World Leader Pretend - Remastered

Frontman Michael Stipe looked back at the recording of the Green album in a 2008 interview with Rolling Stone magazine. He recalled: "For me, the big moment is 'World Leader Pretend.' It's a tribute to Leonard Cohen, using military terms to describe a battle within. I was so proud of the lyrics and my vocal take that I refused to sing it a second time. I did it once. That was it."