The Wrong Child (track)
by R.E.M.
The Wrong Child appears on the following album(s) by R.E.M.:
- Green (track #6) (this album) (1988)
- Complete Studio Albums 1988-1996 (track #6) (compilation) (2014)
Listen & Collect
Complete your collection or upgrade your listening experience.
Listen to The Wrong Child on YouTube
The Wrong Child ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 3 ratings for this track. | Show all 138 ratings for this track.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Track ratings | Avg. track rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 08/15/2026 16:49 | Siromynian | 20,223 | 71/100 |
| ! | 07/25/2026 11:33 | stareaterogni0n | 6,868 | 69/100 |
| ! | 05/12/2026 13:15 |  AAL2014 | 42,344 | 76/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some tracks can have several thousand ratings)
This track is rated in the top 19% of all tracks on BestEverAlbums.com. This track has a Bayesian average rating of 77.5/100, a mean average of 77.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.7/100. The standard deviation for this track is 11.9.
The Wrong Child favourites
Showing all 2 members who have added this track as a favourite
The Wrong Child forum mentions
The Wrong Child comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
The only lyrics printed on the sleeve of Green are World Leader Pretend, which suggests it’s regarded by the band as their strongest work on the album lyrically speaking. I think they’re right.
The criticism I would have is that the music is secondary to the brilliant lyrics. Feels like a track Stipe insisted on rather than a team effort to me. (Edited)
