"Drive" was the lead single and first track from R.E.M.

R.E.M.

R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...

's eighth studio album Automatic for the People

Automatic for the People

Automatic for the People is the eighth album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1992 on Warner Bros. Records. While R.E.M...

in 1992. Although it was not as successful as previous lead singles "Losing My Religion

Losing My Religion

"Losing My Religion" is a song by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. The song was released as the first single from the group's 1991 album Out of Time. Based around a mandolin riff, "Losing My Religion" was an unlikely hit for the group, garnering heavy airplay on radio as well as on MTV due...

," "Stand," or "The One I Love" in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, it became R.E.M.'s then second biggest hit on the UK Singles Charts, peaking at #11. It managed a peak of #28 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

. The song did hit #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks

Modern Rock Tracks

Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...

 and #2 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks

Mainstream Rock Tracks

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...

.

Despite the success and popularity of the song, it was left out of the band's Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...

 "best of" compilation In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988–2003. However, a live version of the song was included in the special edition two-disc set of In Time that included rarities, live versions, and B-sides

B-Sides

B-Sides is an iTunes-exclusive album from the Coventry Trio The Enemy, consisting of ten songs that were B-sides to the single releases from their debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns.-Track list:#Fear Killed the Youth of Our Nation...

. The version featured was the "funk" version, which has never been studio-recorded.

The title itself is derived from Stipe and R.E.M.'s support for what would eventually become the "Motor Voter Bill

National Voter Registration Act of 1993

The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 , also known as The Motor Voter Act, was signed into effect by United States President Bill Clinton on May 20, 1993, however, compliance did not become mandatory until 1995...

" and the lyric "Hey, kids, rock 'n' roll" is an homage to the song "Stop It" by fellow Athens, Georgia group Pylon

Pylon (band)

Pylon is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The band's danceable jangle pop sound influenced the Athens music scene and the 1980s American pop underground. Allmusic wrote that Pylon's "role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock explosion is unassailable".-History:All four members of...

; Stipe has also said the song is an "obvious homage to Rock On

Rock On (David Essex song)

"Rock On" is a song that was composed and sung by English singer/songwriter David Essex in 1973. In March 1974, it reached #1 in Canada on the RPM national Top Singles chart and was a Top 5 song on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop-music chart. It was Essex's only Billboard Top 40 hit. The song also...

 by David Essex

David Essex

David Essex OBE is an English musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Since the 1970s, Essex has attained nineteen Top 40 singles in the UK , and sixteen Top 40 albums...

," which features a similar line.

The song is included on the 2003 live DVD Perfect Square

Perfect Square

Perfect Square is a video recording of a concert by rock band R.E.M., filmed on 19 July 2003 at the Bowling Green in Wiesbaden, Germany. It was released in DVD format on the Warner Brothers label on March 9, 2004....

, the 2007 live CD/DVD R.E.M. Live

R.E.M. Live

R.E.M. Live is a live album from R.E.M., recorded at the Point Theatre, Dublin, on February 26 and 27, 2005, the closing nights of the winter European leg of the Around the World Tour in support of their thirteenth studio album Around the Sun released in late 2004...

, and the 2009 live CD Live at The Olympia

Live at The Olympia

Live at The Olympia is a live album by American alternative rock band R.E.M.. It is a recording of five-night residency the band held at Dublin, Ireland's Olympia Theatre between June 30 and July 5, 2007, and released on October 27, 2009. In this series of "working rehearsals" many songs on...

(and its accompanying DVD This Is Not a Show). This song was also sampled in the song "Space Bound" by Eminem

Eminem

Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...

 on his album Recovery.

The B-side, "Winged Mammal Theme" was used on The Weather Channel

The Weather Channel

The Weather Channel is a US cable and satellite television network since May 2, 1982, that broadcasts weather forecasts and weather-related news, along with entertainment programming related to weather 24 hours a day...

's Local on the 8s

Local on the 8s

The Local on the 8s or Local Forecast is the portion of programming where viewers see current weather conditions and local weather forecasts for their respective area on The Weather Channel in the United States...

 segments in June 2005, December 2005, and September 2009.

Music video

The song's video, directed by Peter Care

Peter Care

Peter Care is an English director of music videos, commercials and film. He has directed music videos for R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen, Roy Orbison and Depeche Mode, amongst others.- Biography :...

, was shot over two nights in late August 1992 at Sepulveda Dam

Sepulveda Dam

Located in Los Angeles, California, the Sepulveda Dam is a project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, built in 1941 to withhold winter flood waters along the Los Angeles River...

 in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

.

Track listing

All songs written by Bill Berry

Bill Berry

William "Bill" Thomas Berry is a retired American musician, multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band R.E.M. In addition to his drumming duties, Berry played many other instruments including guitar, bass guitar, and piano, both for songwriting and on R.E.M....

, Peter Buck

Peter Buck

Peter Lawrence Buck , is an American rock guitarist who is best known for playing in and co-founding alternative rock band R.E.M....

, Mike Mills

Mike Mills

Michael Edward "Mike" Mills is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock group R.E.M.. Though known primarily as a bass guitarist, backing vocalist, and pianist, his musical repertoire includes also keyboards, guitar, and percussion instruments...

 and Michael Stipe

Michael Stipe

John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...

 except as noted.

UK "Collector's Edition" CD Single

1. "Drive" – 4:25
2. "It's a Free World Baby" – 5:11
3. "Winged Mammal Theme" – 2:55
4. "First We Take Manhattan
   First We Take Manhattan
   "First We Take Manhattan" is a song written by Leonard Cohen. It was originally recorded by Jennifer Warnes on her 1987 album Famous Blue Raincoat, which consisted entirely of songs written or co-written by Cohen.-Background and writing:...
   
   " (Leonard Cohen
   Leonard Cohen
   Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
   
   ) – 6:06

DE CD Maxi-Single

1. "Drive" – 4:25
2. "World Leader Pretend
   World Leader Pretend (song)
   "World Leader Pretend" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M. from their sixth studio album, Green. It is notable for being the first R.E.M. song to feature printed lyrics on the album sleeve...
   
   " – 4:15
3. "Winged Mammal Theme" – 2:55

Charts

Chart (1992)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	34
Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...	7
Dutch Singles Chart Mega Single Top 100 The Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales and legal downloads and composed by MegaCharts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Dutch Top 40 and the Mega Top 50. The difference is that these charts also include airplay data.The list is...	13
German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...	13
Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...	4
Swedish Singles Chart	24
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	11
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	28
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...	1
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...	2
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	23