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.
Society
Eddie Vedder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We have a greed
With which we have agreed
You think you have to want
More than you need
Until you have it all you won't be free
I hope you're not lonely without me
When you want more than you have
You think you need
And when you think more than you want
Your thoughts begin to bleed
I think I need to find a bigger place
'Cause when you have more than you think
You need more space
Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
Society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me
There's those thinking more or less less is more
But if less is more how you're keeping score?
Means for every point you make
Your level drops
Kinda like it's starting from the top
You can't do that
Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
Society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me
Society, have mercy on me
I hope you're not angry if I disagree
Society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me
The song "Society" by Eddie Vedder speaks to the human condition of wanting more than what we actually need. The lyricist reflects upon the insatiable nature of greed that society suffers from, and how the need to accumulate more is a self-destructive cycle. The first verse speaks to the paradox of western capitalism: while people crave more possessions and material things, they also suffer from their own self-imposed expectations because they convinced themselves they needed everything they have. This is symbolized in the line "Until you have it all you won't be free." The second verse presents a slightly different perspective, as Vedder sings: "When you have more than you think you need more space." The songwriter poses this need for more space as a tangible, physical symptom of material excess. The last verse presents Vedder's opinion on the issue; he suggests that the idea of 'less is more' is futile because society is surely not content with less. He also adds that measuring one's life in terms of how much one accumulates in material possessions does not bring inner peace because this will always continue the cycle of "your level drops." Vedder requests that society is merciful with him in admitting that he disagrees with the system.
Line by Line Meaning
It's a mystery to me
I cannot fathom the reason behind the society's greed that people have accepted as a norm.
We have a greed
Society has an insatiable desire for materialistic possessions.
With which we have agreed
People have accepted greed as a part of their lives and think it's necessary to have more than they actually need.
You think you have to want
People are under the impression that they should desire more to be content in life.
More than you need
People's wants are excessive than what they actually require to lead a satisfactory life.
Until you have it all you won't be free
People believe they won't be liberated until they possess everything they yearn for.
Society, you're a crazy breed
The society's thirst for materialistic possessions is irrational and abnormal.
I hope you're not lonely without me
The singer feels like an outsider and queries if society will be complete without him.
When you want more than you have
When people want more than their current possessions, they start feeling dissatisfied with their lives.
You think you need
People reckon that acquiring more will bring them the satisfaction they long for.
And when you think more than you want
When people start desiring things they don't need, they start to question their thoughts.
Your thoughts begin to bleed
Overthinking and desiring more than necessary results in mental turmoil.
I think I need to find a bigger place
The singer feels like having more space to store his possessions, implying that he owns more than he needs.
'Cause when you have more than you think
When people have more than they require, they realize that they don't have enough space to store it all.
You need more space
When people have too much, they realize they don't have enough room to store it.
There's those thinking more or less less is more
Some people believe in minimalistic living and find joy in living with less.
But if less is more how you're keeping score?
If living with less makes one happier, then why does society measure success through materialistic possessions?
Means for every point you make
Every time one acquires something, their benchmark for success rises.
Your level drops
A person's level of contentment declines when they start desiring more than they need.
Kinda like it's starting from the top
This is equivalent to starting from the highest levels of desire, and it's tough to attain satisfaction from that point.
You can't do that
It is impossible to achieve true happiness by continually striving for more than necessary.
Society, have mercy on me
The singer is complaining to society about societal norms and beliefs that contribute to a person’s dissatisfied state of mind.
I hope you're not angry if I disagree
The singer expresses his hope that society does not resent his disagreement with the lifestyle that society promotes.
Society, crazy and deep
The norms that are prevalent in society are complicated and challenging to understand.
I hope you're not lonely without me
The singer suggests that society seems incomplete without him because he is different from mainstream society.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: JERRY HANNAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@roseman164
It's a mystery to me
We have a greed
With which we have agreed
You think you have to want
More than you need
Until you have it all you won't be free
Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
When you want more than you have
You think you need
And when you think more than you want
Your thoughts begin to bleed
I think I need to find a bigger place
'Cause when you have more than you think
You need more space
Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
Society, crazy and deep
I hope you're not lonely without me
There's those thinking more or less less is more
But if less is more how you're keeping score?
Means for every point you make
Your level…
@dmosier
This is the soundtrack to my evening this evening.
It's a mystery to me
We have a greed
With which we have agreed
And you think you have to
Want more than you need
Until you have it all
you won't be free
Society, you're crazy breed
i hope you're not lonely, without me.
When you want more than you have
you think you need
And when you think more than you want
your thoughts begin to bleed
I think i need to find a bigger place
cause when you have
More than you think
you need more space
Society, you're crazy breed
hope you're not lonely, without me.
Society
crazy indeed
hope you're not lonely, without me.
There's those thinking more less
less is more
But if less is more, How you keepin score?
Means for every point you make
your level drops
kinda like you're startin from the top
and you can't do that
Society, you're crazy breed
hope you're not lonely, without me.
Society
crazy indeed
hope you're not lonely, without me.
Society
have mercy on me
Hope you're not angry, if i disagree.
Society, you're crazy breed.
Hope you're not lonely, without me.
@FineFolkMusic
I'm in tears, check out this amazingly beautiful video: https://youtu.be/D7zrkrsFT4E
@kuldeeppandey9650
Vvvvvvvvvvv
@chrisvblackwater5712
@@kuldeeppandey9650l
@lisagrehan7776
@@kuldeeppandey9650😮
@72marshflower15
Where are you for Palestine, faka?
@catamountmpls
That movie....
@bluesilhouette.7
who ever reading this comment and listening to this song after a long time , may you start feeling better and stronger...cheers!
@josephfriend7442
Back at ya, bud
@noeliamar3
Thank you.
@joshc255
Yep... I needed that......