat site
Left of west and coming in a hurry
With the Furies breathing down your neck
Team by team, reporters baffled, trumped, tethered, cropped
Look at that low plane, fine, then
Uh oh, overflow, population, common food
But it'll do, save yourself, serve yourself.
World serves its own needs, listen to your heart bleed
Tell me with the Rapture and the reverent in the right, right
You vitriolic, patriotic, slam fight, bright light
Feeling pretty psyched
[Chorus]
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's the)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's the)
It's the end of the world as we know it
And I feel fine
[Verse 2]
Six o'clock, TV hour, don't get caught in foreign tower
Slash and burn, return, listen to yourself churn
Lock him in uniform, book burning, blood letting
Every motive escalate, automotive incinerate
Light a candle, light a votive, step down, step down
Watch your heel crush, crushed, uh-oh
This means no fear, cavalier renegade and steering clear
A tournament, a tournament, a tournament of lies
Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives, and I decline
[Chorus]
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
And I feel fine
(I feel fine)
[Chorus]
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
And I feel fine
[Verse 3]
The other night I dreamt of knives, continental drift divide Mountains sit in a line, Leonard Bernstein
Leonid Brezhnev, Lenny Bruce and Lester Bangs
Birthday party, cheesecake, jelly bean, boom!
You symbiotic, patriotic, slam but neck
Right? Right!
[Chorus]
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
And I feel fine
[Bridge]
It's the end of the world as we know it
It's the end of the world as we know it
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
And I feel fine
[Chorus]
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
And I feel fine
[Outro]
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
And I feel fine
That's great, it starts with an earthquake
Birds and snakes, an aeroplane
Lenny Bruce is not afraid
Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn
World serves its own needs, don't misserve your own needs
Speed it up a notch, speed, grunt, no, strength
The ladder starts to clatter with fear of height, down, height
Wire in a fire, representing seven games
And a government for hire and a combat site
Left of west and coming in a hurry
With the Furies breathing down your neck
Team by team, reporters baffled, trumped, tethered, cropped
Look at that low plane, fine, then
Uh oh, overflow, population, common food
But it'll do, save yourself, serve yourself.
World serves its own needs, listen to your heart bleed
Tell me with the Rapture and the reverent in the right, right
You vitriolic, patriotic, slam fight, bright light
Feeling pretty psyched
[Chorus]
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's the)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's the)
It's the end of the world as we know it
And I feel fine
[Verse 2]
Six o'clock, TV hour, don't get caught in foreign tower
Slash and burn, return, listen to yourself churn
Lock him in uniform, book burning, blood letting
Every motive escalate, automotive incinerate
Light a candle, light a votive, step down, step down
Watch your heel crush, crushed, uh-oh
This means no fear, cavalier renegade and steering clear
A tournament, a tournament, a tournament of lies
Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives, and I decline
[Chorus]
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
And I feel fine
(I feel fine)
[Chorus]
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
And I feel fine
[Verse 3]
The other night I dreamt of knives, continental drift divide Mountains sit in a line, Leonard Bernstein
Leonid Brezhnev, Lenny Bruce and Lester Bangs
Birthday party, cheesecake, jelly bean, boom!
You symbiotic, patriotic, slam but neck
Right? Right!
[Chorus]
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
And I feel fine
[Bridge]
It's the end of the world as we know it
It's the end of the world as we know it
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
And I feel fine
[Chorus]
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
And I feel fine
[Outro]
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
It's the end of the world as we know it
(It's time I had some time alone)
And I feel fine
And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987
- It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
- Fall on Me
- Cuyahoga
- Finest Worksong
- Welcome to the Occupation
- Disturbance at the Heron House
- King of Birds
- I Believe
- (I Am) Superman
- Two Steps Onward (Athens Demo)
- Finest Worksong [Other Mix]
- Radio Free Europe (Original Hib-Tone Single)
- Bad Day (Outtake)
- Mystery to Me
- Hyena (Athens Demo)
- Sitting Still (Original Hib-Tone single B-side)
- Swan Swan H (Acoustic)
- These Days
- Begin the Begin
- The One I Love
- Radio Free Europe
- Pilgrimage
- Talk About the Passion
- Perfect Circle
- 7 Chinese Bros.
- So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)
- Pretty Persuasion
- Sitting Still
- Time After Time (Annelise)
- (Don’t Go Back to) Rockville
- Feeling Gravitys Pull
- Driver 8
- Life and How to Live It
- Cant Get There from Here
- Gardening at Night
- All The Right Friends (Studio Outtake)
- Document (1987)
- Eponymous (1988)
- The Best of R.E.M. (1991)
- Tommy Boy (The Movie) (Music From The Paramount Motion Picture) (1995)
- Chicken Little (Original Version) (2005)
- O Galinho Chicken Little (Uma Trilha Sonora Original de Walt Disney Records) (2005)
- And I Feel Fine... The Best of the I.R.S. Years 1982–1987 (2006)
- Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982-2011 (2011)
- Blended (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2014)
- 1000 Days, 1000 Songs (2016)
- O Tempo Não Para (2018)
- Losing My Religion
- It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
- Man on the Moon
- Everybody Hurts
- Orange Crush
- The One I Love
- Nightswimming
- The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite
- Shiny Happy People
- What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?
- Drive
- Imitation of Life
- Stand
- Find the River
- Radio Free Europe
- (Don’t Go Back to) Rockville
- E-Bow the Letter
- Country Feedback
- The Great Beyond
- Let Me In
- Fall on Me
- Try Not to Breathe
- So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)
- Ignoreland