monty got a raw deal?

Question

monty got a raw deal by R.E.M.

does anyone know what the songs about/referring to?

Answer 1

It's about a late actor by the name of Montgomery Clift, who, back in the day, was accused of being homosexual AND a communist.
This was back in the time of McCarthyism (intense anti-Communist suspicion), and being suspected of (or revealing) homosexual tendencies, almost certainly would mean an end to any career within the public eye.