During my second semester of my senior year of high school, I looked for a song fitting for the end of high school that I can learn to play on the piano while singing. I would let my friends listen to me play that song. I googled “graduation songs” but found very cliche results such as Vitamin C’s “Graduation (Friends Forever)” and Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)”. I also thought of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” but that was also too cliche. I was stuck. I hoped for such a song particularly with a nice piano accompaniment as a pianist. Then, I put this aside.

Then on one Thursday night in April, I had my “Aha” moment. I surfed on YouTube listening to a bunch of songs by R.E.M.. Out of all of them, the one that stood out to me was the stripped-down “Nightswimming”. The piano playing, the serenity, and the meaning behind the song really moved me. I could relate to this song on a deep level. I knew that the end of high school would bring many changes - obviously going to college but also saying goodbye to friends and teachers and learning how to adult. Meanwhile, this song is about a nostalgic memory skinny dipping in a lake at night being young, wild, and free and how it is impossible to go back to those kinds of days.

Here is an analysis of the lyrics(the link to the lyrics: http://genius.com/Rem-nightswimming-lyrics very good idea to look at this link in order to understand this paragraph and the rest of this article). The song starts off with someone driving a car - let’s say that someone is Michael Stipe, the frontman of R.E.M..- who notices a photo on the outside of the windshield yet he still sees it clearly. The photo depicts Stipe and his friends skinny dipping at night years ago. Nothing compares to the feeling of nightswimming which includes taking risks and fearing the consequences. He will never get this feeling again since his life has changed so much. This is the summary of the first verse. The second verse starts off with saying that summer is over which means the nightswimming season is over. By “pining for the moon”, Stipe is desperate to relive the feeling of nightswimming yet this is impossible. The “moon” is a metaphor for feelings. And then he wonders what if there was somebody out there who he could share those feelings with by asking “what if there were two side by side in orbit around the fairest sun?” Maybe he will be able to get those feelings back for at least a moment. But no matter what, he cannot possibly get those feelings as there is “that bright, tight forever drum”. In the third verse, Stipe is speaking to his friend who he went swimming with saying that they have changed and history will not repeat itself here. Lastly, the song comes full circle with Stipe seeing that same photograph in the car. A line that repeats in the song is “Nightswimming deserves a quiet night”. This line, which has two meaning, sets the feeling of nightswimming. There were no boats or tides so it was literally a quiet night. Nothing beats swimming in a still lake. Also looking back, nightswimming deserves a moment of silence. This is not only done to mourn over a death or a tragic event but it is also done to reflect on a beautiful memory especially when it can never be attained again.

I have a gut feeling that the soft tone of the song is perfect. There are no drums used, only a piano, oboe, and string instruments. "Nightswimming" is meant to be stripped down because it is about the days when life was simple and how they are missed. The background music reminds me of a CD I use to listen to in a white Acura car that my parents would drive when I was in Pre-K. That disc would play some easy listening music. I remember that the music was very beautiful making me feel relaxed. I wish I could find that CD so I could play it again but it is lost. In fact, my parents no longer drive that Acura. My dad drives an SUV while my mom drives a Toyota Camry. This is one of my nostalgic memories.

I really enjoyed learning how to play "Nightswimming" because this is R.E.M.’s most beautiful song. I will always think of this song whenever I have reveries about graduating from high school. This may seem like a sad song but do not get me wrong: I am very excited for college. While I may miss my youth, I know that college is where life begins and that exciting things are right ahead of me (and all you high school Class of 2016 graduates). But after all, my first 18 years of my life deserve quiet nights.