The One I Love
by R.E.M.
- 129
- BPM
- D major
- Key
- 10B
- Camelot
- 49
- Danceability
- 1
- Acousticness
Many radio stations treated "The One I Love" as a dedication to a sweetheart, resting on the refrain "This one goes out to the one I love". The verse that follows says otherwise, calling a partner "a simple prop to occupy my time". Michael Stipe told Rolling Stone in 1987 that it was probably better if people thought it was a love song. In 1988 he told Musician it was incredibly violent and clearly about using people over and over.
R.E.M. put the song on Document in 1987, and I.R.S. Records released it as a 7-inch single the same year. It was their first hit, reaching number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 14 in Canada. In 1991 a re-release reached number 16 in the UK.
It has only three verses, and the first two are identical. The chorus is the single word "fire" over a backing vocal from Mike Mills. Robert Longo directed the video, and Alton Brown was the director of photography. A live version of the song, recorded at McCabe's Guitar Shop in Santa Monica on May 24, 1987, appeared on some releases under the title "This One Goes Out".
The One I Love runs at 129 BPM, the tempo of house, disco and most club dance music. In classical terms it sits in allegro territory. A bar of 4/4 lasts 1.86 seconds, and a quarter-note delay is 465 ms. It is in D major, Camelot 10B, which shares its notes with B minor and mixes cleanly with G major and A major.
We use multiple sources as part of our online research for the song story including Wikipedia.