Music video by R.E.M. performing Driver 8. (P) (C) 2006 Capitol Records, Inc.. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is a violation of applicable laws. Manufactured by Capitol Catalog,
When this video was filmed in my hometown of Clifton Forge Virginia, I was a young Locomotive Engineer for the C&O/Chessie System. I was running the Locomotive in 2 of the scenes in the video. You can't see me but I was there! It was so cool that they chose our town to shoot this video! Love REM!
Cool that used to be a huge titan of a company and business. Originally Louisville & Nashville and now CSX Teansportaion premier Eastern sea board Rail Road. The reviews on Conductor occupation online are so terrible and discouragement.i have immense legacy with this company. Wish it were more like the original Louisville Nashville.
Living in the projects with a drug addict mother no dad around these guys got me through some really rough times. I'm 45 now and still rock out to them.
A 55 y/o REM fan here. Done my time in rehab, alla that shit. Their song "Good Advices" from the *Fables,* "I'd like it here if I could see you from a long ways away" still speaks volumes to me.
Even more amazing.... a train song that drives itself; i.e. doesn't require a freakin' harmonica!! Fk'in brilliant. I miss these guys and love this music more with each passing year.
REM got me through the shittiest years of my life and Fall on Me is my favorite song ever but I think Arlo Guthries’ City of New Orleans takes the prize in the Category of Best Train Song Ever. Driver 8 is a close second though. Stay safe and stay strong everyone. Warmly, Boston
My dad was an engineer for the C&O and worked his butt off to provide a good life for his family. I always think of him when I see this video and hear this song. He finally is taking his break with Jesus. R.I.P Driver 8
I'm 53...my first experience at casino poker was in MS....I WAS 24...LOST ALL MY MONEY TO A RETIRED CONDUCTOR...COOL GUY..READ ME & MY 2 FRIENDS LIKE A BOOK 😂...I SENSED HE WAS A REAL MAN...
My Dad worked the C and O/ B and O/ Chessie for 35 years. This song brings his smell back to me. Diesel, creosote, sweat and lucky strikes. The finest man I’ve ever known. Conductor. I have his Ball RR wristwatch. Mom was his best friend and they kicked ass. RIP.
Oh my. What an absolutely beautiful story you tell, artful and American. So well described I can inhale and feel a little piece of it myself. Blessings. ❤
The song Driver 8, along with So. Central Rain, are the quintessential REM songs. The beautiful guitar intro that hooks you in by Peter Buck, the beautiful almost etheriel vocals by Michael Stipe, the back beat of Bill Berry and the simple but solid bass with harmonies by Mike Mills are what sold me on this band from the get go. The sometimes obscure but always haunting lyrics give me chills yet soothe me simultaneously. The early years of this band is how I choose to remember them.
I remember the Green album was what got me into them and then everything that came before was what solidified my love of this band. To this day it’s the same I dig everything they do but those seminal albums are still so deep in my blood.
The song refers to the Southern Crescent, a passenger train that was operated by the Southern Railroad until 1979, and continues today (with fewer stops) as the Amtrak Crescent. The music video shows Chessie System trains running around Clifton Forge, Virginia. The song is about a train engineer who is over-worked and urged by the conductor to take a break. That message could be applied to many facets of life. Trains were chosen according to guitarist Peter Buck because the band grew up near the train tracks. According to lead singer Michael Stipe it's because they represent part of "mythological America."
AHA! The essence of music is the soul's driver 8. And if anyone still thinks this song is about trains and countryside versus profound esoteric meaning you gotta take the elevator to the mezzanine chump (not calling anyone a chump lol) change then it's on superbonbonbon. (Conciousness going up)
Love this to this day... mid 80's were incredible for indie, and REM was best in their IRS days. Today, I'm a 52 year old engineer with a very very difficult railroad client... they make me hate anything to do with railways, but REM restores my faith.
Thanks Ken... I too had HO as a kid, in the 70's... this song brings me back down to earth to just enjoy it all... dealing with a real rail client can kill you... demanding, and impossible... sad and kills any romance you had for railroads.
My mother's parents home in Iron Gate, VA, is shown looking under the passing train wheels at about 3:56-4:00. The video transports me there! Love REM and the song.
Southern Gothic, Byrds jangle, trains. It doesn’t get much more American than that. The masterpiece that is Driver 8 is the 1980’s City Of New Orleans.
So many of the older R.E.M. songs instantly transport me back to college in the mid-late-80s. So. Central Rain in particular reminds me of a hot summer afternoon in a bar, drinking cheap draft beer and shooting pool with a friend. I can't remember which friend it was but I always FEEL that day in my mind as soon as I hear the opening riff.
Same Feeling. Life's Rich Pageant was recorded at John Mellencamp's Studio near the Indiana University Campus, where I went to school, at the same time. I personally never saw the band mates, but, heard they were in town...
I have a good friend who went to school at U. Georgia about the time R.E.M. were rising. He said they played locally 1-2 times each quarter. I still have a couple of cassettes he gave me that are copies of bar shows in Athens that were recorded directly from the mixing board. One of these days, I'll find someone who can convert them to CD for me. I haven't heard them in a long time because I don't have anything to play cassettes on! Heck, I barely have a CD player, and that's my car stereo. lol
No other band in music industry put out eight flawless records one after another as they did. From Murmur to Automatic for the People you see one of the greatest and most solid discographies in rock history.
@@LilysLife-ns4qs Ridiculous. I love REM but to even suggest their catalog compares to the string of great albums by the Stones or the Who or the Beatles suggest a real lack of familiarity with those bands and likely a generational bias and naivete. No serious rock critic would support your view. I mean really-the Rolling Stones! Laughable.
@@LilysLife-ns4qs No disrepect. You are entitled to your opinion. I do not care for Pink Floyd nor do I listen to the Beatles. Much of it comes down to taste. However, no band is considered to have produced a string of great albums to compare with the Stones from 67-80. So I have to take issue that they did not produce consistently great albums. Many of which are considered among the top 30-40 albums of all time. I do not recall a single REM album that is typically ranked among the greatest 100 rock albums on any survey. But again, of the post 70s bands-they were/are my number 1 favorite. Best
i turned 54 a few days ago but when i think back on some of the good friends and memories i have had over the course of my life, whenever i hear anything by R.E.M. , i think to the 80's back when i was young and healthy and friends i made back then, Thank you for turning me on to REM. 30+ years later, they are still one of my favorite band of all time. and i can't imagine hat will ever change.
It's in that harmonica, goes from screeching wheels, to air horn, to what I hear as a saw mill blade as the train rolls past. You can practically smell this tune.
I rolled into Clifton Forge, VA. today and headed to the railyard, (where the video was shot). I pull into the C&O Heritage Center with Driver 8 blasting, expecting grown men to drop everything and come running, or at the very least, some kind of salute to what you'd think would be well know in the town even 37 years later. Nothing. A man on a bench acknowledged the music and says, "you were jammin". I'm thinking, "holy sh$t"! someone remembers! I said, "yeah, that was REM Driver 8!" expecting him to go into some tirade about the video and song. He responded "R what". Oh f#ck. It was one of those moments when you are super excited about something and expect everyone in the world to share that same enthusiasm. Such is life, it's basically all meaningless in the end.
I never liked REM. But i had a camp counselor who would pull out a guitar and sing this song among others. I found this song almost 10 years later, because i never knew where it came from who wrote it. It takes me back to a quiet cabin in the woods in the Midwest. Its a magical song.
I was turned onto REM in the early '80s by an Army buddy while at Ft. Bragg NC, and I'm still rocking out to them in 2023. This song and Dont go back to Rockville are still some of my favorites, classic.
@DTOM, ¿eStamos? It always seemed grounded, the lyrics always sounded like something you would here from a buddy at the bar after you were done with your shift.
all the early REM albums were GREAT. Document was probably the best album they recorded. Every song and its lyrics has some real grit and meaning to them. Driver 8 is no exception. 2 years ago I was driving through Montana. Off in the distance was an old train with about 100 cars just stopped in a field. On the nose of the cab is a big 8. Graffitied on the side was the letters REM. Im sure most driving by didn't get the connection. But in that moment I knew somewhere out there was a kindred spirit.
The importance of this band cannot be overstated. Their presence grounded music throughout the 80s, gave the ostentacious and absurd polarity and equilibrium. They, Smiths and 'Mats.
Oh the music of REM takes me right me right back to the late 80's when I was in my 20's, young, and full of optimism....now the future seems so blek....56 yrs old
I 'll tell you what, I've got these two railroad landings that I've had for a long time, and they run on those nine-volt batteries that you buy down at Central Hardwear. Well, I can't buy the batteries anymore 'couse they're kind of expensive, so I'll just leave'em on the front porch I suppose. The walls are built up stone by stone The fields divided one-by-one And the train conductor says "Take a break, Driver 8, Driver 8, take a break We've been on this shift too long" And the train conductor says "Take a break, Driver 8, Driver 8, take a break We can reach our destination but we're still a ways away" I saw a treehouse on the outskirts of the farm The power lines have floaters so the airplanes won't get snagged Bells are ringing through the town again The children look up, all they hear is sky-blue, bells ringing And the train conductor says "Take a break, Driver 8, Driver 8, take a break We can reach our destination, but we're still a ways away" But it's still a ways away But we're still a ways away But it's still a ways away Way to shield the hated heat Way to put myself to sleep Way to shield the hated heat Way to put myself, my children to sleep He piloted this song in a plane like that one She is selling faith on the Go Tell crusade Locomotive 8, Southern Crescent, hear the bells ring again Field to weed is lookin' thin And the train conductor says "Take a break, Driver 8, Driver 8, take a break We've been on this shift too long" And the train conductor says "Take a break, Driver 8, Driver 8, take a break We can reach our destination, but we're still a ways away" But it's still a ways away But we're still a ways away But it's still a ways away
"This video was filmed in Clifton Forge Virginia, I had a girlfriend there in 1981 I recognize the tracks and layout of the yard. I heard later most of the tracks were taken up their must not be as much coal coming through there as in the 1981 to 2000 it was a great song, Im a real railroad buff riding the Amtrak probally 70 times I love it
I live here in Clifton Forge, and love it! As an army brat, I have lived in many places, from Oklahoma to Germany, but Clifton Forge will always be home. Business are coming back to town, with a lot of them being art and food centric. We just restored the Historic Masonic Theatre, and you can still take the Amtrak right into town.
Driver 8 is melodically profound, and profoundly melodic, in ways never heard and felt before--though it did build on the great work of earlier bands who are largely forgotten now.
Great video. Once again its the fall of 85 & Im in the 12th grade. And damn I miss the old Chessie System Railroads. (Chesapeake and Ohio, Baltimore and Ohio, and Western Maryland)
I love how this video too shows the old Chessie System Railroad (Chesapeake and Ohio, Baltimore and Ohio, and Western Maryland). I am a huge railroad fan and Chessie System is my favorite railroad, also a big fan of the Chessie cat.
MrCzechers I worked for B&O, as most of my family did. I also worked for Chessie, then CSX as a locomotive engineer. Now retired. I can say that the B&O was a great railroad to work for. Chessie was a good one, and CSX was something less.
Once in a while you see a Chessie car roll through my part of town in the western suburbs of Chicago. I live near the Union Pacific West line, it’s supposedly the busiest railway line in the nation.
My dad was a musician and when I started playing guitar, I lived in a little town in Indiana. I was about 9 years old. I wanted to have him teach me but he wanted me to have lessons from someone else first since he was self taught and thought I should get my basics down. My guitar teacher was the cool hippy guy and gave me a music sheet of this song. Took me a week to learn and it’s a song that I always tune my guitar to 😅a classic i still enjoy playing
I left monterey california with my new boyfriend and drive on a road trip to Kansas, taking all the roads Less traveled and listened to your music all the way. You are an integrated park of the soundtrack of my life. I’m so grateful for the music you produced. Like Joseph Campbell always said, the best things in life can Not be spoken in words 💜
Railroads, Farming and the Oilfields is the History of my Family. A simple life ; but so many sweet memories. REM has a Gift for writing songs that capture the essence of America.
I always liked Driver 8, but, never saw the video. What was chilling for me was all of that footage of the railyard, C&O, Clifton Forge, VA, I worked on every track you see, except for the diesel shop, which was closed when I was working. The other chilling thing about the shop footage, all of that would go silent within months of this video, between the Flood of 85 flooding the shops and the C&O moving shop jobs elsewhere. It's a great song, just didn't know how close to home the video was.
Camping out for tickets to REM with Drivin 'n Cryin in Savannah spring '89 (Green Tour) the acoustic guitar players joined together for Driver8 and the singing erupted from everyone all the way down the line... It was as memorable (maybe more) as the concert itself.
I went to UGA at the same time as the members of REM, tho.i never met them. I bought my records at the Wuxtry's where Peter and Michael met. I was so pleased that they filmed an early video at Howard Finster's Paradise Garden, near my home town. I always liked their music but this was their first song that sent me into fangirldom.
I love to listen this song and it fits perfectly in my life since I am going through some consequences of making decisions by impulse and it makes me think that life is short but we don’t have to rush it. I have to sit down, take a deep breathe, think and take a break because I am still long ways away from my achievements. Thank you R.E.M. This song calms me down.
You can almost smell the train and feel it rocking. My Hometown of Cumberland, MD is home to the old Western Md, B and O, C and O, and Chessie; sound of the trains 2 block from my home would rock me to sleep.
Saw them with Jason and The Scorchers in D.C. in my college days...they were THE band of the time..But like so many great bands they became an act and not a band that could play small clubs. The I.R.S. days were the best!
Vintage REM sure takes me back. I saw them open for The English Beat in '83, and then raced to the record store the next day to buy Murmur. The songs on this album are truly timeless.
There's an undeniable presence about Michael Stipe here. It's the hat and his third hand suit and depression era shoes. I can't pinpoint it more than that, but there's something other worldly about him as well..
A way to shield the hated heat A way to put myself to sleep A way to shield the hated heat A way to put myself, my children to sleep. Great phrase Johnny Mike.
Not hard, just start with the E minor chord and figure out the picking from there. you will be surprised how easy this song is. Bill Berry wrote this song.
Lisa Knell yeah, if you have a basic command of playing guitar and could make it through an average campfire song, you could at least fake your way through this one. Maybe not note for note, but good enough to have fun with friends or whatever.
Em Am G G/F# Em The walls are built up, stone by stone Am G G/F# fields divided one by one Em Am and the train conductor says G G/F# Take a break, Driver 8 Em Am Driver 8, take a break G G/F# we've been on this shift too long D C D And the train conductor says C D Take a break, Driver 8 C D Driver 8, take a break C Em we can reach our destination Em/F# Em (but it’s still a ways away) Em/F# Em (but it’s still a ways away) • I saw a treehouse on the outskirts of the farm power lines have floaters so the airplanes won't get snagged bells are ringing through the town again children look up, all they hear is sky-blue bells ringing And the train conductor says Take a break, Driver 8, Driver 8, take a break we can reach our destination (but it’s still a ways away) (but it’s still a ways away) (but it’s still a ways away) (but it’s still a ways away) Am C Way to seal the hated heat G D a way to put myself to sleep Am C way to seal the hated heat G D a way to put myself, my children sleep • Piloted this song in a plane like that one she is selling faith on the Go Tell Crusade Locomotive 8, Southern Crescent, hear the bells ring again fields of wheat are stricken thin And the train conductor says Take a break, Driver 8, Driver 8, take a break we've been on this shift too long And the train conductor says Take a break, Driver 8, Driver 8 take a break we can reach our destination (but it’s still a ways away) (but it’s still a ways away) (but it’s still a ways away) (but it’s still a ways away) ❧
@@anthonymadrid4699 On the C chords in the (sorta) chorus, I drop the bass note and bring it back up: D -- C/Am7/C -- D -- C/Am7/C, that kind of thing. As everyone's said, the song's not that hard to play. But capturing that feeling and getting close to that tone is another matter entirely.
The few albums during the band’s ascendant period are so heady, with that mixture of basement feel but that was deceptively tight; obscure but penetrating lyrics; so new seeming but instantly nostalgic; and above all infectious hook after hook after hook. Irresistible.
I grew up in a Railroad town in East Texas. We'd ride our bikes across town as kids. Sometimes we'd have to wait for the trains. Some or the men in the caboose would toss candy at us as they went by. Train whistles at night are calming to me to this day.
One of my favorite REM vids. I grew up near a big Chessie yard in southern WV. w/ two big NW yards across the river. This vid looks just like home. Hoppin' those slow freights out of the yard to go to the big town, hopin' like Hell it didn't speed up and take you to Ohio.
im a railroader for a living, many many times ive looked across the cab seeing a tired and overworked hogger. this songs got a natural feel to it, especially when your living what its about
When this video was filmed in my hometown of Clifton Forge Virginia, I was a young Locomotive Engineer for the C&O/Chessie System. I was running the Locomotive in 2 of the scenes in the video. You can't see me but I was there! It was so cool that they chose our town to shoot this video! Love REM!
Chessie system
Cool that used to be a huge titan of a company and business. Originally Louisville & Nashville and now CSX Teansportaion premier Eastern sea board Rail Road. The reviews on Conductor occupation online are so terrible and discouragement.i have immense legacy with this company. Wish it were more like the original Louisville Nashville.
So cool!
I grew up in Williamsburg, Va! Spent many years in Richmond 🔥
Nice SD50 8558 you conducted sir!
Living in the projects with a drug addict mother no dad around these guys got me through some really rough times. I'm 45 now and still rock out to them.
God Bless You & keep you close to His heart.
Glad you made it through the rough times.......GodisLifeisGood
Hang in there 7632227173 don......
Would love to jam with you much respect
A 55 y/o REM fan here. Done my time in rehab, alla that shit. Their song "Good Advices" from the *Fables,* "I'd like it here if I could see you from a long ways away" still speaks volumes to me.
Rocking out to REM? That’s a new one. But whatever works for you!
REM decides to write a train song...so of course they go on to write one of the most incredible train songs ever.
Is there anything else to sing about, really?
Even more amazing.... a train song that drives itself; i.e. doesn't require a freakin' harmonica!! Fk'in brilliant. I miss these guys and love this music more with each passing year.
Great song, railroad man is a great tune by eels
REM got me through the shittiest years of my life and Fall on Me is my favorite song ever but I think Arlo Guthries’ City of New Orleans takes the prize in the Category of Best Train Song Ever. Driver 8 is a close second though.
Stay safe and stay strong everyone.
Warmly, Boston
Darren Willett yes. So very lovely......
I never get tired of Peter Buck and his jangly Rickenbakker
My dad was an engineer for the C&O and worked his butt off to provide a good life for his family. I always think of him when I see this video and hear this song. He finally is taking his break with Jesus. R.I.P Driver 8
Don’t make me cry. I long for these days in the south. Going to bars in Knoxville and the only music playing was REM.
I'm 53...my first experience at casino poker was in MS....I WAS 24...LOST ALL MY MONEY TO A RETIRED CONDUCTOR...COOL GUY..READ ME & MY 2 FRIENDS LIKE A BOOK 😂...I SENSED HE WAS A REAL MAN...
You'll see him again........ on a bright sunny day!
❤
R.E.M. wasn't just a band in the 80's .. they were a fabric of my life ... this is one of their best .. thanks again guys
Agreed. Gets real "Dylanesque," in the middle, and it's about trains. My favorite.
Truth
They are a big part of my childhood too. I love listening to them.
You said it, friend.
H
My Dad worked the C and O/ B and O/ Chessie for 35 years. This song brings his smell back to me. Diesel, creosote, sweat and lucky strikes. The finest man I’ve ever known. Conductor. I have his Ball RR wristwatch. Mom was his best friend and they kicked ass. RIP.
Oh my. What an absolutely beautiful story you tell, artful and American. So well described I can inhale and feel a little piece of it myself. Blessings. ❤
God bless him. We need our railroads. Another not so pretty job that doesn't get the right appreciation.
@@RebekahCurielAlessi
Thanks. I’m Bro.
@@RebekahCurielAlessithanks. Be well. Music cures.
The bridge of Driver 8 may just be the most perfect passage of pop music ever written.
A way to shield the hated heat
A way to put myself to sleep
A way to shield the hated heat
A way to put myself, my children to sleep….
REM did great bridges. Fall On Me too.
The song Driver 8, along with So. Central Rain, are the quintessential REM songs. The beautiful guitar intro that hooks you in by Peter Buck, the beautiful almost etheriel vocals by Michael Stipe, the back beat of Bill Berry and the simple but solid bass with harmonies by Mike Mills are what sold me on this band from the get go. The sometimes obscure but always haunting lyrics give me chills yet soothe me simultaneously. The early years of this band is how I choose to remember them.
Mike Mills bass is anything but simple, listen to Murmur!
Charles Kuckel, what a beautiful and true description. I feel the same.
Totally agree
Mike Mills possibly the most understated bassist ever
I remember the Green album was what got me into them and then everything that came before was what solidified my love of this band. To this day it’s the same I dig everything they do but those seminal albums are still so deep in my blood.
The song refers to the Southern Crescent, a passenger train that was operated by the Southern Railroad until 1979, and continues today (with fewer stops) as the Amtrak Crescent. The music video shows Chessie System trains running around Clifton Forge, Virginia. The song is about a train engineer who is over-worked and urged by the conductor to take a break. That message could be applied to many facets of life. Trains were chosen according to guitarist Peter Buck because the band grew up near the train tracks. According to lead singer Michael Stipe it's because they represent part of "mythological America."
Thank you for this!!!!😊😊😊😊
Probably heard this song 1,000 times, and it still gives me goosebumps every time. Even this hardcore metal head knows REM is brilliant.
me too. i have listened to this song 1000's of time. it's always great. Saw them once in Richmond, which was both memorable and fantastic.
Same here
Roman Harton I saw them at the Richmond, Virginia Coliseum in October of 1995.
Same
AHA! The essence of music is the soul's driver 8. And if anyone still thinks this song is about trains and countryside versus profound esoteric meaning you gotta take the elevator to the mezzanine chump (not calling anyone a chump lol) change then it's on superbonbonbon. (Conciousness going up)
My favorite REM song of all time 🚂🚃
It is a classic and one of my top ones!
"The power lines have floaters so the airplanes won't get snagged." Always loved this line.
It makes airplanes hitting powerlines sound cute and trivial
Mine too Marc. Thank you for quoting
Cropdusters.
Same here so Stipe
@@albertandrews130 Thank you!
Love this to this day... mid 80's were incredible for indie, and REM was best in their IRS days. Today, I'm a 52 year old engineer with a very very difficult railroad client... they make me hate anything to do with railways, but REM restores my faith.
You rock Mike...Go Bravos!!
Mike Mills I love your name
okay bye
Thanks Ken... I too had HO as a kid, in the 70's... this song brings me back down to earth to just enjoy it all... dealing with a real rail client can kill you... demanding, and impossible... sad and kills any romance you had for railroads.
I love all you guys...
okay Bye!
Oh Brixton, you made my damn day! xD
My mother's parents home in Iron Gate, VA, is shown looking under the passing train wheels at about 3:56-4:00. The video transports me there! Love REM and the song.
That's our Pop as the Conductor in the beginning!! Omg! Amazing!
There's something so beautiful, so Americana about these older trains. I feel they represent an era when we were a stronger, more proud nation. ❤🇺🇸 🚉
Southern Gothic, Byrds jangle, trains. It doesn’t get much more American than that. The masterpiece that is Driver 8 is the 1980’s City Of New Orleans.
I came here to say this and you beat me to it by a year lol!
This is the REM sound.
This 100%.
Dan S. mm
So many of the older R.E.M. songs instantly transport me back to college in the mid-late-80s. So. Central Rain in particular reminds me of a hot summer afternoon in a bar, drinking cheap draft beer and shooting pool with a friend. I can't remember which friend it was but I always FEEL that day in my mind as soon as I hear the opening riff.
Same Feeling. Life's Rich Pageant was recorded at John Mellencamp's Studio near the Indiana University Campus, where I went to school, at the same time. I personally never saw the band mates, but, heard they were in town...
I have a good friend who went to school at U. Georgia about the time R.E.M. were rising. He said they played locally 1-2 times each quarter. I still have a couple of cassettes he gave me that are copies of bar shows in Athens that were recorded directly from the mixing board. One of these days, I'll find someone who can convert them to CD for me. I haven't heard them in a long time because I don't have anything to play cassettes on! Heck, I barely have a CD player, and that's my car stereo. lol
No other band in music industry put out eight flawless records one after another as they did. From Murmur to Automatic for the People you see one of the greatest and most solid discographies in rock history.
So true. None of the them beatles The Who stones Floyd etc.
And you might as well throw in Chronic Town and Dead Letter Office. Great tracks on those releases.
@@LilysLife-ns4qs Ridiculous. I love REM but to even suggest their catalog compares to the string of great albums by the Stones or the Who or the Beatles suggest a real lack of familiarity with those bands and likely a generational bias and naivete. No serious rock critic would support your view. I mean really-the Rolling Stones! Laughable.
Floyd beatles The Who how many albums 8 in a row great ones. No
@@LilysLife-ns4qs No disrepect. You are entitled to your opinion. I do not care for Pink Floyd nor do I listen to the Beatles. Much of it comes down to taste. However, no band is considered to have produced a string of great albums to compare with the Stones from 67-80. So I have to take issue that they did not produce consistently great albums. Many of which are considered among the top 30-40 albums of all time. I do not recall a single REM album that is typically ranked among the greatest 100 rock albums on any survey. But again, of the post 70s bands-they were/are my number 1 favorite. Best
"Children look up, all they hear is sky-blue bells ringing" is such a beautiful phrase, even though it means nothing.. I love it
Cobain Loved REM.....nuff said
i turned 54 a few days ago but when i think back on some of the good friends and memories i have had over the course of my life, whenever i hear anything by R.E.M. , i think to the 80's back when i was young and healthy and friends i made back then, Thank you for turning me on to REM. 30+ years later, they are still one of my favorite band of all time. and i can't imagine hat will ever change.
I turned 51 a few weeks ago. I am 51. Years old.
I will be 55 in August and were on the same page with that.A really great music period.
I'm 53…...Rem is the bomb
me too im 65
@@williamallen9683 remhq
This is R.E.M. at their absolute finest.
at their most beautiful?
Stipe's confidence and vocals really blossomed on this album. Still one of my favorites.
This song is damn near perfect. It even SOUNDS like a train.
It is perfect!
Jennifer Konstant you are so right. The guitar work here is perfect.
It even looks like a train. You can literally see an actual train in the video.
@@finmoc6545 That intro- ohhhhhhhhh so delicious.
It's in that harmonica, goes from screeching wheels, to air horn, to what I hear as a saw mill blade as the train rolls past. You can practically smell this tune.
I rolled into Clifton Forge, VA. today and headed to the railyard, (where the video was shot). I pull into the C&O Heritage Center with Driver 8 blasting, expecting grown men to drop everything and come running, or at the very least, some kind of salute to what you'd think would be well know in the town even 37 years later. Nothing. A man on a bench acknowledged the music and says, "you were jammin". I'm thinking, "holy sh$t"! someone remembers! I said, "yeah, that was REM Driver 8!" expecting him to go into some tirade about the video and song. He responded "R what". Oh f#ck. It was one of those moments when you are super excited about something and expect everyone in the world to share that same enthusiasm. Such is life, it's basically all meaningless in the end.
I never liked REM. But i had a camp counselor who would pull out a guitar and sing this song among others. I found this song almost 10 years later, because i never knew where it came from who wrote it. It takes me back to a quiet cabin in the woods in the Midwest. Its a magical song.
I was turned onto REM in the early '80s by an Army buddy while at Ft. Bragg NC, and I'm still rocking out to them in 2023. This song and Dont go back to Rockville are still some of my favorites, classic.
Brilliant lyrics! A perfect snap shot of rural America with a train representing the freedom to move on and change.
@DTOM, ¿eStamos? It always seemed grounded, the lyrics always sounded like something you would here from a buddy at the bar after you were done with your shift.
No words.
Your to polarised to move on!
all the early REM albums were GREAT. Document was probably the best album they recorded. Every song and its lyrics has some real grit and meaning to them. Driver 8 is no exception.
2 years ago I was driving through Montana. Off in the distance was an old train with about 100 cars just stopped in a field. On the nose of the cab is a big 8. Graffitied on the side was the letters REM. Im sure most driving by didn't get the connection. But in that moment I knew somewhere out there was a kindred spirit.
My favorite R.E.M. song.
I operated Diesel Locomotive Trains 37 years until I retired in 2015. I miss it so much. Love this song.
Why not go back?
Too political.
I remember the Chessie trains going by my house as a kid. Somehow those sounds from the rails were somewhat comforting. ❤
A beautiful tribute to the beloved Chessie System by one of the most beloved bands. Just goosebumps and so much love!!
greatest train song in years
The importance of this band cannot be overstated. Their presence grounded music throughout the 80s, gave the ostentacious and absurd polarity and equilibrium. They, Smiths and 'Mats.
...and the first 2 Pretenders albums.
Totally on point..They were peerless along with The Smiths.
Very well said.
Nice film still of John.
Oh the music of REM takes me right me right back to the late 80's when I was in my 20's, young, and full of optimism....now the future seems so blek....56 yrs old
Such a beautiful, haunting tune. For me, it’s also drenched in major nostalgia, as it takes me back to my youth in the 80s.
This band saved my life
So glad you’re still with us, Friend
In my opinion this is the best REM song of all time. Followed by Don't go back to Rockville and So Central Rain
For a while there REM were classic Americana.
I 'll tell you what, I've got these two railroad landings that I've had for a long time, and they run on those nine-volt batteries that you buy down at Central Hardwear.
Well, I can't buy the batteries anymore 'couse they're kind of expensive, so I'll just leave'em on the front porch I suppose.
The walls are built up stone by stone
The fields divided one-by-one
And the train conductor says
"Take a break, Driver 8, Driver 8, take a break
We've been on this shift too long"
And the train conductor says
"Take a break, Driver 8, Driver 8, take a break
We can reach our destination but we're still a ways away"
I saw a treehouse on the outskirts of the farm
The power lines have floaters so the airplanes won't get snagged
Bells are ringing through the town again
The children look up, all they hear is sky-blue, bells ringing
And the train conductor says
"Take a break, Driver 8, Driver 8, take a break
We can reach our destination, but we're still a ways away"
But it's still a ways away
But we're still a ways away
But it's still a ways away
Way to shield the hated heat
Way to put myself to sleep
Way to shield the hated heat
Way to put myself, my children to sleep
He piloted this song in a plane like that one
She is selling faith on the Go Tell crusade
Locomotive 8, Southern Crescent, hear the bells ring again
Field to weed is lookin' thin
And the train conductor says
"Take a break, Driver 8, Driver 8, take a break
We've been on this shift too long"
And the train conductor says
"Take a break, Driver 8, Driver 8, take a break
We can reach our destination, but we're still a ways away"
But it's still a ways away
But we're still a ways away
But it's still a ways away
コイワカメラ and the walls are knocked down
You clearly took great care in providing the lyrics to this song. Very accurate, nice formatting. Thank you very much for your effort.
@@rob440six thank you for the lyrics wish I had em 30 yes ago
Thank you for posting the lyrics! ❤
Illinois toward Iowa! Ah, the bridge over the Mississippi Valley,and those who built it! The Burlington.
"This video was filmed in Clifton Forge Virginia, I had a girlfriend there in 1981 I recognize the tracks and layout of the yard. I heard later most of the tracks were taken up their must not be as much coal coming through there as in the 1981 to 2000 it was a great song, Im a real railroad buff riding the Amtrak probally 70 times I love it
I saw this yard last year. It doesn't look as bustling. The area doesn't look like it's suffering much.
I live here in Clifton Forge, and love it! As an army brat, I have lived in many places, from Oklahoma to Germany, but Clifton Forge will always be home. Business are coming back to town, with a lot of them being art and food centric. We just restored the Historic Masonic Theatre, and you can still take the Amtrak right into town.
Thanks for mentioning that. I thought it was Clfifton Forge also but I was never sure
What are you smoking? Clifton is still a ghetto. Doesn't matter how much you fix up main street
Driver 8 is melodically profound, and profoundly melodic, in ways never heard and felt before--though it did build on the great work of earlier bands who are largely forgotten now.
Great video. Once again its the fall of 85 & Im in the 12th grade. And damn I miss the old Chessie System Railroads. (Chesapeake and Ohio, Baltimore and Ohio, and Western Maryland)
I love how this video too shows the old Chessie System Railroad (Chesapeake and Ohio, Baltimore and Ohio, and Western Maryland). I am a huge railroad fan and Chessie System is my favorite railroad, also a big fan of the Chessie cat.
MrCzechers I worked for B&O, as most of my family did. I also worked for Chessie, then CSX as a locomotive engineer. Now retired. I can say that the B&O was a great railroad to work for. Chessie was a good one, and CSX was something less.
My parents had a cat called Chessie. Named after the railroad kitty.
Once in a while you see a Chessie car roll through my part of town in the western suburbs of Chicago. I live near the Union Pacific West line, it’s supposedly the busiest railway line in the nation.
MrCzechers this is the whole reason why I decided to watch this
My dad was a musician and when I started playing guitar, I lived in a little town in Indiana. I was about 9 years old. I wanted to have him teach me but he wanted me to have lessons from someone else first since he was self taught and thought I should get my basics down. My guitar teacher was the cool hippy guy and gave me a music sheet of this song. Took me a week to learn and it’s a song that I always tune my guitar to 😅a classic i still enjoy playing
This is one of the earlier songs that got me hooked -- this might be my favorite R.E.M. album.
The genre Alternative was coined because of these guys
Those first few notes...
There's no words to describe how much I love this song and R.e.m!!
Fully agree
I left monterey california with my new boyfriend and drive on a road trip to Kansas, taking all the roads Less traveled and listened to your music all the way. You are an integrated park of the soundtrack of my life. I’m so grateful for the music you produced. Like Joseph Campbell always said, the best things in life can Not be spoken in words 💜
REM as a band I'm my opinion are so underrated. So many gems, grew up with their music. Always come back to the comfort.
Railroads, Farming and the Oilfields is the History of my Family. A simple life ; but so many sweet memories. REM has a Gift for writing songs that capture the essence of America.
Unsung folk who are a real part of our country. give them the respect they deserve, they keep it running
I always liked Driver 8, but, never saw the video. What was chilling for me was all of that footage of the railyard, C&O, Clifton Forge, VA, I worked on every track you see, except for the diesel shop, which was closed when I was working. The other chilling thing about the shop footage, all of that would go silent within months of this video, between the Flood of 85 flooding the shops and the C&O moving shop jobs elsewhere. It's a great song, just didn't know how close to home the video was.
My hometown had these old Chessie system CSX’S my grandpa worked on one
Camping out for tickets to REM with Drivin 'n Cryin in Savannah spring '89 (Green Tour) the acoustic guitar players joined together for Driver8 and the singing erupted from everyone all the way down the line... It was as memorable (maybe more) as the concert itself.
I went to UGA at the same time as the members of REM, tho.i never met them. I bought my records at the Wuxtry's where Peter and Michael met. I was so pleased that they filmed an early video at Howard Finster's Paradise Garden, near my home town. I always liked their music but this was their first song that sent me into fangirldom.
Pure love for R.E.M.
Still getting goosebumps listening to REM today! Although I've heard their songs more than 1000 times!
Agreed! This is my favorite...and I like most all REM
perfect music for three in the morning rising early to hit the coffee
I love to listen this song and it fits perfectly in my life since I am going through some consequences of making decisions by impulse and it makes me think that life is short but we don’t have to rush it. I have to sit down, take a deep breathe, think and take a break because I am still long ways away from my achievements. Thank you R.E.M.
This song calms me down.
You can almost smell the train and feel it rocking. My Hometown of Cumberland, MD is home to the old Western Md, B and O, C and O, and Chessie; sound of the trains 2 block from my home would rock me to sleep.
God..that bridge section is so unmistakenly R.E.M sound..amazing..it's like a song within a song
They really excelled at bridges. This one gives goosebumps.
Yes…something very few bands/artists excelled at.
The Beatles, of course, were the masters of the bridge or “middle eight”
Possibly my favorite REM song on one of my favorite REM albums.
One of the best songs REM produced. This song is like an American anthem. The guitar riffs just reverberate in your soul.
this was one of my dad’s favorite songs of all time. now a favorite one of mine as well. i miss him.
Saw them with Jason and The Scorchers in D.C. in my college days...they were THE band of the time..But like so many great bands they became an act and not a band that could play small clubs. The I.R.S. days were the best!
The 80s, the Greek system and REM made for such a period. Was a magical time to be a young person.
This is the first REM song I ever heard. It made me a fan forever
Absolutely
neil ryan Yay! This is about my home Bogart Ga
Anyone sent here from doom patrol?
same!!!!
Same here
Tales of the Reconstruction is their best album. This is the best song off it.
In the early 90s I drove across the South with that CD on repeat pretty much the whole way.
Vintage REM sure takes me back. I saw them open for The English Beat in '83, and then raced to the record store the next day to buy Murmur. The songs on this album are truly timeless.
There's an undeniable presence about Michael Stipe here. It's the hat and his third hand suit and depression era shoes. I can't pinpoint it more than that, but there's something other worldly about him as well..
A way to shield the hated heat
A way to put myself to sleep
A way to shield the hated heat
A way to put myself, my children to sleep.
Great phrase Johnny Mike.
My grandpa worked for L&N and was proud of that. And REM is a way for my son and daughter to connect.
Perfect song for every 80s southern college.
ESPECIALLY Tennessee. Meaning they were formed in the south and toured in the south in the 80s
My favorite R.E.M. song. Love the guitars and the vocals too. It's my dream to be able to play this on the guitar. :)
Not hard, just start with the E minor chord and figure out the picking from there. you will be surprised how easy this song is. Bill Berry wrote this song.
tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/r/r_e_m_/driver_8_crd.htm
Lisa Knell yeah, if you have a basic command of playing guitar and could make it through an average campfire song, you could at least fake your way through this one. Maybe not note for note, but good enough to have fun with friends or whatever.
Em Am G G/F# Em
The walls are built up, stone by stone
Am G G/F#
fields divided one by one
Em Am
and the train conductor says
G G/F#
Take a break, Driver 8
Em Am
Driver 8, take a break
G G/F#
we've been on this shift too long
D C D
And the train conductor says
C D
Take a break, Driver 8
C D
Driver 8, take a break
C Em
we can reach our destination
Em/F# Em
(but it’s still a ways away)
Em/F# Em
(but it’s still a ways away)
•
I saw a treehouse on the outskirts of the farm
power lines have floaters so the airplanes won't get snagged
bells are ringing through the town again
children look up, all they hear is sky-blue bells ringing
And the train conductor says
Take a break, Driver 8,
Driver 8, take a break
we can reach our destination
(but it’s still a ways away)
(but it’s still a ways away)
(but it’s still a ways away)
(but it’s still a ways away)
Am C
Way to seal the hated heat
G D
a way to put myself to sleep
Am C
way to seal the hated heat
G D
a way to put myself, my children sleep
•
Piloted this song in a plane like that one
she is selling faith on the Go Tell Crusade
Locomotive 8, Southern Crescent, hear the bells ring again
fields of wheat are stricken thin
And the train conductor says
Take a break, Driver 8,
Driver 8, take a break
we've been on this shift too long
And the train conductor says
Take a break, Driver 8,
Driver 8 take a break
we can reach our destination
(but it’s still a ways away)
(but it’s still a ways away)
(but it’s still a ways away)
(but it’s still a ways away)
❧
@@anthonymadrid4699 On the C chords in the (sorta) chorus, I drop the bass note and bring it back up: D -- C/Am7/C -- D -- C/Am7/C, that kind of thing.
As everyone's said, the song's not that hard to play. But capturing that feeling and getting close to that tone is another matter entirely.
This is, bar none, my favorite song by this amazing band. Love it always.
Simply brilliant band and beautiful tune 😊❤️🌹🎼🎶
My fave R.E.M song. Just a gorgeous song all around.
One of the most beautifuly written songs ever!
A way to shield the hated heat, a way to put myself to sleep.
The few albums during the band’s ascendant period are so heady, with that mixture of basement feel but that was deceptively tight; obscure but penetrating lyrics; so new seeming but instantly nostalgic; and above all infectious hook after hook after hook. Irresistible.
The guitars on this 😍
One of my favorite songs from one of my favorite REM records
Great song from a classic album by the best american band of all time ...
+1000000
עירן שושני You could live that? huh? ;)
what now?
I thought, once “This may be the greatest song I’ve ever heard” and then they hit me with Texarkana. REM ....why do you toy with me like this
Aerosmith is the greatest!
If anybody is checking, this is the kind of cool shit we were doing in the 90's
The greatest American band ever.
I grew up in a Railroad town in East Texas. We'd ride our bikes across town as kids. Sometimes we'd have to wait for the trains. Some or the men in the caboose would toss candy at us as they went by. Train whistles at night are calming to me to this day.
My son is a conductor on The South Shore Line. It runs between South Bend and Chicago. This song makes me think of him.
People say, 80's! But, when i hear an REM song i heard memories of times/ life back then come to mind, not a video with high heals crushing roses.
REM is such a revolutionary band.
One of their top 5
One of my very favorites of the 80's. Damn you won't hear anything like this ever again.
Cool song. Also pretty cool seeing the old Chessie Systems trains. Grew up around the railroad,
One of the best songs from REM - miss these guys
One of the best to come from USA 🇺🇸
How tight is this band. The most accomplished band in history.
One of my favorite REM vids. I grew up near a big Chessie yard in southern WV. w/ two big NW yards across the river. This vid looks just like home. Hoppin' those slow freights out of the yard to go to the big town, hopin' like Hell it didn't speed up and take you to Ohio.
Rest In Peace John F. Morrison Jr....always love you Dad
this band.... part of the soundtrack of my life... all I can think of to say is...Thank You...
im a railroader for a living, many many times ive looked across the cab seeing a tired and overworked hogger. this songs got a natural feel to it, especially when your living what its about