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)
Dead Man
Pearl Jam Lyrics
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Is magnified by the things I've done.
The thing that I've become.
Every lift of my hand. Coffee cup up, and back.
Is magnified by the things I've done. The things I've seen. the things I've caused.
I'm a dead man walking.
The hammer that I once brung down now hovers over me.
Cast a shadow across, onto me.
The hallways are all mocking me.
What I've become they're all mocking me.
I'm a dead man walking. A dead man walking. A dead man walking.
I'm a dead man walking. Dead man walking. Dead man walking.
The lyrics in Pearl Jam's "Dead Man" convey a sense of regret and despair. The first few lines depict a feeling of being weighed down by one's past actions, and how they seem to multiply with every step taken. The decision of the singer to move on from his past seems to be taken away from him, as the hammer he once wielded now hangs over his head as if to punish him for his wrongs. He acknowledges the fact that he has become something he is not proud of, and that he is inevitably walking through life as a shadow of his former self - a dead man walking.
The next lines paint a picture of an outcast, surrounded by hallways that seem to mock him for who he has become. It's as if every self-destructive decision he has ever made echoes in the halls, and everyone is looking at him as a living embodiment of their worst fears. The repetition of the phrase "dead man walking" is haunting, underscoring the singer's sense of hopelessness and resignation. He knows that he cannot change the past, and that he is stuck with his choices, doomed to walk the earth carrying the weight of his mistakes.
Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of melancholy and regret. The singer is grappling with the consequences of his actions and seems to be resigned to his fate as a "dead man walking." The repetition of this phrase underscores the hopelessness and inevitability of his situation, making for a powerful and emotionally charged song.
Line by Line Meaning
Sailing on my every step. Inching off of the earth.
My movements and actions are so heavy and significant that they feel like I am slowly lifting off the ground and floating away.
Is magnified by the things I've done.
All of my actions are amplified and intensified by the weight of my past mistakes and regrets.
The thing that I've become.
I am the sum of all of the choices and experiences that have led me to this point, and I am not proud of who I have become.
Every lift of my hand. Coffee cup up, and back.
Even the smallest actions, like picking up a cup of coffee, feel heavy and significant because of the weight of my past actions and mistakes.
The things I've seen. the things I've caused.
The things I have witnessed and the actions I have taken have left a heavy impact on me, and I am haunted by the consequences of my choices.
The hammer that I once brung down now hovers over me.
The judgement and consequences of my past actions now loom over me, and I am powerless to escape them.
Cast a shadow across, onto me.
The weight of my past mistakes and regrets cast a dark shadow over my present and future, and I cannot escape them.
The hallways are all mocking me.
Even in the most mundane and ordinary places, I feel the weight of judgement and shame because of who I have become and what I have done.
I'm a dead man walking.
I am emotionally and spiritually dead, a shell of the person I once was, and I am just going through the motions of life without any real purpose or meaning.
A dead man walking. A dead man walking. A dead man walking.
I am stuck in this state of emotional and spiritual death, and I cannot escape it. I am doomed to walk this earth as a dead man until the end of my days.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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