Leaving New York Explained

Leaving New York
Cover:	R.E.M. - Leaving New York.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	R.E.M.
Album:	Around the Sun
B-Side:	"(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" (live)
Length:	4:49
Label:	Warner Bros.
Prev Title:	Animal
Prev Year:	2004
Next Title:	Aftermath
Next Year:	2005

"Leaving New York" is a song by American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was released as the lead single from the band's 13th studio album, Around the Sun (2004). Although it was not as heavily promoted as earlier singles, it reached number five on the UK Singles Chart, becoming their 11th and final top-10 hit there. However, the song failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the only lead US single from an R.E.M. studio album not to chart on the US Hot 100 besides "Cant Get There from Here" from Fables of the Reconstruction in 1985.

In early live performances of the song (September 2004), the band would play Michael Stipe's "It's pulling me apart. Change." album backing vocal during the chorus and bridge of live performances. As early as February 2005, however, as evidenced on the R.E.M. Live disc, the band worked up an alternative whereby the backing vocals would be shared amongst Mike Mills, Scott McCaughey and Ken Stringfellow in order to make the song flow more smoothly.

Track listings

All tracks were written by Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe unless otherwise stated.

UK CD1^[1]

"Leaving New York" – 4:44
"(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" (live, Oslo, Norway, October 25, 2003; Berry, Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 4:35

UK CD2^[2]

"Leaving New York" – 4:49
"You Are the Everything" (live, Raleigh, North Carolina – Soundcheck, October 10, 2003; Berry, Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 3:30
"These Days" (live, Toronto, Ontario, September 30, 2003; Berry, Buck, Mills, Stipe) – 3:27

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2004–2005)!scope="col"
Peak position
Canada Rock Top 30 (Radio & Records)^[3]	19
Croatia (HRT)^[4]	5
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[5]	4
Greece (IFPI)^[6]	19
Netherlands (Dutch Tipparade 40)^[7]	13
Romania (Romanian Top 100)^[8]	60

Year-end charts

Chart (2004)!scope="col"
Position
Italy (FIMI)^[9]	49
US Triple-A (Billboard)^[10]	12

Release history

Region!scope="col"
Date	Format(s)	Label(s)
United States	August 23, 2004		Warner Bros.	^[11]
United Kingdom	September 27, 2004	CD		^[12]
Australia	October 4, 2004	CD		^[13]

Notes and References

Leaving New York. R.E.M.. 2004. UK CD1 liner notes. Warner Bros. Records. W654CD1, 5439 16177 2.
Leaving New York. R.E.M.. 2004. UK CD2 liner notes. Warner Bros. Records. W654CD2, 9362 42755-2.
R&R Canada Rock Top 30. Radio & Records. 1574. 80. September 24, 2004. October 7, 2019.
Web site: Top Lista Hrvatskog Radija. https://web.archive.org/web/20041010081031/http://www.hrt.hr:80/hr/top20/maineng.html. dead. October 10, 2004. Croatian Radiotelevision. April 14, 2023.
Hits of the World – Eurocharts. Billboard. 116. 42. 41. October 16, 2004. March 31, 2020.
Web site: Top 50 Singles Εβδομάδα 24–30/10. IFPI. el. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20041028050235/http://www.ifpi.gr/chart03.htm. October 28, 2004. July 1, 2020.
Web site: R.E.M. - Leaving New York. nl. Dutch Top 40. June 13, 2022.
Web site: Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 47, saptamina 22.11 – 28.11, 2004. Romanian Top 100. ro. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20050222191326/http://www.rt100.ro/editie-top-100_x10146.html. February 22, 2005. May 18, 2020.
Web site: Mix e singoli. FIMI. it. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20060510005652/http://www.fimi.it/documenti/Classifiche_TUTTE_2004.pdf. May 10, 2006. December 17, 2020.
2004 The Year in Charts: Most-Played Triple-A Songs. Billboard Radio Monitor. 12. 51. 54. December 17, 2004.
Going for Adds. Radio & Records. 1569. 21. August 20, 2004. May 19, 2021.
New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 37. September 25, 2004.
Web site: The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 4th October 2004. ARIA. 29. October 4, 2004. dead. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20041019140000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20041020-0000/issue762.pdf. October 19, 2004. May 19, 2021.