Everybody Hurts

Much of the song was written by drummer Bill Berry, although as R.E.M. share songwriting credits among its members, it is unknown how much he actually wrote.^[7] Berry's drums are largely absent from the song—a Univox drum machine took his place—but he was responsible for the sampling of the drum pattern on the track. The string arrangement was written by former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones.

Guitarist Peter Buck commented on the making of the track, saying:

"Everybody Hurts" is similar to "Man on the Moon". Bill brought it in, and it was a one-minute long country-and-western song. It didn't have a chorus or a bridge. It had the verse... it kind of went around and around, and he was strumming it. We went through about four different ideas and how to approach it and eventually came to that Stax, Otis Redding, "Pain in My Heart" kind of vibe. I'm not sure if Michael would have copped that reference, but to a lot of our fans it was a Staxxy-type thing. It took us forever to figure out the arrangement and who was going to play what, and then Bill ended up not playing on the original track. It was me and Mike and a drum machine. And then we all overdubbed.^[8]

In the liner notes of the album In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003, Buck wrote that "the reason the lyrics are so atypically straightforward is because it was aimed at teenagers", and "I've never watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but the idea that high school is a portal to hell seems pretty realistic to me." The song was used in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer that preceded the show.

In 2005, Buck told the BBC: "If you're consciously writing for someone who hasn't been to college, or is pretty young, it might be nice to be very direct. In that regard, it's tended to work for people of a lot of ages."^[9] In 2022, Stipe told Rick Rubin that "Everybody Hurts" was inspired by Nazareth's cover of "Love Hurts".^[10]

Michael Stipe had originally intended for Patti Smith to be a second vocal on the track, but it did not work out.^[11] Smith later included her own cover of the song as a bonus track on the 2007 album Twelve.

The song received favorable reviews from most music critics. AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine found that it has "a comforting melancholy".^[13] David Bauder from The Associated Press said that it keeps "the pace slow and the mood melancholy."^[14] Larry Flick from Billboard called it a "spare, honest, and emotional track", adding "when the strings kick in, there's no denying this song's power."^[15] Bevan Hannah from The Canberra Times noted "the smoothly caressing guitar".^[16] Another The Canberra Times editor, Larry McShane, described it as "haunting".^[17] Randy Clark from Cash Box named it the "strongest" cut of the album.^[18] Another editor of the magazine, Troy J. Augusto, felt it "might be a hard sell at radio, given the somber mood and suicide related theme". He complimented the singer's "silky vocals and the song's lush string section [that] provide this track's main appeal."^[19] Justin Wilson from The Cavalier Daily also named it "the best song on the album, one of R.E.M.'s best songs ever". He declared it as "emotionally moving"^[20] and "deeply affecting".^[21] Greg Kot from Chicago Tribune stated that it is "a ballad that would border on the maudlin if Stipe didn't sing it with such conviction".^[22] Ron Fell from the Gavin Report felt that Stipe's "powerful and emotional life-affirming message comes across very clear." He named it "a favorite track" from the album.^[23] A reviewer from The Gazette commented that Automatic for the People ponders frustrations of life in the "Bee Geeish" 'Everybody Hurts'".^[24]

In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote that it is "the most beautiful and moving track on the album" and "just a reflection of how the band can do no wrong at present."^[25] Chris Roberts from Melody Maker named it Single of the Week, adding that "this is clearly a "Let It Be"/"Candle in the Wind" of its (white rock) generation, [and] it avoids being fatally overblown by virtue of Stipes's meticulously understated vocal."^[26] Pan-European magazine Music & Media described it as an "ultra melancholic ballad", noting that with string arrangements by ex Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones, it is "the "Bridge Over Troubled Water" for the '90s with Michael Stipe as Simon & Garfunkel rolled into one."^[27] Alan Jones from Music Week named it Pick of the Week, declaring it as "a torchy ballad, with Stipe's fragile and waivering [sic.] vocal offset at times by discreet strings." He also complimented it as "radio-friendly".^[28] Gina Morris from NME called it "another larger than life, atmospheric pop song" along the lines of "Drive".^[29] Parry Gettelman from Orlando Sentinel viewed it as "boring" and "repetitive".^[30] People Magazine's reviewer found that here, the vocalist "succeeds at talking a friend out of suicide".^[31] Scripps Howard News Service wrote that the singer "has never sung better" and noted that "the unabashedly emotional" track "gives him plenty of range to display those pipes."^[32] David Cavanagh from Select said that it is "virtually beyond words." He added, "It will have non-REM maniacs in hysterics with its delicate Spector structure and childlike message ("everybody hurts, everybody cries...when you think you've had too much of this life, hang on..."). It will make everyone else cry. It really is that straightforward."^[33] Tim Southwell from Smash Hits gave the song five out of five, viewing it as "a beautiful, touching and absorbing ballad", and "bloody beautiful."^[34]

In the accompanying music video for "Everybody Hurts", directed by British film director Jake Scott and filmed along the double deck portions of I-10 near the I-35 Interchange in downtown San Antonio, Texas, in February 1993, the band is stuck in a traffic jam. It shows the people in other cars and subtitles of their thoughts appear on screen. A man standing on an overpass drops pages from a book he is reading onto the cars below, while the subtitles read "Lead me to the rock that is higher than I" and "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy", quotes from the biblical Book of Psalms 61 and 126 respectively. At the end, all the people leave their cars and walk instead; then they vanish, followed by scenes of a newscast reporting on the unusual event. Although Michael Stipe is featured prominently in the video, he remains silent until the final "Hold On, Hold On" part of the song. The video was heavily inspired by the traffic jam in the opening dream sequence of Fellini's 8½. "Everybody Hurts" was later made available in HD on the band's official YouTube channel in 2009, and had generated more than 153 million views as of early 2024 on the platform.^[35]

In 1995, British emotional support listening service The Samaritans, in response to the high suicide rate but low crisis service take-up amongst young men, launched a UK press advertising campaign consisting solely of the lyrics to "Everybody Hurts" and the charity's hotline number.^[36]

The song was placed on R.E.M.'s Warner Bros. "best of" album In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003 in 2003. It was one of four songs from Automatic for the People to make the compilation, more than from any other album. The song is included on R.E.M. Live.

U.S. President Donald Trump used the song in a Twitter video showing several Democratic politicians with sad-looking reactions towards his 2019 State of the Union Address. The former members of the band responded to this on their Twitter page, saying: "World Leader PRETEND!!! Congress, Media--ghost this faker!!! Love, R.E.M." Eventually, Twitter removed the video following a copyright complaint from Concord Music, the band's record label. Trump later re-uploaded the video, using Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A." instead. Both versions of the video were created by a self-proclaimed Trump supporter named @CarpeDonktum.^[37][38]

The song also appeared in The Addams Family, sung by Lurch.

All songs were written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe unless otherwise indicated. "Belong" and "Losing My Religion" were recorded live at the Capital Plaza Theater in Charleston, West Virginia, on April 28, 1992. "Orange Crush" was recorded live in Georgia, US, in November 1989.

In an attempt to raise money for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown asked Simon Cowell to arrange a charity single.^[84] Cowell chose "Everybody Hurts". Brown agreed to waive VAT on the single, and R.E.M. agreed to waive all royalties.^[85] The release would be under the name Helping Haiti.

Proceeds from the single were to be split between The Sun's Helping Haiti fund and the Disasters Emergency Committee.^[84][86] The single was released digitally on February 7, 2010, and physically on February 8, 2010.^{[citation needed]}

Reportedly, the single's sales in the UK were approximately 205,000 copies in its first two days^[87] and 453,000 in its first week, making it the fastest-selling charity record of the 21st century in Britain.^[88]

This cover is also noteworthy for featuring Robbie Williams' first collaboration with Take That since Williams parted ways with the group in 1995, although neither act was present for each other's recording session.

This release also marks Jon Bon Jovi's first No. 1 appearance on the UK Singles Chart.^[89]

The song is performed by the following artists (in order of appearance):

Following its February 7, 2010, release in the UK and Ireland, Helping Haiti's song entered the Irish Singles Chart on February 12 at No. 1. It entered the UK Singles Chart on February 14 at No. 1, spending two weeks at the top spot before dropping to No. 9. The single debuted on the Australian Singles Chart on February 23 at No. 28.

A five-minute promotional short documentary was broadcast on ITV at 20.30 on February 7, 2010. The documentary includes "behind the scenes" footage of the featured performers (except for Carey, Cyrus, Bon Jovi, and Minogue) recording their vocals intercut with real-world images and footage from the earthquake aftermath,^[90] opening with a statement of what happened on January 12, 2010, and continuing with footage showing the devastation in the country and the suffering of the Haitians.^[91] The official music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, premiered on March 6, 2010. Jon Bon Jovi and Michael Bublé are the only featured artists not to appear in this video.

1. "Everybody Hurts" – 5:24
2. "Everybody Hurts" (alternative mix) – 5:35

• Helping Haiti Facebook site
• BBC on the song's history and meaning