American Pie
Pearl Jam Lyrics


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Alone, listless
Breakfast table in an otherwise empty room
Young girl, violence
Center of her own attention
The mother reads aloud, child tries to understand it
Tries to make her proud
The shades go down, it's in her head
Painted room, can't deny there's something wrong

Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me

She holds the hand that holds her down
She will rise above, uh uh

Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me

The shades go down
The shades go down




The shades go go
Go

Overall Meaning

These lyrics tell the story of a young girl who feels alone and unimportant in a household where violence is present. She sits at the breakfast table with her mother, who reads aloud to her in an attempt to make her proud. But the girl’s mind is elsewhere; she can’t deny there’s something wrong with the painted room and the shades that go down. She feels trapped and powerless, represented by the line “she holds the hand that holds her down.” Despite this, the girl is determined to rise above and be strong, as shown by the repeated line “she will rise above.”


Line by Line Meaning

Alone, listless
Feeling all alone and unenergetic.


Breakfast table in an otherwise empty room
Sitting alone at the table with no one around, feeling empty inside.


Young girl, violence
A young girl who has experienced violence in some form or another.


Center of her own attention
Thinking about herself, her problems, and her life more than anything else.


The mother reads aloud, child tries to understand it
The mother tries to teach her child something by reading aloud, and the child tries to comprehend it.


Tries to make her proud
The child wants to make her mother proud of her, so she tries her best to understand what her mother is saying.


The shades go down, it's in her head
The child shuts out the world, and begins to daydream about something else instead.


Painted room, can't deny there's something wrong
In her daydream, she sees that something is not quite right in the room she is in.


Don't call me daughter, not fit to
She doesn't want to be called 'daughter', because she feels like she is not good enough to be someone's daughter.


The picture kept will remind me
She keeps a picture to remind herself of something she doesn't want to forget.


She holds the hand that holds her down
She is in a relationship that is holding her back and preventing her from reaching her full potential.


She will rise above, uh uh
She is determined to overcome her struggles and become a better person, despite the obstacles in her way.


The shades go down
She shuts out the world once again, to focus on her own thoughts and dreams.


The shades go go
She continues to block out the world around her, withdrawing deeper into her own mind.


Go
She sinks deeper into her own thoughts and memories, losing touch with reality.




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVID ABBRUZZESE, EDDIE VEDDER, JEFF AMENT, MIKE MCCREADY, STONE GOSSARD

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Félix Thelmo Cevallos Morales

Alone, listless
Breakfast table in an otherwise empty room
Young girl, violence
Center of her own attention
The mother reads aloud, child tries to understand it
Tries to make her proud
The shades go down, it's in her head
Painted room, can't deny there's something wrong

Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me

She holds the hand that holds her down
She will rise above, uh uh

Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me

The shades go down
The shades go down
The shades go go
Go

Traducir al español

Fuente: LyricFind

Compositores: David Abbruzzese / Eddie Vedder / Jeff Ament / Mike Mccready / Stone Gossard

Letra de Daughter/Instant Karma © Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group



All comments from YouTube:

drummerboy231434

For someone who's blacked out, mike can play pretty good. Anyone who has seen Twenty will understand this comment.

TheNadster2

MAtt Cameron could be my favourite drummer of the 90s but for some reason Dave just worked so well with PJ

Mark Schisler

Great song
The band is amazing

BarclayLounger

Only two types of people will find this video. Pearl Jam geeks and Youtube bingers.

L T

Same...

Paul Of Attraction

Or both 😆

Chris Taylor

7 years later and I finally found it.

Laura Watters

Sooo nice to see Dave A. Love you Dave A. ♥️🤘his smile is amazing!!

RabidNemo

I've got a recording of this! Absolutely love it

Virginia knighten

These guys are so adorable!

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