Song of the Moment: Sirens

[stip]

Trying to discern the lyrics and the statement this song is making. Generally, it's pretty obvious, but I have to say I really don't get the second verse of this tune. Does anyone else find it out of place relative to everything else going on in the song?

you mean about the sirens possibly coming for him this time?

Well it starts there and that part makes sense, keeping in line with the whole death as a pathway to loss motif. But then it takes a weird turn and seems to speak of infidelity, unless I am really misreading that.

Every choice/mistake I make it's not my plan to send you in the arms of another man. --Wasn't he just talking about how grateful he is for this love and asking it to be the one thing that remains? And now he's doing things to jeopardize it and to foster (even inadvertently) the desire of this woman to find someone more suitable? That seems to undermine his credibility as someone really committed to the love.

But if you choose to stay I'll wait. I'll understand. --Does this mean if the woman chooses to stay with this other person that she has gone off to because she's been left unsatisfied with the shared love that the narrator will just stick around hoping that things get better and not hold it against her? That seems pretty passive for the need and fear he expresses previously and later in the tune.


That turn in the verse seems very odd to me. I am struggling to resolve the value of injecting that concept in here. But again...I may be really misinterpreting this.

I thought the same when I read through the lyrics. I think the first one might be he knows he's made/ making mistakes but he's hoping its not enough to drive her away? Or at the least he wasn't trying to force her away.

The second Line I have no idea, 'choose to stay' implies staying with him. But then 'I'll understand' is an odd thing to say in response to that and why would he need to wait?

Unless he did something stupid, she left him, and he's hanging on the hope that she'll come back.....but then none if the other lyrics make sense, cause he's with her in them. Unless he's the other man Dum dum duumm

I haven't looked closely and don't intend to until we have the official release, but it is an awkward verse (the source of the mostly good caveat in the main page review). I wonder since some of the other lyrics dwell on past self destructive and reckless behavior (because who cares if there's nothing you're living for) it's a general apology for anything he's ever done to make himself difficult

[Farmer John]

Yeah, this song is kind of growing on me.

[dimejinky99]

I hereby rename this song heroin.

Cannot stop playing it.

[Thejambi]

I hereby rename this song heroin.

Cannot stop playing it.

I'm with you there. My heart hurts.

[harmless]

I hereby rename this song heroin.

Cannot stop playing it.

I'm with you there. My heart hurts.

It's emotionally draining, and I've not felt that about a rock ballad before. But all the other songs in the playlist, while possibly not paling in comparison, are certainly not doing the same job. In that way, this album might be comparable to Ten because that album had shorter songs joining up more important set-pieces. I've actually missed PJ albums with statement set-pieces... those songs about which you can say I liked X album because of X songs...

I've been saying recently that I'd rather have an album full of consistently good songs than an album with only a few great ones, but I'm not sure if that's true based on this. The last time I loved a PJ song so soon was Riot Act, for certain.

[Thejambi]

I hereby rename this song heroin.

Cannot stop playing it.

I'm with you there. My heart hurts.

It's emotionally draining, and I've not felt that about a rock ballad before. But all the other songs in the playlist, while possibly not paling in comparison, are certainly not doing the same job. In that way, this album might be comparable to Ten because that album had shorter songs joining up more important set-pieces. I've actually missed PJ albums with statement set-pieces... those songs about which you can say I liked X album because of X songs...

I've been saying recently that I'd rather have an album full of consistently good songs rather than an album with only a few great ones, but I'm not sure if that's true based on this. The last time I loved a PJ song so soon was Riot Act, for certain.

I feel the anxiety and the relief within this song. I've seen death a couple of times and this song sums it up quite accurately.
edit: This and Swallowed Whole are brilliant. I don't think ive attached to two Pearl Jam songs like these two upon release.

[BeingeNlightened]

Trying to discern the lyrics and the statement this song is making. Generally, it's pretty obvious, but I have to say I really don't get the second verse of this tune. Does anyone else find it out of place relative to everything else going on in the song?

you mean about the sirens possibly coming for him this time?

Well it starts there and that part makes sense, keeping in line with the whole death as a pathway to loss motif. But then it takes a weird turn and seems to speak of infidelity, unless I am really misreading that.

Every choice/mistake I make it's not my plan to send you in the arms of another man. --Wasn't he just talking about how grateful he is for this love and asking it to be the one thing that remains? And now he's doing things to jeopardize it and to foster (even inadvertently) the desire of this woman to find someone more suitable? That seems to undermine his credibility as someone really committed to the love.

But if you choose to stay I'll wait. I'll understand. --Does this mean if the woman chooses to stay with this other person that she has gone off to because she's been left unsatisfied with the shared love that the narrator will just stick around hoping that things get better and not hold it against her? That seems pretty passive for the need and fear he expresses previously and later in the tune.


That turn in the verse seems very odd to me. I am struggling to resolve the value of injecting that concept in here. But again...I may be really misinterpreting this.

Maybe he's an unreliable narrator here. Which would be another reason it isn't an 80s love ballad. He's just a human bean, after all.

That's a real possibility. There are just so many ways to read it. Using the car accident concept, the arms of another man could be a paramedic taking her away while he just wants to hold her before he dies, "If you choose to stay, I'll wait" could be about her surviving while he's gone... it could very well be a less straight-forward Last Kiss.

Hm...the more I read this, the more I get that this might narrated from someone who is actually dying as opposed to someone who might die in the future and is afraid of it. Picture two lovers who just got in a terrible accident. What I can't get out of the lyrics is who's dying? The narrator? His love? Or both (this is where my head is at currently)? By the end there is acceptance of the fate perhaps as the narrator slips away.

[harmless]

Trying to discern the lyrics and the statement this song is making. Generally, it's pretty obvious, but I have to say I really don't get the second verse of this tune. Does anyone else find it out of place relative to everything else going on in the song?

you mean about the sirens possibly coming for him this time?

Well it starts there and that part makes sense, keeping in line with the whole death as a pathway to loss motif. But then it takes a weird turn and seems to speak of infidelity, unless I am really misreading that.

Every choice/mistake I make it's not my plan to send you in the arms of another man. --Wasn't he just talking about how grateful he is for this love and asking it to be the one thing that remains? And now he's doing things to jeopardize it and to foster (even inadvertently) the desire of this woman to find someone more suitable? That seems to undermine his credibility as someone really committed to the love.

But if you choose to stay I'll wait. I'll understand. --Does this mean if the woman chooses to stay with this other person that she has gone off to because she's been left unsatisfied with the shared love that the narrator will just stick around hoping that things get better and not hold it against her? That seems pretty passive for the need and fear he expresses previously and later in the tune.


That turn in the verse seems very odd to me. I am struggling to resolve the value of injecting that concept in here. But again...I may be really misinterpreting this.

Maybe he's an unreliable narrator here. Which would be another reason it isn't an 80s love ballad. He's just a human bean, after all.

That's a real possibility. There are just so many ways to read it. Using the car accident concept, the arms of another man could be a paramedic taking her away while he just wants to hold her before he dies, "If you choose to stay, I'll wait" could be about her surviving while he's gone... it could very well be a less straight-forward Last Kiss.

Hm...the more I read this, the more I get that this might narrated from someone who is actually dying as opposed to someone who might die in the future and is afraid of it. Picture two lovers who just got in a terrible accident. What I can't get out of the lyrics is who's dying? The narrator? His love? Or both (this is where my head is at currently)? By the end there is acceptance of the fate perhaps as the narrator slips away.

"The fear (of death?) goes away..."

Possibly.

[stip]

I don't think that it's actually about someone dying, but that's a plausible interpretation for sure.

[BeingeNlightened]

I don't think that it's actually about someone dying, but that's a plausible interpretation for sure.

Yea there's enough here that's counter to that to make me think otherwise too...but I struggle to find something that can unify these lyrics with themselves. I am missing the imagery here.

[Thejambi]

I can hear it as someone already on their deathbed.

[stip]

the second verse definitely sticks out a bit. i wonder what would be cut from a radio edit

[Gob]

OK, yesterday I was trying to interpret how I would handle all this cheese in one song, and today it's sounds much better to my ears. I think we have a classic on our hands... I remember the first time I heard Black in the early 90s and thought to myself how it sounded like a dark top 40 song.

the cheese goes away..
the cheese goes away..

[15showsandcounting]

I haven't heard this yet, if someone can be so kind.

[Thejambi]

I haven't heard this yet, if someone can be so kind.

We don't do that here.

[Tj]

I hereby rename this song heroin.

Cannot stop playing it.

I'm with you there. My heart hurts.

Glad we are in this together. I can't fathom hate for this song.

[harmless]

Oh man, this song!

[dimejinky99]

Harmless this is interesting for me maybe nobody else.
But glen has a song called once which for me is acting like a conclusion to this song.
The refrain gently goes 'hear the sirens, call me home'
It's almost like the protagonist after this act has taken place, has left.
Never examined the lyrics too closely but it could be something you might get a kick out of.
Cool song too.

[bodysnatcher]

i heard it twice and it was yanked away from me (taken down from the site I was using).

it was like being lost in the desert and finding a canteen with one sip of water

[VinylGuy]

Harmless this is interesting for me maybe nobody else.
But glen has a song called once which for me is acting like a conclusion to this song.
The refrain gently goes 'hear the sirens, call me home'
It's almost like the protagonist after this act has taken place, has left.
Never examined the lyrics too closely but it could be something you might get a kick out of.
Cool song too.

glen