"Daysleeper" is a song by American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

It was released as the first single from their eleventh studio album '' Up'' on October 12, 1998. Sung from the point of view of a night shift worker corresponding with colleagues, "Daysleeper" focuses on the disorientation of time and

circadian rhythm A circadian rhythm (), or circadian cycle, is a natural oscillation that repeats roughly every 24 hours. Circadian rhythms can refer to any process that originates within an organism (i.e., Endogeny (biology), endogenous) and responds to the env ...

in such a lifestyle, leading to despair and loss of identity. Lead singer

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Stipe was born in Metro Atlanta in January 1960. Due to his father's militar ...

developed the song's concept after noticing a sign reading "daysleeper" on a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

apartment door.

Background

During R.E.M.'s performance for

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

''Storytellers'', Stipe explained the background to the song: The song "The Lifting" from R.E.M.'s 2001 album '' Reveal'' is a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

to "Daysleeper" and features the same character.

Music video

The video, shot at Broadway Studios in the Astoria district of

in September 1998,'' Q'', October 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 Pajamas (American English) or pyjamas ( Commonwealth English), sometimes colloquially shortened to PJs, jammies, jim-jams, or in South Asia, night suits, are several related types of clothing worn as nightwear or while lounging. Pajamas are ...

and bed socks, while failing to get to sleep during the day. The video was directed by the

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic 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."

Track listings

All songs were written by

Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.; he played the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his caree ...

Mike Mills Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., hi ...

, and

. * US 7-inch, CD, and cassette single : UK cassette single : European CD single # "Daysleeper" – 3:32 # "Emphysema" – 4:21 * Canadian, Australian, and Japanese CD single # "Daysleeper" (single) – 3:31 # "Emphysema" – 4:21 # "Sad Professor" (live in the studio, Toast,

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

) – 3:59 # "Why Not Smile" (''

Oxford American The ''Oxford American'' is a quarterly magazine that focuses on the American South. First publication The magazine was founded in late 1989 in Oxford, Mississippi, by Marc Smirnoff (born July 11, 1963). The name "Oxford American" is a play on ' ...

'' version) – 3:00 * UK CD single # "Daysleeper" – 3:31 # "Emphysema" – 4:21 # "Why Not Smile" (''Oxford American'' version) – 3:00 * UK mini-CD single # "Daysleeper" (single edit) – 3:31 # "Sad Professor" (live in the studio, Toast, San Francisco, California) – 3:59

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1998 songs 1998 singles R.E.M. songs Number-one singles in Iceland Songs written by Michael Stipe Songs written by Mike Mills Songs written by Peter Buck Song recordings produced by Michael Stipe Song recordings produced by Mike Mills Song recordings produced by Pat McCarthy (record producer) Song recordings produced by Peter Buck Warner Records singles