| Eddie Vedder – Rise Lyrics | 2 months ago |
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@[jamesonbg:54646] An interesting and insightful analysis. I have some thoughts maybe that you didn't pick up on. The line about black holes is backwards. There is an inversion of logic. Black holes don’t burn — they absorb light, they erase. They’re the ultimate vacuum. By pairing 'burning' (which implies creation of light, destruction, cleansing) with 'black holes' (which imply darkness, oblivion, absence), Vedder is creating a tension between destruction and release. It’s as if he’s saying: “I’m going to obliterate these painful memories so completely that even the black holes themselves — those voids — will burn away.” In that sense, he’s turning the metaphor inside out: destroying the destroyer. The darkness doesn’t just swallow the past — he’s purging the darkness itselfIf we take “dark memories” as trauma, regret, or shame, then a “black hole” represents how those memories consume energy — you keep getting pulled into them. So 'burning black holes could mean reclaiming power over those consuming forces — transforming passivity (“being pulled in”) into active liberation (“burning through it”). It’s the emotional equivalent of saying: “I’m not going to let my past absorb me anymore — I’m going to shine through it." If we take “dark memories” as trauma, regret, or shame, then a “black hole” represents how those memories consume energy — you keep getting pulled into them. So 'burning black holes' could mean reclaiming power over those consuming forces — transforming passivity (“being pulled in”) into active liberation ("burning through it"). It’s the emotional equivalent of saying: 'I’m not going to let my past absorb me anymore — I’m going to shine through it." I think Vedder’s using natural and cosmic imagery — gold, black holes, rising — to depict a journey from weight to lightness, from confinement to freedom. Now something you haven't mentioned which I really like is in the line 'turning mistakes into gold'. I think this is a connection to Alaska's rich history/connection with the gold rush. Many people migrated to the region in search of fortune, a better life, and in many cases found misfortune, even their ultimate end. It was a dangerous choice and step into the unknown, and if you think about it there's a lot of parallels with Christopher McCandless's journey. Gold panning involves rotating or 'turning' the pan to wash away the dirt and gravel, leaving the heavier gold behind. That 'turning' motion parallels the lyric’s 'turning mistakes into gold' — taking what’s impure or messy (mistakes, dirt) and sifting through it to find something valuable (gold, wisdom, transformation). Turning the pan mirrors inner reflection (turning inward), the cycle of life and learning, repetition and patience — you can’t rush panning for gold, just as you can’t rush transformation. So that physical image — the swirl of water and sediment — mirrors the emotional process of sorting through one’s own experiences to find meaning. Gold has long symbolised purity, enlightenment, and transcendence — something that emerges only after being refined by fire or pressure. So 'turning mistakes into gold' also suggests personal alchemy — transforming regret and failure into growth and freedom. It fits with McCandless’s journey of stripping away materialism and ego in search of a purer life. Even if gold itself is a very material thing, and the desire for it is often driven by materialism and ego. There is a tension here. I think Vedder is reclaiming the spiritual meaning of gold, much like McCandless was reclaiming his own spirituality, his soul from the material world which he rejected. Just my thoughts. Not yet studied the all the lyrics yet but these two I spent some time thinking about. |
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