The selfish, they're all standing in line
Faithin' and hopin' to buy themselves time
Me, I figure as each breath goes by
I only own my mind

The north is to south what the clock is to time
There's east and there's west and there's everywhere life
I know I was born and I know that I'll die
The in-between is mine
I am mine

And the feeling it gets left behind
All the innocence lost at one time
Significant behind the eyes
There's no need to hide
We're safe tonight

The ocean is full 'cause everyone's crying
The full moon is looking for friends at high tide
The sorrow grows bigger when the sorrow's denied
I only know my mind
I am mine

And the meaning it gets left behind
All the innocence lost at one time
Significant behind the eyes
There's no need to hide
We're safe tonight
(What)

And the feelings that gets left behind
All the innocence broken with lies
Significance between the lines
We may need to hide

And the meanings that get left behind
All the innocence lost at one time
We're all different behind the eyes
There's no need to hide, yeah


Lyrics submitted by pearljammer, edited by Tig45

I Am Mine Lyrics as written by Eddie Vedder

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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I Am Mine song meanings
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55 Comments

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  • +7
    General Comment

    I think the meaning is simple, youare who you make yourself, noone can make you be something you are not... nothing is certain in life except birth and death, it's what you choose to do that makes you who you are...

    the only thing we own is ourselfs, everything else is temporary, hence "I only own my mind" and "I only know my mind" noone can tell you what you feel, or what to think, "we're all different behind the eyes, there's no need to hide" says don't be ashamed of who you are, everyone is different, noone is better...

    just my 2cents

    driftinon October 12, 2002   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    i think this song is just about how eddie sees religion. he's basically saying some people use it as a way to live clear headed and have a clean concious, but he's saying that its a load of bull. he's not gonna waste his life serving a god that he doesnt think is real. he is his and no one elses.

    that being said, those are not neccesarrily my views, but im pretty sure thats what the song is about.

    PearlJamRuleson August 20, 2007   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    Eddie Vedder wrote this in reaction to the June 30, 2000 Roskilde Festival in Denmark where 9 fans were crushed to death while Pearl Jam was playing. Vedder wrote the song in his hotel room before their first show after the incident. FACT!

    Mojomoonon July 08, 2008   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    The song is about how people waste their lives and the little time they have on earth to chase after useless things.

    The writer observes people as they try to become famous or rich, stepping on each others toes in the process, and then contrasts that to the way he reflects on himself, realizing that the only meaningful thing he can accomplish is to be satisfied with himself.

    all in all an AWESOME song, pearl jam is a great band with a great message.

    feedback? transmute@live.ca

    7RAN5MU73on February 21, 2009   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    THIS IS AN AMAZING SONG! If you listen to this song, it is in a variation of Iambic Parameter. For those who don't know and for those who just forgot, Iambic Parameter is the form of prose that Shakespeare developed. True Iambic Parameter has 5 meters, a meter being a stressed syllable, then an unstressed syllable.

    grnlanternkidon April 04, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I'd just like to point out that this is no new Pearl Jam song. They've had this song for quite a while, and used it live oftenly. They've just now, come to record it. I know for a fact that it was before the time of 9/11.

    Dekissfanon July 04, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I have to agree with several people here. The song is definatley realizing yourself in a fluid world. Knowing only control your mind and what is concrete thereof. Ive gotta say, I LOVE Eddie's work. What he wrote for "Into the Wild" was phenomenal. It's songs like I Am Mine and Guaranteed that keep my evaluating and re-evaluating who I am as an individual

    Guaranteed89on February 02, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I gain from this song that there are people in life that life only for themselves. They do anything they can go get ahead and "buy themselves time." This is about EV being worldly and seeing a larger picture. That living is about being a human "doing" not a human "being." The line "The sorrow grows bigger when the sorrow's denied" I think goes back to the fact that Eddie believes in fighting for a cause. That when something is denied or ignored, the problem only intensifies. Either way it is an amazing song by one of the best song writers of our time.

    Wursteron September 07, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Holy shit this song is amazing...

    "All the innocence lost at one time, we're all different, behind the eyes"

    The first time actually listened to the lyrics on this one, I literally felt my heart beating out of my chest. So beautiful and so dedicated. Classic Pearl Jam.

    This song running into the next track in Riot Act, Thumbing My Way... wow... how do you do it, Eddie?

    Tig45on December 24, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    WOW!!!! what an awesome song!! PEARL JAM RAWKS!

    G_dugason September 14, 2002   Link

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