View source for Driver 8

{{Short description|1985 single by R.E.M.}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Driver 8
| cover      = R.E.M. - Driver 8.jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[R.E.M.]]
| album      = [[Fables of the Reconstruction]]
| B-side     = Crazy
| released   = September 1985
| recorded   = 1985
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = {{hlist|[[Country rock]]<ref name=cb/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/21/arts/music/21rem.html|title=R.E.M.: The Histories and Commentaries|author=Caramanica, Jon|date=June 21, 2008|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=January 5, 2021}}</ref>|[[folk rock]]<ref name=cb/>|[[jangle pop]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14446-fables-of-the-reconstruction-deluxe-edition/ |title=R.E.M.: Fables of the Reconstruction [Deluxe Edition&#93; Album Review |publisher=Pitchfork |date=2010-07-14 |accessdate=2022-03-03|quote=Buck was still working within his jangle-pop style-- "Driver 8" is basically the ultimate archetype of this aesthetic}}</ref>}}
| length     = 3:18
| label      = [[I.R.S. Records|I.R.S.]]
| writer     = {{hlist|[[Bill Berry]]|[[Peter Buck]]|[[Mike Mills]]|[[Michael Stipe]]}}
| producer   = [[Joe Boyd]]
| prev_title = [[Cant Get There from Here]]
| prev_year  = 1985
| next_title = [[Wendell Gee]]
| next_year  = 1985
}}

"'''Driver 8'''" is the second single from American musical group [[R.E.M.]]'s third album, ''[[Fables of the Reconstruction]]'', released in September 1985. The song peaked at number 22 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' [[Mainstream Rock (chart)|Mainstream Rock Tracks]] chart.

The song refers to the Southern Crescent, a passenger train that was operated by the [[Southern Railway (US)|Southern Railroad]] until 1979, and continues today (with fewer stops) as the [[Amtrak]] ''[[Crescent (Amtrak)|Crescent]]''. The music video shows [[Chessie System]] trains running around [[Clifton Forge, Virginia]].{{Cn|date=October 2023}}

Guitarist [[Peter Buck]] admitted in the liner notes for the band's 2003 compilation album ''[[In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003]]'' that the verse chords for the song "[[Imitation of Life (song)|Imitation of Life]]" were unintentionally taken from the verse chords of "Driver 8."

In a ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' interview in 2009, Stipe said about his vocals: "It's like breathing – I don't think about it when I sing it. I was listening to these live tapes and thought it was a beautiful song with incredible imagery. I listen to our old albums and think, 'OK, this is where that went wrong, this is a way to improve that.' And 'Wow, that's really good. You're not the hoax you think you are.'"<ref name="eight">{{cite web|title=Driver 8 by R.E.M.|url=http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1933|publisher=Song Facts|access-date=3 May 2016}}</ref> A harmonica was played in a mimicking fashion to sound like a train whistle.<ref name="eight"/>

==Reception==
''[[Cash Box]]'' said it is "a modulating country-folk rocker which features a thoughtful chorus hook and a soaring bridge."<ref name=cb>{{cite magazine|title=Single Releases|magazine=Cash Box|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1985/CB-1985-09-14.pdf|date=September 14, 1985|accessdate=2022-08-01|page=11}}</ref>

In 2024, in an interview with [[Mike Mills]], [[Rick Beato]] described the song as "mournful". Mills agreed: "Melancholic, yeah. It's about trains, and trains are already wistful and mournful and melancholic. E minor is a great sad [[Key (music)|key]]."<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRfhX-XAIiY |title=Mike Mills: The Story Of R.E.M. |date=2024-06-14 |last=Rick Beato |access-date=2024-11-27 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

==Cover versions==
*Driver 8 was covered by [[Hootie and the Blowfish]] in 2000 on their covers-only album ''[[Scattered, Smothered and Covered]]'' after the band performed a live version of the song with R.E.M. on the UK's ''[[TFI Friday]]'' in October 1998.
*Dennis "Cannonball" Caplinger's bluegrass instrumental cover appears on 2001's ''Pickin' on R.E.M.: The Bluegrass Tribute''.
*[[Death Cab for Cutie]] played the song on their 2006 UK tour for the album ''[[Plans (album)|Plans]]'', although they have not released an official recording of it.
*[[Old 97's]] covered it on their covers-only EP ''[[Mimeograph]]'' released on July 6, 2010.
*Canadian rock band [[The Watchmen (band)|The Watchmen]] covered the song at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto on September 24, 2011, shortly after news of R.E.M.'s breakup was made public. Their version was released on the download-only live album ''Radar Redux.''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.the-watchmen.com/media.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2018-12-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226102437/http://www.the-watchmen.com/media.html |archive-date=2018-12-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*[[Indie rock]] band [[The Walkmen]] covered the song as a part of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'''s A.V. Undercover series in August 2010.
*[[Santa Cruz Bicycles]] produced a mountain bike model called Driver 8. It was first released in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain-bikes/product/review-santa-cruz-driver-8-custom-build-35095/|title=Santa Cruz Driver 8|author=Andrew Dodd|work=BikeRadar|access-date=3 May 2016}}</ref>
*Love Canon covered the song on their 2018 album Cover Story.
*[[Jason Isbell]] released a cover to his YouTube channel<ref>{{cite web|url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=PS-o6oxLBWU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/PS-o6oxLBWU |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Driver 8|website=[[YouTube]] |date=13 September 2021 |access-date=22 September 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> in September 2021, and is included in the album ''[[Georgia Blue]]''.
*[[Toad the Wet Sprocket]] released a cover to streaming and on their YouTube channel<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9ITWUnGGKo |title=Driver 8: Toad the Wet Sprocket feat. Robin Wilson (Gin Blossoms) & Matt Scannell (Vertical Horizon) |date=2024-08-05 |last=Toad the Wet Sprocket |access-date=2024-08-11 |via=YouTube}}</ref> on August 5th 2024. This versions also features [[Robin Wilson (musician)|Robin Wilson]] from the [[Gin Blossoms]] and [[Matt Scannell]] from [[Vertical Horizon]]. 

==Track listing==
All songs written by [[Bill Berry]], [[Peter Buck]], [[Mike Mills]] and [[Michael Stipe]] unless otherwise indicated.

===7": IRS / IRS-52678 (US)===
# "Driver 8" – 3:24
# "Crazy" ([[Pylon (band)|Pylon]]) – 3:05

==Charts==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+Chart performance of "Driver 8"
!scope="col"|Chart (1985)
!scope="col"|Peak<br />position
|-
{{singlechart|Billboardmainstreamrock|22|artist=R.E.M.|rowheader=true|accessdate=April 25, 2023}}
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{R.E.M.}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:1985 singles]]
[[Category:R.E.M. songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Bill Berry]]
[[Category:Songs written by Peter Buck]]
[[Category:Songs written by Mike Mills]]
[[Category:Songs written by Michael Stipe]]
[[Category:I.R.S. Records singles]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Joe Boyd]]
[[Category:Songs about trains]]
[[Category:1985 songs]]
[[Category:Country rock songs]]
[[Category:American folk songs]]
[[Category:Folk rock songs]]