Better Man
Pearl Jam Lyrics


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Waitin', watchin' the clock
It's four o'clock, it's got to stop
Tell him, "Take no more"
She practices her speech
As he opens the door, she rolls over
Pretends to sleep as he looks her over

She lies and says she's in love with him
Can't find a better man
She dreams in color, she dreams in red
Can't find a better man
Can't find a better man
Can't find a better man
Oh

Talkin' to herself
There's no one else who needs to know
She tells herself, oh
Memories back when she was bold and strong
And waiting for the world to come along
Swears she knew it, now she swears he's gone

She lies and says she's in love with him
Can't find a better man
She dreams in color, she dreams in red
Can't find a better man
She lies and says she still loves him
Can't find a better man
She dreams in color, she dreams in red
Can't find a better man
Can't find a better man
Can't find a better man

She loved him, yeah
She don't want to leave this way
She feeds him, yeah
That's why she'll be back again

Can't find a better man (can't find a better man)
Can't find a better man (can't find a better man)




Can't find a better man (can't find a better man)
Can't find a better man

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Pearl Jam's "Better Man" tell a story of a woman who is stuck in a loveless relationship. She stays with her man because she believes that she can't find anyone better, even though she knows that her feelings are not true. The woman waits and watches the clock as her man comes home late in the night. She tries to muster the courage to tell him that she can't do it anymore, but she can't. As he looks her over, she pretends to be asleep.


The woman reminisces about the past and remembers when she was young and bold, full of hope for the future. But now, she swears that all of that is gone, and that she can't leave the relationship. Even though she lies and says that she is in love, she knows that she can't find a better man. The repetition of the chorus, "Can't find a better man," reinforces her belief that she is stuck in the relationship and can't find anyone better.


The final lines of the song reveal that the woman feeds and loves her man, which is why she'll be back again. Despite the fact that she knows that she can't find a better man, she is still unable to leave the relationship.


Line by Line Meaning

Waitin', watchin' the clock
She's waiting for him to come home and watching the clock intently to see how long he's been gone.


It's four o'clock, it's got to stop
It's been hours since he left and she can't keep waiting like this anymore - she needs to tell him to stop hurting her.


Tell him, "Take no more"
She's finally ready to say enough is enough and confront him about the way he's treating her.


She practices her speech
She's rehearsing what she wants to say to him in order to make sure she gets it right and doesn't back down.


As he opens the door, she rolls over
When he comes home, she pretends to be asleep in order to avoid having to confront him.


Pretends to sleep as he looks her over
He knows she's not really asleep and is looking at her suspiciously to see if she's going to confront him.


She lies and says she's in love with him
She's pretending to still love him even though he's treating her badly in order to hold onto what they used to have.


Can't find a better man
She believes that he's the best she can do and that she won't be able to find anyone better.


She dreams in color, she dreams in red
Even though she's aware of the problems in their relationship, she still dreams of a passionate, romantic love with him.


Talkin' to herself
When she doesn't have anyone else to talk to, she talks to herself and tries to convince herself that everything will work out.


There's no one else who needs to know
She wants to keep the problems in their relationship private and doesn't want anyone else to know about them.


Memories back when she was bold and strong
She remembers a time when she was confident and sure of herself, before her relationship with him made her feel small and weak.


And waiting for the world to come along
She used to dream of a bright future and was waiting for the right opportunities to present themselves.


Swears she knew it, now she swears he's gone
She used to be sure of her place in the world and in her relationship, but now she feels lost and abandoned.


She loved him, yeah
Despite everything, she still loves him and wants to make things work between them.


She don't want to leave this way
She doesn't want to end things on a bad note or in a way that will hurt both of them.


She feeds him, yeah
She takes care of him and tries to make him happy in order to hold onto their relationship.


That's why she'll be back again
Even though they have their problems, she's willing to keep trying and to come back to him in order to make things work.




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Eddie Jerome Vedder

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

Hair of the Dog

You know you've made it when the audience sings the entire first verse and chorus for you.

Christian Paulson-Music

Another one of my favorite bands, Blackberry Smoke, is the same way. For a lesser-known band, our mighty and dedicated BBS fans sing all the words for their 2-hour show. The same thing happened at Rush concerts. Rush fans are almost a little too vocal and loud. 30k fans singing Tom Sawyer is damn loud...but fun!!

Evan b

Bet they could do every song on the list!

Donald Smith

Poisonous Nut Keith Richards says after 1965 the Stones didn't have to work hard because the audience knew all their songs. The only good thing I've ever read about Axl Rose was his desire to tour before an album dropped because he wanted the crowd to have t listen to the songs.

Lorrie Miller

Actually it is how an audience who goes to see their favorite band should be.

Bar9indamix

Fuck yea! Eddie rocks!!

36 More Replies...

CateB66

When the entire crowd sings every one of their songs word for word, you know they are brilliant. You can’t find a better band then Pearl Jam.

Alvin Gomes

so yes

Jerry Park

Hello beautiful,I must say you have such an amazing and captivating smile

Mike Carlisto

If I could be anyone in the world for a day I would be eddie vedder and just sing to myself all day.

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