Pearl Jam is an American grunge/alternative rock band formed in Seattle, Wa… Read Full Bio ↴Pearl Jam is an American grunge/alternative rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guitar), as well as Matt Cameron (drums), who joined in 1998. Keyboardist Boom Gaspar has also been a touring/session member with the band since 2002. Drummers Jack Irons, Dave Krusen, Matt Chamberlain, and Dave Abbruzzese are former members of the band. Pearl Jam outsold many of their contemporaries from the early 1990s, and are considered one of the most influential bands of the decade, being dubbed as "the most popular American rock and roll band of the '90s".

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)

Don't Be Shy
Pearl Jam Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Don't be shy
Just let your feelings roll on by
Don't wear fear
'Cause nobody will no you're there
Just lift your head
And let your feelings out instead
And don't be shy
Just let your feelings roll on by

On by
On by
On by

On by
On by
On by

You know love
Is better than a song
Love is where
All of us belong
So don't be shy
Just let your feelings roll on by
And don't wear fear
Or nobody will know you're there

You're there, you're there
You're there, you're there
You're there, you're there
You're there, you're there

So don't be shy
Just let your feelings roll on by
And don't wear fear
Or no one will know you're there
You know love is better than a song
Love is where
All of us belong

Belong
Belong

Belong
Belong

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Pearl Jam's song Don't Be Shy seem to be a message about being open and vulnerable, and letting your emotions be seen by others. The song advises against wearing fear or being hesitant in expressing oneself, as doing so may prevent others from knowing the real you. Instead, the lyrics encourage the listener to lift their head and let their feelings out, as everyone belongs and love is better than a song.

The repetition of "on by" in the chorus, as well as the repeated "you're there" lines in the bridge, add to the sense of moving forward and not getting stuck. The phrase "love is better than a song" may signify the idea that true connection with others is more important than any art or entertainment. Overall, the message of the song is one of vulnerability and authenticity, calling on the listener to not hide behind fear and to let their true self be known.

Line by Line Meaning

Don't be shy
Do not be hesitant or reserved.

Just let your feelings roll on by
Allow your emotions to be expressed without inhibition.

Don't wear fear
Do not carry fear like a burden.

'Cause nobody will no you're there
Because no one will notice or care if you are filled with fear.

Just lift your head
Raise your head up confidently.

And let your feelings out instead
Express your emotions openly and honestly.

On by
Continuously, without interruption or interference.

You know love
Acknowledgment that the listener understands love.

Is better than a song
Love is a more meaningful and profound experience than music or any other art form.

Love is where
The place in which love exists.

All of us belong
Every person deserves and has the capacity to experience love.