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)
Hard to Imagine
Pearl Jam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Light your pillow, lay back, watch the flames
I'll tell a story, no one would listen that long
It's hard to imagine, it's hard to imagine.
Tear into yourself, count tales on your arm
Ah the beating, tickin' like a bomb
After having seen all that they saw
It's hard to imagine, it's hard to imagine.
Things were different then, all is different now
I tried to explain, somehow.
Things were different then, all is different now
I tried to explain, somehow.
Things were different then, all is different now
I tried to explain, I hope this works somehow.
Things were different then, all is different now
I tried to explain, oh, somehow.
Ooh, oh, oh.
The lyrics of Pearl Jam's song "Hard to Imagine" paint a picture of isolation, loneliness, and the struggle to convey one's experiences to others. The opening line "paint a picture, using only gray" sets the tone for the rest of the song, suggesting a bleak and colorless world in which the singer exists. The second line "light your pillow, lay back, watch the flames" is a reference to the comfort found in solitude, as the singer allows themselves to sink into their thoughts while watching the flickering flames. In the following lines, the singer expresses their desire to tell a story, but acknowledges that no one would listen for that long.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the difficulty of conveying experiences to others - "it's hard to imagine" is repeated twice, perhaps suggesting that the singer feels their experiences are so unique and personal that others couldn't possibly understand. The following lines suggest self-harm ("tear into yourself, count tales on your arm") and inner turmoil ("the beating, tickin' like a bomb"). The final lines of the song repeat the theme of change - "things were different then, all is different now" - and the singer's struggle to explain themselves to others.
Overall, "Hard to Imagine" is a powerful expression of the difficulty of understanding and communicating one's experiences to others, particularly in the face of mental health struggles.
Line by Line Meaning
Paint a picture, using only gray
Create a visual representation, but limit the color to shades of gray
Light your pillow, lay back, watch the flames
Illuminate your pillow, recline, and observe the fire
I'll tell a story, no one would listen that long
I will narrate a tale that no one would have the patience to listen to entirely
It's hard to imagine, it's hard to imagine.
It's challenging to conceive, it's challenging to conceive.
Tear into yourself, count tales on your arm
Rip apart your own flesh and keep track of the stories on your arm
Ah the beating, tickin' like a bomb
The heartbeat is ringing persistently like an explosive device
After having seen all that they saw
Following the observation of everything they witnessed
Things were different then, all is different now
The world was different before, and everything has changed now
I tried to explain, somehow.
I attempted to clarify, in some manner.
Things were different then, all is different now
The world was different before, and everything has changed now
I tried to explain, oh, somehow.
I tried to articulate, oh, in some way.
Ooh, oh, oh.
The vocalization is an expression of emotion or emphasis.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: EDDIE JEROME VEDDER, STONE C. GOSSARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
dmk7799ify
Paint a picture, using only gray
Light your pillow, lay back, watch the flames
I'll tell a story, no one would listen that long
It's hard to imagine, it's hard to imagine.
Tear into yourself, count tales on your arm
Ah the beating, tickin' like a bomb
After having seen all that they saw
It's hard to imagine, it's hard to imagine.
Things were different then, all is different now
I tried to explain, somehow.
Things were different then, all is different now
I tried to explain, somehow.
Things were different then, all is different now
I tried to explain, I hope this works somehow.
Things were different then, all is different now
I tried to explain, oh, somehow.
Ooh, oh, oh.
Joseph Miller
This is a very underrated song. Phenomenal!
QueenFan2019
This is like the most Pearl Jammy Pearl Jam video that ever was. Best band in our modern times. damn you COVID for wrecking the tour!
kerry REEDUS
2021 wrecked it again :-( Have tickets for BST Hyde Park, postponed for a 2nd year.
Jeff Townsend
Greatest Band of All Time
Allan Westmacott
Were are great band. Know bands mature a lot but some of their more recent stuff is guff. I was a big fan who went to gigs in Europe, cause they ain't played Scotland in 21 years ffs
Heath Burchett
Agreed, greatest band of all time. And genuinely good guys, too.
Manoella Fagundes
So true.
Tim Matthews
@A W border. Not boarder. I really don’t understand how so many fucktards made it through school. Like really, it’s crazy how stupid people are.
Pascal Dufresne
Yes A W is just à Fucking Moron😂
surferdjnj
Music like this is more than just words and melody. It has its own gravity too, heavy, dense.