Formed after the demise of Gossard and Ament's previous band, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream with their debut album, Ten, in 1991. Ten stayed on the Billboard 200 chart for nearly five years, and has gone on to become one of the highest-selling rock records ever, going 13× platinum in the United States. Released in 1993, Pearl Jam's second album, Vs., sold over 950,000 copies in its first week of release, setting the record for most copies of an album sold in its first week of release at the time. Their third album, Vitalogy (1994), became the second-fastest-selling CD in history at the time, with more than 877,000 units sold in its first week.
One of the key bands in the grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam's members often shunned popular music industry practices such as making music videos or participating in interviews. The band also sued Ticketmaster, claiming it had monopolized the concert-ticket market. In 2006, Rolling Stone described the band as having "spent much of the past decade deliberately tearing apart their own fame."
Pearl Jam had sold more than 85 million albums worldwide by 2018, including nearly 32 million albums in the United States by 2012, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. Pearl Jam was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 in its first year of eligibility. They were ranked eighth in a readers' poll by Rolling Stone magazine in its "Top Ten Live Acts of All Time" issue. Throughout its career, the band has also promoted wider social and political issues, from pro-abortion rights sentiments to opposition to George W. Bush's presidency. Vedder acts as the band's spokesman on these issues.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Jam
Studio albums
Ten (1991)
Vs. (1993)
Vitalogy (1994)
No Code (1996)
Yield (1998)
Binaural (2000)
Riot Act (2002)
Pearl Jam (2006)
Backspacer (2009)
Lightning Bolt (2013)
Gigaton (2020)
Even Flow
Pearl Jam Lyrics
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Oh feelin' maybe he'll see a little betters any days ooh yeah
Oh hand out faces that he sees come again ain't that familiar
Oh dark grin he can't help when he's happy he looks insane
Even flow
Thoughts arrive like butterflies
Oh he don't know, so he chases them away
Someday yet he'll begin his life again
Life again, life again
Kneelin' looking through the paper though he doesn't know to read, ooh yeah
Oh, prayin', now to something that has never showed him anything
Oh, feelin', understands the weather or that winters on its way
Oh, ceilings, few and far between all the legal halls of shame, yeah
Even flow
Thoughts arrive like butterflies
Oh, he don't know, so he chases them away
Someday yet he'll begin his life again
Oh whispering hands, gently lead him away
Him away, him away
Yeah
Woo
Oh yeah yeah fuck it up
Even flow
Thoughts arrive like butterflies
Oh, he don't know, so he chases them away
Someday yet he'll begin his life again
Oh whispering hands, gently lead him away
Him away, him away
Yeah!
Woo
Uh huh yeah
Yeah yeah mommy, mommy
The song "Even Flow" by Pearl Jam is a dark, emotional piece that tells a vivid story about a homeless person who is enduring life on the streets. The first verse describes the main character, who is sleeping with his head on a pillow made of concrete. Although he's hoping for a better life, everything he sees around him seems familiar and depressing. The character has a "dark grin" on his face that simply can't be helped - it's a sign that despite the hardships he's experiencing, he still finds happiness in small moments. The chorus, "Even flow, thoughts arrive like butterflies," is a metaphor for the character's erratic mental state. He chases away negative thoughts like butterflies, trying to cling to and nurture the positive ones.
The second verse dives a little deeper into the character's story. He's kneeling, looking through a newspaper - he doesn't know how to read, but he's still hoping to find some sort of meaning or way out of his current situation. He prays to something that has never shown him anything, speaks of understanding the weather and seasons changing and the inevitable "winter" that will soon arrive. The line "ceilings, few and far between all the legal halls of shame," refers to the lack of safe places and shelters available to those who are homeless. The chorus repeats again, followed by a breakdown where the character imagines hands leading him away from his current life. The song ends with a chilling "Yeah, yeah, mommy, mommy," that leaves listeners with a strong sense of sadness and desperation.
Line by Line Meaning
Freezin' rests his head on a pillow made of concrete again ooh yeah
He has nowhere else to go, so he sleeps on the hard street.
Oh feelin' maybe he'll see a little betters any days ooh yeah
He's hopeful that one day his life will improve.
Oh hand out faces that he sees come again ain't that familiar
The people around him are all strangers, yet he sees them every day.
Oh dark grin he can't help when he's happy he looks insane
The happy moments he has seem like madness to others because of his situation.
Thoughts arrive like butterflies
Random thoughts come to him quickly and unexpectedly like butterflies.
Oh he don't know, so he chases them away
He doesn't know what to do with these thoughts, so he ignores them.
Someday yet he'll begin his life again
Life again, life again
He believes that one day he'll have a new life.
Kneelin' looking through the paper though he doesn't know to read, ooh yeah
He doesn't know how to read but still looks at the newspapers.
Oh, prayin', now to something that has never showed him anything
He prays to something he thinks will help, but no help ever comes.
Oh, feelin', understands the weather or that winters on its way
He can sense that winter is coming, and he has nothing to prepare for it.
Oh, ceilings, few and far between all the legal halls of shame, yeah
There are few resources for him to turn to, and they are buried in bureaucratic nonsense.
Oh whispering hands, gently lead him away
Him away, him away
He imagines that gentle hands will come and take him away from his troubles.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind