Vedder is known for his powerful baritone vocals. He was ranked number 7 on a list of "Best Lead Singers of All Time", based on a readers' poll compiled by Rolling Stone.
In 2007, Vedder released his first solo album as a soundtrack for the film Into the Wild (2007). His second album, Ukulele Songs, and a live DVD titled Water on the Road were released in 2011. His third solo album Earthling was released in 2022.
In 2017, Vedder was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pearl Jam.
Early life
Vedder was born Edward Louis Severson III in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, on December 23, 1964, to Karen Lee Vedder and Edward Louis Severson, Jr. His parents divorced in 1965, when Vedder was an infant. His mother soon remarried, to a man named Peter Mueller. Vedder was raised believing that Mueller was his biological father, and he went by the name Edward Mueller for a time. Vedder's ancestry includes Norway (Severson) and Dutch, German and Danish (Vedder).
While living in Evanston, Vedder's family fostered seven younger children in a group home. In the mid-1970s, the family, including Vedder's three younger half-brothers, moved to San Diego County, California. It was at this point that Vedder, who had received a guitar from his mother on his twelfth birthday, began turning to music (as well as surfing) as a source of comfort. He particularly found solace in The Who's 1973 album, Quadrophenia. He said, "When I was around 15 or 16... I was all alone—except for music." His mother and Mueller divorced when Vedder was in his late teens. His mother and brothers moved back to the Chicago area, but Vedder remained with his stepfather in California so he would not have to change schools.
After the divorce, Vedder learned the truth about his parentage: Mueller was really his stepfather. Vedder had met his biological father briefly as a child, but had believed that Severson was merely an old friend of his parents. By the time Vedder learned the truth, Severson had died of multiple sclerosis. During his senior year at San Dieguito High School, Vedder moved out to live on his own in an apartment, supporting himself with a nightly job at a drug store in Encinitas. Because of the pressure of work and school, Vedder dropped out of high school. He joined the rest of his family in Chicago, and it was at this time that he changed his name to Vedder, his mother's maiden name.
In the early 1980s, while working as a waiter, Eddie earned his high school GED, and briefly attended a community college near Chicago. In 1984, Vedder returned to San Diego, with his girlfriend Beth Liebling and his friend Frank. He kept busy recording demo tapes at his home and working various jobs, including a position as a contracted security guard at the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla. Vedder had several stints in San Diego area bands, including Surf and Destroy and the Butts. One of those bands, called Indian Style, included future Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave drummer Brad Wilk. In 1988, Vedder became the vocalist for the San Diego progressive funk rock band Bad Radio. The music of the original incarnation of the band was influenced by Duran Duran; however, after Vedder joined Bad Radio, the band moved on to a more alternative rock sound influenced by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Musical style and influences
Critic Jim DeRogatis describes Vedder's vocals as a "Jim Morrison-like vocal growl". Greg Prato of AllMusic said, "With his hard-hitting and often confessional lyrical style and Jim Morrison-esque baritone, Vedder also became one of the most copied lead singers in all of rock." Vedder has inducted the Doors, Neil Young, the Ramones, and R.E.M. into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in his induction speeches he has cited them all as influences. Other influences that Vedder has cited include The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, U2, the Who, Pink Floyd, the Jackson 5, Frank Zappa, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Sonic Youth, Fugazi, Tom Waits, Huey Lewis, Bob Dylan, and the Pixies.
Vedder was heavily inspired by the early Jethro Tull sound, stating that: "I'm a big fan of Jethro Tull, and I listen to this record [Stand Up] every night before I go on stage!"
Vedder's lyrical topics range from personal ("Alive", from Ten; "Better Man", from Vitalogy) to social and political concerns ("Even Flow", from Ten; "World Wide Suicide", from Pearl Jam). His lyrics have often invoked the use of storytelling and have included themes of freedom, individualism, and sympathy for troubled individuals. Other recurring themes include the use of water metaphors, as well as the idea of leaving everything behind to start again (featured in such songs as "Rearviewmirror", from Vs.; "MFC", from Yield; "Evacuation", from Binaural; and "Gone", from Pearl Jam).
Although best known as a vocalist, Vedder also plays guitar on many Pearl Jam songs, beginning with the Vs. songs "Rearviewmirror" and "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town". When the band started, Gossard and McCready were clearly designated as rhythm and lead guitarists, respectively. The dynamic began to change when Vedder started to play more rhythm guitar during the Vitalogy era. McCready said in 2006, "Even though there are three guitars, I think there's maybe more room now. Stone will pull back and play a two-note line and Ed will do a power chord thing, and I fit into all that." Vedder's guitar playing helped the band's sound progress toward a more stripped-down style; the songs "Rearviewmirror" and "Corduroy" (from Vitalogy) feature Vedder's raw, punk-influenced guitar playing. As he had more influence on the band's sound, Vedder sought to make the band's musical output less catchy.
He said, "I felt that with more popularity, we were going to be crushed, our heads were going to pop like grapes." He has also contributed performances on the ukulele, harmonica, accordion, and electric sitar to various Pearl Jam recordings.
Girl From The North Country
Eddie Vedder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was the true love of mine.
If you go when the snowflakes storm
When the rivers freeze and summer ends
Please see if she's a coat so warm
To keep her from the howlin' winds.
If it rolls and flows all down her breast
Please see from me if her hair hangs long
That's the way I remember her best.
I'm a-wonderin' if she remember me at all
Many times I've often prayed In the
darkness of my night In the brightness of my day.
So if you're travelin' in the north country fair
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine.
The lyrics of Eddie Vedder's song "Girl From The North Country" depict a man's nostalgic longing for a lost love. If the listener is ever traveling in a rugged, isolated region where the winds hit heavy on the borderline, he asks them to send his regards to a woman who lives there, his former lover. He recalls her fondly, asking the listener to inquire about her hair, hoping it still flows down her breast as it did when they were together. He also wonders if she remembers him at all and confesses to having prayed for her often, even in the darkest depths of his night and the brightest moments of his day.
The song is full of striking imagery that captures the setting's harshness and the man's wistfulness. The north country is associated with an inhospitable landscape that requires a warm coat to withstand the storms and howling winds. The "borderline" also implies a sense of danger or risk that the woman faces by living there. The snowflakes, the rivers, and the end of summer signify the passing of time and the cycles of life. The man's memories of the woman's hair are sensual and represent his desire to hold onto the past's beauty and emotional resonance.
Line by Line Meaning
If you're traveling in the north country fair
If you venture into the northern region where nature rules
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Where the winds are strong enough to make an impact on anything in its way
Remember me to one who lives there
Please pass on my message to someone residing there
She once was the true love of mine
I had fond feelings for her in the past
If you go when the snowflakes storm
If you visit during a snowstorm
When the rivers freeze and summer ends
When the waterways become solid and warm weather disappears
Please see if she's a coat so warm
Please check if she has a warm coat
To keep her from the howlin' winds.
To protect her from the loud and powerful gusts of wind
Please see if her hair hangs long
Please check if her hair is long and flowing
If it rolls and flows all down her breast
If it cascades down her chest in waves
Please see from me if her hair hangs long
Please convey to her that long, flowing hair is the way I remember her
That's the way I remember her best.
It's my preferred way to remember her appearance
I'm a-wonderin' if she remember me at all
I'm curious if she still remembers me
Many times I've often prayed In the darkness of my night In the brightness of my day.
I have thought of her often, day and night
So if you're travelin' in the north country fair
If you find yourself in the region where nature reigns
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Where the gusts of wind are forceful enough to leave an impact
Remember me to one who lives there
Please pass on my regards to someone residing there
She once was a true love of mine.
She used to be someone I loved deeply
Writer(s): Pierre Delanoe, Bob Dylan, Roy Harper, Peter Dennis Townshend, Peter Dennis Blandfor Townshend, Hugues Aufray
Contributed by Audrey M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@victorr504
Girl from the north country (Lyric)
If you're travelling to the north country fair
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Remember me to the one who lives there
For she once was a true love of mine
Please see for me if her hair ain't so long
And flows in curls down her back and breast
Please see for me if her hair ain't so long
For that's the way i remember her best
Oh see for me if her coat's pulled up close
And her braid frames her sweet pretty face
Oh see for me if her coat's pulled up close
For I'm exiled in a lonely place
Please see for me if she remembers me at all
Oh a million times i've hoped and I've prayed
In the darkness of my nights
In the brightness of my days
So if you're travelling to the north country fair
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Remember me to the one who lives there
For she once was a true love of mine
For she once was a true love of mine
@spiritofseventysix1155
If you're traveling in the north country fair
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was the true love of mine.
If you go when the snowflakes storm
When the rivers freeze and summer ends
Please see if she's a coat so warm
To keep her from the howlin' winds.
Please see if her hair hangs long
If it rolls and flows all down her breast
Please see from me if her hair hangs long
That's the way I remember her best.
I'm a-wonderin' if she remember me at all
Many times I've often prayed In the
darkness of my night In the brightness of my day.
So if you're travelin' in the north country fair
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine.
From
🇮🇲Threelegsoman🤠😏☺
Slim Red Tex 🇺🇸👍👌✌🇮🇱
Shalom Aleicham😇 🙏's😌
Shabbat Shalom🕎🛐✡ 😘
@chandrashekhermishra5847
Well, if you’re travelin’ in the north country fair
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine
Well, if you go when the snowflakes storm
When the rivers freeze and summer ends
Please see if she’s wearing a coat so warm
To keep her from the howlin’ winds
Please see for me if her hair hangs long,
If it rolls and flows all down her breast.
Please see for me if her hair hangs long,
That’s the way I remember her best.
I’m a-wonderin’ if she remembers me at all
Many times I’ve often prayed
In the darkness of my night
In the brightness of my day
So if you’re travelin’ in the north country fair
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine
@MichaelB2L
This is one of the songs that it really doesn’t matter who sings/plays it it is always magical.
@barbarabaldwin7120
yes. it just MUST be played---Eddie Vedder is great!!!!!!!!
@karenbaldwin862
What a voice. He sings with true feelings. Makes me want to cry
@Gingerjake2
I do cry...
@virginiaknighten4687
Yes...what a voice and what a face!
@scottielover5415
Eddie makes this his own. As far as I am concerned, he could read/sing what used to be the phone book and I'd listen.
@joenesselrode8242
This is my favorite song ever... Not the original Dylan which was great... but THIS!
I cry every time... over the mastery of the music and for lost loves.
Going through a rough break-up right now, and this is "her" song now.
Thanks Ed.
@SwissRod70
Checkout also Rod Stewart‘s 1974 version. Blows you away as well. Cheers!
@renenowicki
Dylan and Johnny Cash
@sweetjannnne
This song... it's beauty, the way he sings, always makes me cry. Touches me. So, so beautiful.