Quick Escape

General Pearl Jam discussion.

Rate Quick Escape

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guitar_davey
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by guitar_davey »

Ms Harmless wrote:my only doubt is that "here we are on the red planet" sounds like an arrival, making everything before that...earth
I took it this way from day one. The first two verses are recalling being gradually pushed off the planet and the third verse is from the present point-of-view.
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scrub12
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by scrub12 »

It’s such a simple chorus but I really like that part of it, mainly the harmony of the band singing “haaaaaaaad toooooo”.
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tragabigzanda
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by tragabigzanda »

pearl jam sucks now
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Fri January 02, 2026 1:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
guitar_davey
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by guitar_davey »

tragabigzanda wrote:The more you guys pick apart the lyrics, the more I think they’re kind of dumb
It's rock music. It's not high art.
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by Ms Harmless »

scrub12 wrote:It’s such a simple chorus but I really like that part of it, mainly the harmony of the band singing “haaaaaaaad toooooo”.
they're singing "had to"? I thought it was just aaaaaa oooooo, but "had to" would be so Pearl Jam
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by guitar_davey »

Ms Harmless wrote:
scrub12 wrote:It’s such a simple chorus but I really like that part of it, mainly the harmony of the band singing “haaaaaaaad toooooo”.
they're singing "had to"? I thought it was just aaaaaa oooooo, but "had to" would be so Pearl Jam
So says the lyrics book. :)
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tragabigzanda
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by tragabigzanda »

pearl jam sucks now
Last edited by tragabigzanda on Fri January 02, 2026 1:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by Ms Harmless »

guitar_davey wrote:
Ms Harmless wrote:
scrub12 wrote:It’s such a simple chorus but I really like that part of it, mainly the harmony of the band singing “haaaaaaaad toooooo”.
they're singing "had to"? I thought it was just aaaaaa oooooo, but "had to" would be so Pearl Jam
So says the lyrics book. :)
I don't know why I forgot that
guitar_davey
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by guitar_davey »

Ms Harmless wrote:
guitar_davey wrote:
Ms Harmless wrote:
scrub12 wrote:It’s such a simple chorus but I really like that part of it, mainly the harmony of the band singing “haaaaaaaad toooooo”.
they're singing "had to"? I thought it was just aaaaaa oooooo, but "had to" would be so Pearl Jam
So says the lyrics book. :)
I don't know why I forgot that
Covid brain.
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Jaeti
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by Jaeti »

Ms Harmless wrote:my only doubt is that "here we are on the red planet" sounds like an arrival, making everything before that...earth
This is what's correct.
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epilogue
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by epilogue »

Jaeti wrote:
Ms Harmless wrote:my only doubt is that "here we are on the red planet" sounds like an arrival, making everything before that...earth
This is what's correct.
I think it's totally valid that the narrator is on Mars when he begins his story; the story of how they ended up on Mars.

So, yeah, that stuff is "before" in a flashback sense. That doesn't mean the second half of the second verse is referencing Earth. Likely, but not necessarily.

A Kerouac sense of time, after all.
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stip
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by stip »

how does Kerouac play with time in his writing?
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dimejinky99
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by dimejinky99 »

stip wrote:how does Kerouac play with time in his writing?
Linearly. Every single moment depicted breath by breath

On the road is anyways

The one in the woods is far more relaxed.
Calibrate your enthusiasm
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VinylGuy
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by VinylGuy »

I totally dig this lyrics.
BONE FUCKIN´ TOMAHAWK.
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epilogue
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by epilogue »

stip wrote:how does Kerouac play with time in his writing?
People call him the father of the Beat movement. He didn't like that label and referred to his work as "spontaneous prose." It's said he wrote spontaneously and without edits. Basically, he wanted his prose to be like jazz.

From wikipedia: "The central features of this writing method were the ideas of breath (borrowed from jazz and from Buddhist meditation breathing), improvising words over the inherent structures of mind and language, and limited revision. Connected with this idea of breath was the elimination of the period, substituting instead a long connecting dash. As such, the phrases occurring between dashes might resemble improvisational jazz licks. When spoken, the words take on a certain musical rhythm and tempo."

I can only guess that's what Ed is getting at with his lyric.
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by Ms Harmless »

durdencommatyler wrote:
stip wrote:how does Kerouac play with time in his writing?
People call him the father of the Beat movement. He didn't like that label and referred to his work as "spontaneous prose." It's said he wrote spontaneously and without edits. Basically, he wanted his prose to be like jazz.

From wikipedia: "The central features of this writing method were the ideas of breath (borrowed from jazz and from Buddhist meditation breathing), improvising words over the inherent structures of mind and language, and limited revision. Connected with this idea of breath was the elimination of the period, substituting instead a long connecting dash. As such, the phrases occurring between dashes might resemble improvisational jazz licks. When spoken, the words take on a certain musical rhythm and tempo."

I can only guess that's what Ed is getting at with his lyric.
this is the correct answer :)
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by RockPusher »

Be mighty...Be humble...Be mighty humble...
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by Bammer »

Ms Harmless wrote:
Bammer wrote:
Ms Harmless wrote:
Strat wrote:
Ms Harmless wrote:"lifting rocks to make a wage" is kind of embarrassing; who does that except for slaves and prisoners?
Uh. Tons of people. Construction, landscapers, manual labor jobs. That is what it is referring to.
OK, that makes sense
It’s not even just that. It’s for anyone struggling through life even a minimum wage burger flipper.
yeah, I don't like it as a metaphor for all that personally
It is Ed’s best attempt at a Rage lyric, OK????
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bodysnatcher
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by bodysnatcher »

Bammer wrote:
Ms Harmless wrote:
Bammer wrote:
Ms Harmless wrote:
Strat wrote:
Ms Harmless wrote:"lifting rocks to make a wage" is kind of embarrassing; who does that except for slaves and prisoners?
Uh. Tons of people. Construction, landscapers, manual labor jobs. That is what it is referring to.
OK, that makes sense
It’s not even just that. It’s for anyone struggling through life even a minimum wage burger flipper.
yeah, I don't like it as a metaphor for all that personally
It is Ed’s best attempt at a Rage lyric, OK????
maybe he's talking about rock 'n' roll.

like he rocks so hard to make a nice life for his family
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Bammer
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Re: Quick Escape

Post by Bammer »

bodysnatcher wrote:
Bammer wrote:
Ms Harmless wrote:
Bammer wrote:
Ms Harmless wrote:
Strat wrote:
Ms Harmless wrote:"lifting rocks to make a wage" is kind of embarrassing; who does that except for slaves and prisoners?
Uh. Tons of people. Construction, landscapers, manual labor jobs. That is what it is referring to.
OK, that makes sense
It’s not even just that. It’s for anyone struggling through life even a minimum wage burger flipper.
yeah, I don't like it as a metaphor for all that personally
It is Ed’s best attempt at a Rage lyric, OK????
maybe he's talking about rock 'n' roll.

like he rocks so hard to make a nice life for his family
Possible.

Hell, even plausible.
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