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)
Aya Davanita
Pearl Jam Lyrics
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Jahooh...jahooh... (Repeat)
Awooh...aye davanita...awooh...awooha... (4x)
The lyrics of Pearl Jam's "Aya Davanita" are rather cryptic and open to interpretation. It starts off with the repetition of the phrase "Awooh...aye davanita...awooh...awooha..." which could be seen as a chant or a call to someone or something. This is followed by the repetition of "Jahooh...jahooh..." which could either be seen as a reference to the Jamaican language or a made-up word.
The use of these foreign or made-up words is indicative of the band's exploration of different cultures and styles in their music. However, the song's meaning was hinted at by lead singer Eddie Vedder in an interview. He explained that the song was written after a visit to a Brazilian rainforest where he encountered an indigenous tribe. The phrase "Aya Davanita" was something said by the tribe's matriarch, and it roughly means "welcome to the jungle."
The song's haunting melody and tribal drums mimic the feeling of entering a new and mysterious place, and the repetition of the words could be seen as a way to communicate across language barriers. Overall, the song's meaning is open to interpretation but can be seen as a celebration of cultural exploration and unity.
Line by Line Meaning
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVID ABBRUZZESE, EDDIE VEDDER, JEFF AMENT, MIKE MCCREADY, STONE GOSSARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind