Back in '91 I went with some friends to an "Alice in Chains" show at "The Bacchanal" in San Diego. The opening band, "Mookie Blaylock" stole the show. My friends and I were mesmerized. I got goosebumps many times during that performance, but especially during a particular song that I didn't know the name of. For months we searched magazines and stores, looking for anything by them, but it didn't exist. When I heard that they had changed their name to "Pearl Jam" and were going to release an album soon, I counted down the days. When I bought it, I had finally found that song that gave me the goosebumps. It was "Porch". But I was intrigued by the words now that I saw them in print, because I had no idea what they could possibly have been about. Then I saw the "Pro-Choice on the arm" appearance on TV and made that same connection that everyone else makes that this song was about pro choice...and I believed it. Maybe I forced the idea upon the song because I was convinced that it was true. But looking at it now, I do think it fits. Think about the words from the perspective of a guy imagining how scary it would be if an "initiative" became a "bill" and then passed into law, overturning roe v. wade, making abortion illegal. It's like he was saying that if abortion was illegal, then young love would be a "daily minefield", always worrying that "this could be the day" that they might discover that they have to bring an unwanted/unplanned child into the world. And he's pondering that maybe he couldn't handle that and instead he "would not ever touch her, hold her, feel her...never again". Sure, birth control could solve that problem, but we all know how over-dramatic Eddie can be. I think not only is it a "pro choice" song, it's a "get out and vote so women will keep the choice" song.
Back in '91 I went with some friends to an "Alice in Chains" show at "The Bacchanal" in San Diego. The opening band, "Mookie Blaylock" stole the show. My friends and I were mesmerized. I got goosebumps many times during that performance, but especially during a particular song that I didn't know the name of. For months we searched magazines and stores, looking for anything by them, but it didn't exist. When I heard that they had changed their name to "Pearl Jam" and were going to release an album soon, I counted down the days. When I bought it, I had finally found that song that gave me the goosebumps. It was "Porch". But I was intrigued by the words now that I saw them in print, because I had no idea what they could possibly have been about. Then I saw the "Pro-Choice on the arm" appearance on TV and made that same connection that everyone else makes that this song was about pro choice...and I believed it. Maybe I forced the idea upon the song because I was convinced that it was true. But looking at it now, I do think it fits. Think about the words from the perspective of a guy imagining how scary it would be if an "initiative" became a "bill" and then passed into law, overturning roe v. wade, making abortion illegal. It's like he was saying that if abortion was illegal, then young love would be a "daily minefield", always worrying that "this could be the day" that they might discover that they have to bring an unwanted/unplanned child into the world. And he's pondering that maybe he couldn't handle that and instead he "would not ever touch her, hold her, feel her...never again". Sure, birth control could solve that problem, but we all know how over-dramatic Eddie can be. I think not only is it a "pro choice" song, it's a "get out and vote so women will keep the choice" song.