A Facebook friend recently had a newsfeed item of liking a YouTube video from REM of the song "Don't go back to Rockville." That video rekindled some memories from the eighties for me. I remember driving the two hours from Cincy to Indy to catch a REM concert.
This song is about love in the wrong places/spaces. One partner goes back to Rockville to work at a factory to make more money rather than staying in the relationship back where nothing is happening for jobs. Over 25 years later, not a whole has changed it seems.
The hook line in this song has been going through my head and for some reason I started substituting Rockville for other cities.
Don't go back to Knoxville, and waste another year, or
Don't go back to Nashville, and waste another year, or
Don't go back to Anyville, and waste another year.
Even though this is a REM song, Natalie Merchant in a 10,000 Maniacs cover did a soulful, emotive cover. Reminds me of an alternative country-rock cover. The embedded video below doesn't show anything but it gives you a chance to listen to Merchant's delivery of song full of sadness wrapped around a hope for a better life.
