harmless wrote:I don't really trust Ed to be trained in POV. I can believe he's used all three in this song and that it makes no sense because of it. Who knows, I'm just saying I wouldn't put it past him.
Considering this was the first time ever they played this song, I'm pretty sure he had the lyrics down to a T and the only time his lyrics tend not to make sense is when he improvises live. I can't really remember a PJ song where Ed's lyrics didn't make sense from a language standpoint. He has taken artistic liberty with some of his lines, but this whole song is consistent in it's reference to you/your and she/her.
We are talking about one of the best rock lyricists of all time, certainly of the last 20 or so years.
harmless wrote:I don't really trust Ed to be trained in POV. I can believe he's used all three in this song and that it makes no sense because of it. Who knows, I'm just saying I wouldn't put it past him.
Considering this was the first time ever they played this song, I'm pretty sure he had the lyrics down to a T and the only time his lyrics tend not to make sense is when he improvises live. I can't really remember a PJ song where Ed's lyrics didn't make sense from a language standpoint. He has taken artistic liberty with some of his lines, but this whole song is consistent in it's reference to you/your and she/her.
We are talking about one of the best rock lyricists of all time, certainly of the last 20 or so years.
Are you fucking kidding me about any of this?
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
He fucked up the lyrics of MYM in Wrigley. Second time they'd ever played it. And I'm sorry but he frequently doesn't make sense.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
theplatypus wrote:Ed isn't a great lyricist, but his lyrics are perfect for Pearl Jam.
When they're good they are. Otherwise they're just pretty bad by anyone's standards. The lyrics to this song look fine, but I think I'm hearing three different POVs myself and the song isn't really making sense yet.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
That's why I stressed the fact that they were playing it live for the first time ever. It was the debut of the song. Playing it for the second time doesn't carry the same sort of importance, especially when this is a song they've already released as a single (MYM). He forgets lyrics occasionally, that's a separate point. His actual song lyrics never tend to not make sense, at least not to me.
Ed's a great lyricist, in my opinion. I believe it's an opinion shared by many neutrals and reflected in various lists available on the internet and in forum discussions, etc. You don't have to agree but you don't have to be shocked at this possibility either.
I've always been shocked at the amount of people who think Ed is a great lyricist, yeah. But you're entitled to your opinion. I guess we'll wait and see whether he fucked any lyrics up on this debut, but I reckon there's a couple of spots where he did and I also reckon Mike came in late with a solo towards the end and Ed got pissed off at him.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
She comes on like a storm
but she don't know where from she was thrown
like a hurtling meteor
from miles high
She's looking for a place to land
She said, 'you got yourself some sand'?
And whatever you reply, she took as 'yes'
Now she comes out to be
With her newly planted seeds
And soon you're thrown down on your knees
And then you're dead
And then before you know
The weeds are obesely overgrown
With all the wild seeds she sows
in your sleep
you gotta know you'll never let her go
She's a lightning bolt
lightning boltx2
Always something and never nothing
isn't that the way we're taught to dream? To dream
looking through the worn out pages
And stages when you knew not who to be
until the lightning strike, sets you free
you gotta know you'll never let her go
She's a lightning bolt
lightning boltx2
Crashing stormy waves
Erode her shoreline every day
Until the castle of her ways turns to sand
And then before you know
the weeds are obesely overgrown
With all the wild seeds she sows
in your sleep
And with no repair in sight
There is no God with such might
As you open her world wide with such a view
And your death will soon arrive
As she finally decides
That all the problems they will die with you
She's a lightning bolt
never let her go
Shes a lightning bolt
never let her go
While I wouldn't say these are some of Ed's best, they are good. And they make sense to me.
Not me, sorry. It would be great if someone could explain the story and what he's saying here. I understand these lyrics syntactically but I have no idea what he's trying to get at at all.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
Release_Me wrote:While I wouldn't say these are some of Ed's best, they are good. And they make sense to me.
I don't want to pass judgment until we actually know what they are for a fact, but the lyrics proposed don't strike me as very good.
In the course of this song the girl is a storm, a meteor, a garden, a beach, and a lightning bolt.
Mixed metaphor ago-go. If this was a well executed extended metaphor I might be able to get a handle on it, but as it is, it's such a mess that all I can do is pick isolated parts out of context and make sense of them. If these are the lyrics, they're going to be ones which create a very general impression. That impression won't be quite as vague as it was for Comatose, but still... yeah. Let's hope the album doesn't get any more lyrically obscure than this. Or if it is obscure, that I can make sense of the gist.
RisingTides wrote:There is more kindness on the internet than we would care to admit to ourselves. Sometimes we are so afraid of falling victim to a ruse, we miss out on actual opportunities.
They're not very good, but they're good (assuming these are the actual lyrics). I mentioned some pages back what I think the song is about. It's about the protagonist's relationship with a woman who comes into his life and takes control from the outset. She bewitches him and he's left feeling like he just can't let her go. But she's a lightning bolt, so the relationship is really doomed from the outset. You can't catch/keep a lightning bolt so I thought the main metaphor is pretty good in convenying the feeling of desperation and helplessness to hold onto something you want to hold on to but know you can't. By the end of the song, it's clear that the relationship is over.
'As she finally decides that all the problems they will die with you'
The mixed metaphors, if they don't add a whole lot, they don't really take away from the theme of the song either. For example, the seeds and weeds add to the sense that the woman is exerting her control over him.
This isn't Ed's best work but these are still good lyrics.
harmless wrote:I've always been shocked at the amount of people who think Ed is a great lyricist, yeah. But you're entitled to your opinion. I guess we'll wait and see whether he fucked any lyrics up on this debut, but I reckon there's a couple of spots where he did and I also reckon Mike came in late with a solo towards the end and Ed got pissed off at him.
i can't really comment on LB yet. I want to wait until we have the actual song (and liner notes) before I start thinking about that
I used to think Eddie was an incredible lyricist. i don't anymore, but as platy said I think he writes very well for his voice and their music. I think he has wonderful flashes of inspiration and, unlike harmless, I rarely think he is bad. i do think he is one of the better rock lyricsts out there.
He is in my top 20-30 of all time and top 5 of the last 20 years. Maybe that's too high for some but I feel he is that good considering his overall body of work.
Release_Me wrote:He is in my top 20-30 of all time and top 5 of the last 20 years. Maybe that's too high for some but I feel he is that good considering his overall body of work.
i used to think he was amazing, with time i realize he is one of the best from the last 20 years for sure.
His lyrics have moved me a lot more than others for sure.
harmless wrote:I've always been shocked at the amount of people who think Ed is a great lyricist, yeah. But you're entitled to your opinion. I guess we'll wait and see whether he fucked any lyrics up on this debut, but I reckon there's a couple of spots where he did and I also reckon Mike came in late with a solo towards the end and Ed got pissed off at him.
i can't really comment on LB yet. I want to wait until we have the actual song (and liner notes) before I start thinking about that
I used to think Eddie was an incredible lyricist. i don't anymore, but as platy said I think he writes very well for his voice and their music. I think he has wonderful flashes of inspiration and, unlike harmless, I rarely think he is bad. i do think he is one of the better rock lyricsts out there.
That's pretty much how I feel. Most of the time I think he's pretty good, but when he's at his best he can be incredible.
i've taken to the storyline that someone else suggested (i can't remember who, but thank you).
so my notes/interpretations after the "-"
Release_Me wrote:
She comes on like a storm
but she don't know where from she was thrown
like a hurtling meteor
from miles high - big bang starts things in motion, random like a storm, "she" = life/mother nature
She's looking for a place to land
She said, 'you got yourself some sand'?
And whatever you reply, she took as 'yes' - she's arrived on earth and we had no choice, the only answer was yes
Now she comes out to be
With her newly planted seeds
And soon you're thrown down on your knees
And then you're dead - our only purpose is to reproduce and grow/spread genes, it's not one life it's life itself
And then before you know
The weeds are obesely overgrown
With all the wild seeds she sows
in your sleep - we're the species that's ruined the pattern/balance of things
you gotta know you'll never let her go
She's a lightning bolt
lightning boltx2 - life/mother nature is uncontrollable, instant, and fleeting
Always something and never nothing
isn't that the way we're taught to dream? To dream
looking through the worn out pages
And stages when you knew not who to be
until the lightning strike, sets you free - reading the bible will not help you, embrace science/life/mother nature
you gotta know you'll never let her go
She's a lightning bolt
lightning boltx2 - life/mother nature is uncontrollable, instant, and fleeting
Crashing stormy waves
Erode her shoreline every day
Until the castle of her ways turns to sand - we're the species that's ruined the pattern/balance of things
And then before you know
the weeds are obesely overgrown
With all the wild seeds she sows
in your sleep - we're the species that's ruined the pattern/balance of things
And with no repair in sight
There is no God with such might
As you open her world wide with such a view
And your death will soon arrive
As she finally decides
That all the problems they will die with you - god can't save us, mother nature will correct itself by killing us all
She's a lightning bolt
never let her go
Shes a lightning bolt
never let her go
elliseamos wrote:i've taken to the storyline that someone else suggested (i can't remember who, but thank you).
so my notes/interpretations after the "-"
Release_Me wrote:
She comes on like a storm
but she don't know where from she was thrown
like a hurtling meteor
from miles high - big bang starts things in motion, random like a storm, "she" = life/mother nature
She's looking for a place to land
She said, 'you got yourself some sand'?
And whatever you reply, she took as 'yes' - she's arrived on earth and we had no choice, the only answer was yes
Now she comes out to be
With her newly planted seeds
And soon you're thrown down on your knees
And then you're dead - our only purpose is to reproduce and grow/spread genes, it's not one life it's life itself
And then before you know
The weeds are obesely overgrown
With all the wild seeds she sows
in your sleep - we're the species that's ruined the pattern/balance of things
you gotta know you'll never let her go
She's a lightning bolt
lightning boltx2 - life/mother nature is uncontrollable, instant, and fleeting
Always something and never nothing
isn't that the way we're taught to dream? To dream
looking through the worn out pages
And stages when you knew not who to be
until the lightning strike, sets you free - reading the bible will not help you, embrace science/life/mother nature
you gotta know you'll never let her go
She's a lightning bolt
lightning boltx2 - life/mother nature is uncontrollable, instant, and fleeting
Crashing stormy waves
Erode her shoreline every day
Until the castle of her ways turns to sand - we're the species that's ruined the pattern/balance of things
And then before you know
the weeds are obesely overgrown
With all the wild seeds she sows
in your sleep - we're the species that's ruined the pattern/balance of things
And with no repair in sight
There is no God with such might
As you open her world wide with such a view
And your death will soon arrive
As she finally decides
That all the problems they will die with you - god can't save us, mother nature will correct itself by killing us all
She's a lightning bolt
never let her go
Shes a lightning bolt
never let her go
This is a great interpretation
Brought forth with purpose, and eloquently stated
This fits what I tried to verbalize
but you excelled why I pondered and waited
I agree with Stip that the studio version will bring more clarity
For I think he probably botched his share of the vocals
leaving us with an interpretation disparity
There's the dog. You can't fake that stuff. Confess with your mouth.
