Thumbing My Way

why has no one commented on this?! i think if this song had been written by john lennon it would be considered one of the greatest ever.

this song is so easy to play on guitar, it was the first song I ever learned how to play.... and it is so perfect.... it's about him trying to find happiness after beth left him.....I love this song.... anyone who says pearl jam can not write good music any more is off their gourd because they ahven't heard this song..

The lyrics printed above are incorrek, but the most important ones are accurate. This is about trying to get back to the heaven of a lost love's company, never knowing if you can get there again, but knowing that you need to try.

To simply lock inside you what you feel, hoping that it will go away, is not an option. Nor does it do justice even to the memory of the one of whom you so recurringly think. You can never be free that way; you smile sometimes, but who are you kidding? Sometimes in our haste to be "true" and "honest," all we end up doing is lying to ourselves, and living a lie. Maybe it is because we foresaw the temporary "rust" of problems that would be encountered if we were to opt for the path urged by our hearts, and found it easier to choose the "shiny" facade of something outwardly more stable-looking -- but devoid of substance in reality.

The song also illustrates so well the emptiness, aimlessness, and regret that take such strong hold in the aftermath of a loved one's departure. "I wish I could hold you, I wish that I had" kills me. It is not that you never held her, it is that perhaps if you had held on more forcefully, you would not now feel like a hitcher scruggling to get where you need to be.

This song got me through so many tough times. It changed my life. I bought Riot Act on my iPod after the toughest week I ever had, where I was doing stuff I shouldn't have been, hurting myself and the people around me, and this song got me out of that funk. This song got me out of it, and I Am Mine (the previous Riot Act track) keeps me out of it. Incredible.

This song was written for Troy Bethel. Eddie Vedder sung it live at his funeral service in February of 2002.

I'm in love with this song. I play it once and I end up playing it 5 times after. To me I think the song is about him trying to move on from his old lover that deep down inside he wishes he could be together with. Of course there is obvious signs that would say this song is about a death of a loved one. I do not disagree with that interpretation but I like mine better, hahaha....Can't wait to see this song live in concert June 26th!

What a beautiful song, how can one man posses so much talent! Eddie surely is a god! Its always hard to understands what songs are about, mainly because they mean so many different things to different people. To me this song is about trying to move on when other people are holding you back and you are holding yourself back, even though u know no matter how bad things are, they can always get better. And maybe we should pay more attention to the little, unimportant things in life, the "rusty signs" and not turn our backs on them. thank you eddie.

I think it's a bit of philosophy on life. Like we're just on our way back to heaven, just passing through life 'just walking the miles', not really enjoying it, just waiting for our death. That's not my philosophy but it sounds like that's what he's singing about

awesome song...just a little boring if you ask me though..but it is beautiful!

it's a nice, beautiful song that grows on you after repeated listening. i think ed is singing about his return home after some kind of event happened. it's a pretty good song