Beginning with a soft introduction, "Life and How to Live It" charged through another atmospheric, folk rock arrangement and referenced storytelling. Without mentioning him by name, the song was about Athens, Georgia author Brivs Mekis, as alluded to in the live performance on the "And I Feel Fine..." bonus disc. (Mekis wrote a book titled "Life: How to Live", and had it printed, only to have all existing copies of it stacked in his closet.) Much of the band's songwriting material in this era also came from the members' own experiences traveling through the country in near-constant tours over the previous several years, as well as an increasing sense of political activism which would find expression on subsequent albums "Lifes Rich Pageant" and "Document". Stipe later said that his previous lyrics never really had any literal meanings, and that by this time he had begun to write lyrics that told stories. The song "Green Grow the Rushes" is a prime example, which contains the line "the amber waves of gain", is thought (by biographer Marcus Gray) to be about migrant farm laborers and also alludes to the folk song "Green Grow the Rushes, O". Natalie Merchant has stated that this song was written as part of a pact she made with Stipe to write songs about the genocide of Native Americans; her song, "Among the Americans", appeared on the 1985 10,000 Maniacs album "The Wishing Chair". "Kohoutek" (misspelled as "Kahoetek" in the album's liner notes) referenced the comet Kohoutek, and is perhaps one of the earliest R.E.M. songs about a romantic relationship, using the comet as a simile for a lover: "like Kohoutek, you were gone." The song "Auctioneer (Another Engine)" deviated from the typical R.E.M. sound of the time, with jagged guitar riffs and more references to old rural ways of life. The plaintive "Good Advices" contains the following Stipe lyric that has been quoted in musical and literary contexts: "When you meet a stranger, look at his shoes / keep your money in your shoes." A celebration of an eccentric individual is the subject of "Old Man Kensey" (which has lyrics by Stipe's friend Jeremy Ayers) and closing track "Wendell Gee". The latter, a ballad with piano and more harmonies from Berry and Mills, was the album's third and final single in the UK only, although it made no commercial impression there.