Like many songs from Murmur, "Perfect Circle" has a sound typified by unusual instruments and recording techniques.
The song opens with Honky tonk piano,[1] a style more associated with ragtime and early country music than the college rock scene of which R.E.M.
[2] The slightly out-of-sync sound and reverb created a detached otherworldly effect.
During this time period, members of the band stated that the song was primarily written by Berry[3] and dedicated their performance of it to him.
For guitarist Peter Buck, the song elicits images of children playing football one evening in Trenton, New Jersey.