Red Mosquito

first timer, just voteed... diz iz ozom!

Man, I love Swallowed Whole, but I would never say its lyrics are great. There may be a great line or two, but I couldn't call them great as a whole.

Lament wrote:Man, I love Swallowed Whole, but I would never say its lyrics are great. There may be a great line or two, but I couldn't call them great as a whole.

oh dear God no. its an unholy abomination.

Lament wrote:Man, I love Swallowed Whole, but I would never say its lyrics are great. There may be a great line or two, but I couldn't call them great as a whole.

The overall piece is really evocative, with a few standout moments to anchor the whole thing.

stip wrote:

Lament wrote:Man, I love Swallowed Whole, but I would never say its lyrics are great. There may be a great line or two, but I couldn't call them great as a whole.

The overall piece is really evocative, with a few standout moments to anchor the whole thing.

Swallowed Whole is probably my favorite post-2003 Pearl Jam song, but the lyrics are the weakest part to me. I love the performance, and I think the lyrics are fine for what it's trying to accomplish, but I would never call them great.


I think the last song that I'd say had great lyrics as a whole is maybe Undone. I'm sure someone will say Man of the Hour, but those just don't get into "great" territory for me.

Undone? I love that song but think those lyrics are pretty weak, actually.

I legitimately like every line in Undone. The only thing I could offer forth as a potential criticism is that sometimes I feel like the two verses don't belong together. I love the second verse and the bridge. I even like the chorus.

Undone has a couple great lines but as a whole pretty unremarkable.
"All this hope and nowhere to go" is wonderful.
"This is how, I used to be, but no more" not so much.

I don't think Small Town has particularly good lyrics.

I think Ed can be a very effective vocalist but I've never thought he was a particularly talented lyricist. Tremor Christ is pretty good, admittedly.

Thejambi wrote:Undone has a couple great lines but as a whole pretty unremarkable.
"All this hope and nowhere to go" is wonderful.
"This is how, I used to be, but no more" not so much.

See, I love the "This is how..." line. It concludes the bridge with a sense of newfound purpose, and I actually find it to be one of the bolder lines Ed wrote around that time. That being said, it's also the line that hammers home why the song doesn't belong on Riot Act, as it's thematically in opposition to pretty much the whole record.

The corporations rule the day lyric is really weak

Birds in Hell wrote:I don't think Small Town has particularly good lyrics.

I think Ed can be a very effective vocalist but I've never thought he was a particularly talented lyricist. Tremor Christ is pretty good, admittedly.

He has some truly great songs top to bottom but his strength is found in moments, not whole songs

stip wrote:The corporations rule the day lyric is really weak

This line never bothered me. Though from discussions I've had with people about the song in the past, apparently my interpretation of it is slightly different than most people's.

Objectively the best Pearl Jam lyrics are "Thin Air" and "Low Light"

*waits*

theplatypus wrote:*waits*

Would you say the waiting is driving you mad?

Jorge, what color are those songs?

Lament wrote:

stip wrote:The corporations rule the day lyric is really weak

This line never bothered me. Though from discussions I've had with people about the song in the past, apparently my interpretation of it is slightly different than most people's.

Go on...

theplatypus wrote:Objectively the best Pearl Jam lyrics are "Thin Air" and "Low Light"

It really is a shame Jorge can't find a burger of even that caliber in Buenos Aires.