"Find the River" was the sixth and final single from R.E.M.'s eighth studio album Automatic for the People. It was the twelfth and final track on this critically acclaimed release. The song failed to chart on the Hot 100 and struggled on the UK Singles Charts, reaching only #54. It was the first R.E.M. song to fail to reach the top 40 on either chart since "Get Up" in 1989.
Regarding the song's backing vocals, Mike Mills explained to Melody Maker: "'Harborcoat' from 'Reckoning' has got me and Michael and Bill all doing completely unrelated things, and yet it works together. Because of the production we insisted on from Mitch and Don, which I know must have been incredibly frustrating for them, it’s hard to pick out exactly what’s going on. We tried it again on "Find The River." I had the idea that Bill and I would go in and do some harmonies without listening to each other. It’s great because mine is this incredibly angst-ridden emotional thing, and Bill’s is this really low-key sort of ambling part. They’re two opposite ends of the spectrum but they’re both on there, and it’s a beautiful thing."
In An Hour with R.E.M., which aired on MTV UK prior to the band's televised performance at Cologne Cathedral in 2001, Mills introduced the video and explained that he selected it "because... I've never seen it, and I have absolutely no idea what's on it."
The video was shot in Malibu, California, directed by Jodi Wilde and features Southern artist Henry Hill.
In the Warner Brothers promotional film for Automatic for the People, the band is seen performing the song live in their Clayton Street rehearsal room.
