| Pearl Jam – Undone Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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If you're from the pacific nw you can get this song, otherwise I'm not sure it translates. Any time I drive back up that way I play this in the car, it perfectly captures the different feeling in that region of the country. He's talking about how the people there are different. The tie-in referring to change not coming at once, building is the key. He's saying that as bad as things are overall he feels optimistic and confident because this one place is this way and it can spread this attitude of acceptance and open-ness elsewhere in time, like this area up in the corner of the country is a building wave that must eventually wash over the rest of the country. This song does a great job of showing the connection between the personal and political. |
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| Pearl Jam – Tremor Christ Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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The subject of the song was in a loving relationship. He drifted through the storms, meaning he went with the flow of danger and failed to keep himself away from temptation. In a moment he has cheated on the girl, who was his savior. He watches her suffer from the wake of his actions. He feels that generally he's a good guy. The devil tempted him this one time, he made a mistake in a weak moment but feels little real responsibility for it, like it was a natural thing to do rather than an evil act. Still he faces the consequences. At the end of the song he's accepting this tendency to adhere to "evil" and his ability to wrong other people through what appear to him to be insignifcant actions. Rather than hate himself for it he's choosing to accept himself in this way, to forgive himself for being who he is. The christ connection is the forgiveness aspect as "forgiving" is the core christian philosphy. Little secrets becoming big big waves is obviously about how the guilt of a small secret kept can ballooon and turn into so much more. Great song. |
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| Pearl Jam – Sleight of Hand Lyrics | 19 years ago |
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This song is about waking up from the doldrums. The guy who said "anyone who has worked in the corporate world" nailed it. The song beautifully captures the malaise of day-to-day existence fueld by going to your job and driving home, sleeping, repeating the cycle day after day after day. The subject of the song has snapped out of it for a moment, I picture him sitting in traffic at a stop light or something and just looking at his hands and looking up and seeing what used to be familiar in an entirely different light. He at once is remembering everything he dreamed of doing. He dreams of turning the dirt of his life into sand. Dirt is filthy, something that must be washed away. Sand is play, fun, relaxation. The final part of the song clearly reads two ways. He's either leaving his dreaming behind, gathering his things and getting back to the grind or he's doing the opposite, gathering his few things and just going for it. Sleight of hand refers to a magic trick. How changes in life can be so sudden and thougths can spur you to do things you never imagined were possible in an instant. The subject of the song is being reminded that each day he chooses this life. At any moment he can choose to wave goodbye to this routine, the uniform, these mondays, and go to the "other side" eg his dreams of a different life. The act of waving is the sleight of hand, the physical movement of a hand that symbolizes much more. By simply waving his hand goodbye to what his life presently consists of he can change it. Best song on this record. |
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