“Dance of the Clairvoyants” is so experimental and lyrically complicated, I almost couldn’t understand what the song was trying to say. After a few listens, though, I actually think this song has a lot of complex thought about love and humanity. The lyrics argue that love is “as big as the ocean, and equally hard to control.” To me, this suggests that love is an emotion that is extremely powerful, but in a way that often has more power over us than we do over it. Love is one of the biggest driving forces in our lives, but how much control do we actually have over it?
There’s also a phrase that says “love is friction, ripe for comfort…endless equations, and tugging persuasions.” This lyric frames love in such an interesting and eccentric way. Most of us probably don’t think of “friction” or “equations” when we think of love. However, there’s definitely truth in this statement. Love is friction, because friction happens when two things collide and experience contact. Two people coming together isn’t always seamless; love can be messy. Love can also be calculated, like an equation. We want to present ourselves to the world as easy to love. At our core, we want to love and be loved. We make little decisions throughout our lives that we feel will bring us that love. Our desire to love and be loved pulls at our hearts, a “tugging persuasion” leading us to make decisions solely based on the pursuit of love.
Another powerful lyric in the song comes in the chorus. Eddie Vedder sings “expecting perfection leaves a lot to ignore, when the past is the present and the future's no more.” I believe Pearl Jam meant this lyric as commentary on our society as a whole. When we expect perfection in our world, we are quickly disappointed, and often we collectively choose to ignore the issues. “When the past is the present,” or when the past mistakes of humanity are repeated over and over in the present, we can’t escape the problems that we’ve always had. The future seems destined to be a repetition of the same problems that we choose to ignore. I think Pearl Jam wrote this song as a way to convey humanity in all its complicated, messy, imperfect ways. “Dance of the Clairvoyants” is a complex, though-provoking song about humanity, with an 80’s vibe that’s an ode to both earlier music and modern pop.
“Dance of the Clairvoyants” is so experimental and lyrically complicated, I almost couldn’t understand what the song was trying to say. After a few listens, though, I actually think this song has a lot of complex thought about love and humanity. The lyrics argue that love is “as big as the ocean, and equally hard to control.” To me, this suggests that love is an emotion that is extremely powerful, but in a way that often has more power over us than we do over it. Love is one of the biggest driving forces in our lives, but how much control do we actually have over it?
There’s also a phrase that says “love is friction, ripe for comfort…endless equations, and tugging persuasions.” This lyric frames love in such an interesting and eccentric way. Most of us probably don’t think of “friction” or “equations” when we think of love. However, there’s definitely truth in this statement. Love is friction, because friction happens when two things collide and experience contact. Two people coming together isn’t always seamless; love can be messy. Love can also be calculated, like an equation. We want to present ourselves to the world as easy to love. At our core, we want to love and be loved. We make little decisions throughout our lives that we feel will bring us that love. Our desire to love and be loved pulls at our hearts, a “tugging persuasion” leading us to make decisions solely based on the pursuit of love.
Another powerful lyric in the song comes in the chorus. Eddie Vedder sings “expecting perfection leaves a lot to ignore, when the past is the present and the future's no more.” I believe Pearl Jam meant this lyric as commentary on our society as a whole. When we expect perfection in our world, we are quickly disappointed, and often we collectively choose to ignore the issues. “When the past is the present,” or when the past mistakes of humanity are repeated over and over in the present, we can’t escape the problems that we’ve always had. The future seems destined to be a repetition of the same problems that we choose to ignore. I think Pearl Jam wrote this song as a way to convey humanity in all its complicated, messy, imperfect ways. “Dance of the Clairvoyants” is a complex, though-provoking song about humanity, with an 80’s vibe that’s an ode to both earlier music and modern pop.