Given to Fly Lyrics

Lyric discussion by PJ10 

Cover art for Given to Fly lyrics by Pearl Jam

id say a majority of eddies lyrics are autobiographical or at least rooted in his actual experiences (like alive). so, with that in mind, i definitely see this song being about eddie. 1st stanza: hes in a bad mood and no one can cheer him up, so he goes off to be by himself.("couldve tuned in....nothing could save him") to relax, he goes surfing, and it puts him in a better mood because hes kind of a private, solitary guy and just spending some time on his own does him some good. ("a wave came crashing...delivered him wings") i think the flying on the wave is meant to be taken both literally and symbolically. going out and acting free makes him feel free.

2nd stanza: except that hes famous now so that feeling cant last. he cant just be himself because hes being watched and it makes him uncomfortable. ("faceless men"=crowds of people/media) overall, he can still be himself, but he does it subtly (instead of "flying" right in front of everyone, hes a "strange spot in the sky" far away)

i can see how the jesus intrepretation would work in this one case, but youve got to look at all his work. no offense to anyone who interpreted the song that way (or to jesus for that matter), but eddie just doesnt write songs about jesus. there are a lot that are spiritual or philosophical, but religious? i cant think of any. for the most part id describe them as introspective or highly emotional. if it being about jesus is your personal intrepretation, i think its a really intriguing idea, but if you think thats what eddie meant, im going to have to disagree with you.

@PJ10 No offense, but Tremor Christ was written by Vedder, so you are wrong.