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)

Hold Me
Pearl Jam Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Give me, give me, what I really need (2x)
Hold me, hold me, hold me in my sleep
Give me, give me, what I really need
All our children in there, doing something swell
Spread out what begins my Hell, there's nothing left in our way

Give me, give me, give me what I need
Oh, give me, oh hold me, oh treat me for today

What I'm talking about (2x)
Is just the kind of things, of the doubt

Give me, give me, give me...
Give me, give me, give me what I need
Ooh...ooh...ooh...ooh...

Hold me, hold me, hold me in my sleep
Oh, hold me, hold me, hold me in my sleep

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Pearl Jam's song "Hold me" appear to be an appeal from the singer to a lover or someone close to them. The lines "Give me, give me, what I really need / Hold me, hold me, hold me in my sleep" are repeated multiple times throughout the song and express a deep, unfulfilled desire for emotional and physical closeness. The singer seems to be in a state of distress or instability as they plead for attention and care: "All our children in there, doing something swell / Spread out what begins my Hell, there's nothing left in our way."

The lyrics also touch on themes of uncertainty and doubt, as the singer expresses a need for reassurance and validation: "What I'm talking about / Is just the kind of things, of the doubt." The repetition of the plea for affection and the refrain of "give me what I need" underscores the urgency and desperation of the singer's emotional state.

Overall, "Hold Me" is a poignant and emotionally charged song that explores themes of love, doubt, and vulnerability. The lyrics convey a sense of longing and need that is universal to the human experience, and the music and vocals complement this sentiment with a raw and intense energy.

Line by Line Meaning

Give me, give me, what I really need (2x)
I am desperately seeking something that I require to survive.

Hold me, hold me, hold me in my sleep
I want someone to comfort me, especially during my vulnerable moments.

All our children in there, doing something swell
The future is bright, as the youth is engaged in positive activities.

Spread out what begins my Hell, there's nothing left in our way
The source of my inner turmoil is being exposed and eliminated, paving the way for progress.

Oh, hold me, oh treat me for today
For the time being, please give me what I need to feel better.

What I'm talking about (2x)
I am referring to a specific matter that is important to me.

Is just the kind of things, of the doubt
I am discussing issues that make me uncertain or skeptical.

Ooh...ooh...ooh...ooh...
Expressing emotional distress or pain.

Give me, give me, give me...
Repetition of the need for something crucial to my well-being.

Hold me, hold me, hold me in my sleep
Again asserting the deep desire for emotional support and connection.

Contributed by Kennedy B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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