In a 1989 live performance of the song, Stipe proclaimed to the audience, "This song goes out to the Exxon Corporation". This performance happened shortly after the "Exxon Valdez" oil spill, in which the oil tanker "Exxon Valdez" struck the Bligh Reef and spilled 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of crude oil. This may further elaborate on the environmental message of the album "Green".