Pearl Jam songs referencing other songs on the album...

General Pearl Jam discussion.
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mikejasond
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Pearl Jam songs referencing other songs on the album...

Post by mikejasond »

People have talked about lyrical references within Dark Matter ("If you could see what I see now" in Something Special and Setting Sun, not to mention the Setting Sun references in Scared of Fear)...

I'd not noticed until now that this was a trick they've used before (maybe because Eddie's lyrics are so hard to decipher? lol)

But seriously

Vs.
I've never realized that Daughter ends with "The shades go down" and then Rearviewmirror ends with "Finally the shades are raised". A song about a child trapped in abuse, and then a song about leaving an abusive past behind you.

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This one is interesting....an inversion "If I had known then what I know now" on Red Mosquito and then "If he only knew now what he knew then" on I'm Open. The first about wisdom gained through painful experience, and then the second about magic and wonder (its own type of wisdom) LOST through growing up.

These are really interesting inversions and Setting Sun follows the same pattern "Is this what we've become? Oh, one last setting sun" followed by "We can become one last setting sun"

Pretty crazy...any other albums that do this?

I seriously can't believe I never noticed the pivotal one on Vs before
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epilogue
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Re: Pearl Jam songs referencing other songs on the album...

Post by epilogue »

The "feed him" lines in both Nothingman and Better Man.

"She won't feed him / After he's flown away"

"She feeds him / That's why she'll be back again"
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Re: Pearl Jam songs referencing other songs on the album...

Post by stip »

i referenced the vs one in the book. i dont know if I missed the feeds from vitalogy. Where was this thread before!!!

there arent a ton of these before DM
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Re: Pearl Jam songs referencing other songs on the album...

Post by warehouse »

i'm pretty sure Vs. is a story front to back. the first two songs are like an argument between lovers, "Don't go on me", "I'd rather be with an animal" with "daughter" being a flashback. I think Vitalogy is a story front to back, as well.

Gigaton has a lot of "River" metaphors with the most obvious being the last song, River Cross, and the end of DOTC. I haven't really figured out if it's a story, but i'm sure EV does this with all the albums.
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Re: Pearl Jam songs referencing other songs on the album...

Post by wease »

Not the exact same words but Breakerfall starts with “ Because all the love that she had Was just wood that she burned Now her life is on fire, it's no one's concern” and then Parting Ways closes with “ Behind her eyes there's curtains And they've been closed to hide the flames, flames She knows their future's burning But she can smile just the same, same.”
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Re: Pearl Jam songs referencing other songs on the album...

Post by mikejasond »

These are so cool! I didn't realize how often they use this. Great catch with the Vitalogy one! Especially because Nothing Man and Better Man, like Go and Animal, seem to be similar stories from different perspectives.

What's also interesting is that pretty much every single one is an opposite or an inversion in some way, some in sentiment, and others just literally opposite.

Vs.
Shades down, vs Shades raised

Vitalogy:
She won't feed him vs She feeds him

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If I had known THEN what I know NOW vs If he only knew NOW what he knew THEN

Binaural:
Her life is on fire vs she knows their future's burning but she can smile (This one isn't direct, but to me the sentiment feels opposite)

Dark Matter:
Is this what we've become? one last setting sun? (Fear) vs We can become one last setting sun (Longing)

This is so interesting.....
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Re: Pearl Jam songs referencing other songs on the album...

Post by dogbelly »

Not on the same album but Lightning Bolt and Nothingman

You gotta know you'll never let her go
She's a lightning bolt

Caught a bolt 'a lightnin'...cursed the day he let it go...
I won't change direction and I won't change my mind.
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Re: Pearl Jam songs referencing other songs on the album...

Post by warehouse »

GIgaton

DOTC
Coulda held me up rather than tearing me down
Drown in the river

7:00
What's to be done?
Carve a path for rivers reign

River Cross
I always thought I'd cross that river
The other side, distant now

i'm surprised there's not a more obvious lyrical theme on Yield considering a lot of it was based on the same book. I'm not sure how many songs on Ten actually feature the word "death", but look at the songs lol.
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