Peak
28
Weeks
15
Score
1,758
Chart Year
1992
The song's accompanying music video, directed by Peter Care, was shot over two nights in late August 1992 at Sepulveda Dam in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles. "I remember Oliver Stone came," Michael Stipe said in 2001.[3] "I was trying to get a film produced with him at the time. And River Phoenix came – we were friends. And Oliver had been drinking and they got into a fight in my trailer. It was fun to watch. And it kind of fuelled the energy that this video, from beginning to end, kind of carries through it."[3] Actor Adam Scott appeared as an extra in the video
The central lyric, "Hey kids, rock n' roll," was borrowed from "Rock On" by David Essex. The words may be the same, but the mood is completely different. This is a much more somber song. Lead singer Michael Stipe explained in the November 12, 2009 issue of Rolling Stone: "There were, before Punk, a few songs that resonated with me. One was David Essex's 'Rock On.' 'Drive' is a homage to that. It was the first song I wrote on computer. Before, I had a typewriter. The reason is my handwriting changes dramatically day to day. I don't trust it. I will write one of the best lyrics ever and discard it because the handwriting looks like s--t. Or the handwriting looks good but it's a crap lyric, lo and behold, it's in the song. Too late." Guitarist Peter Buck used a nickel as a guitar pick for the mid-song guitar solo to get a sharper sound. He overdubbed the track six times. There is a line in the song that goes, "Smack, crack, bushwhacked." This can be seen as an indictment of then-U.S. President George Bush (the first one). Lead singer Michael Stipe had taken out ads in college newspapers in 1988 saying, "Don't Get Bushwhacked. Get out and vote. Vote Dukakis." They weren't very effective. This was released two months before the national election between George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Clinton won that one, but eight years later Bush's son became president. When the younger Bush ran for re-election in 2004, R.E.M. performed concerts to benefit his opponent, John Kerry. This song has no chorus. That doesn't happen very often in hit songs. Report This Ad This was the first single released off the album. It was issued a few days before the album came out. At live shows, R.E.M. played a funk-rock version of this song because its ambient atmosphere was difficult to duplicate. This version appears on a 1993 benefit album for Greenpeace called Alternative NRG. The album title comes from a sign at Weaver D's Delicious Fine Foods diner in Athens, Georgia. It read, "Delicious Fine Foods - Automatic For The People." The diner was near the university in Athens, and was a regular hangout for Stipe and his friends in the band's early days. Director Peter Care shot the black-and-white music video at Sepulveda Dam in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles. The clip mostly has Stipe crowdsurfing as he performs the song. The implication was unclear; is the audience protecting him, or ready to tear him apart? Stipe told Mojo it was both. "It's everything. I'm about to be devoured." "The other interesting thing about that video was what happened backstage," he added. "We shot it in Los Angeles with a thousand people as extras. River Phoenix came, hang out in the trailer. We had a great time, until Oliver Stone showed up. I think they had both been drinking, and they got in a fist fight in my trail (gaffaws heartily). I think River won, to tell you the truth. I know he did, in fact." Bassist Mike Mills was always uncomfortable about the mixed message the video conveyed. He said: "I'm not much of a symbolist. There's something messianic about being passed over the heads of the people like that, and yet we're anything but messiahs. That was always a strange thing to me. I mean, yes, they get to touch you, but at the same time they're holding you up like a saint."
Smack, crack, bushwhacked Tie another one to the racks, baby Hey kids, rock and roll Nobody tells you where to go, baby What if I ride, what if you walk? What if you rock around the clock? Tick-tock, tick-tock What if you did, what if you walk? What if you tried to get off, baby? Hey, kids, where are you? Nobody tells you what to do, baby Hey kids, shake a leg Maybe you're crazy in the head, baby Maybe you did, maybe you walked Maybe you rocked around the clock Tick-tock, tick-tock Maybe I ride, maybe you walk Maybe I drive to get off, baby Hey kids, shake a leg Maybe you're crazy in the head, baby Ollie, Ollie, Ollie, Ollie, Ollie Ollie, Ollie in come free, baby Hey, kids, where are you? Nobody tells you what to do, baby Smack, crack, shack-a-lack Tie another one to your backs, baby Hey kids, rock and roll Nobody tells you where to go, baby Maybe you did, maybe you walk Maybe you rock around the clock Tick-tock, tick-tock Maybe I ride, maybe you walk Maybe I drive to get off, baby Hey kids, where are you? Nobody tells you what to do, baby Hey kids, rock and roll Nobody tells you where to go, baby Baby Baby
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oct 31, 1992 | 71 | 55 |
| 2 | Nov 7, 1992 | 65 | 61 |
| 3 | Nov 14, 1992 | 46 | 80 |
| 4 | Nov 21, 1992 | 43 | 83 |
| 5 | Nov 28, 1992 | 38 | 88 |
| 6 | Dec 5, 1992 | 35 | 91 |
| 7 | Dec 12, 1992 | 30 | 96 |
| 8 | Dec 19, 1992 | 29 | 97 |
| 9 | Dec 26, 1992 | 28 | 98 |
| 10 | Jan 2, 1993 | 30 | 96 |
| 11 | Jan 9, 1993 | 32 | 94 |
| 12 | Jan 16, 1993 | 36 | 90 |
| 13 | Jan 23, 1993 | 49 | 77 |
| 14 | Jan 30, 1993 | 69 | 57 |
| 15 | Feb 6, 1993 | 84 | 42 |