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)
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On a porch a letter sat
Then you said I want to leave it again
Once I saw him
On a beach of weathered sand
And on the sand I want to leave it again
And they called an I said an I want what
I said an I call out again
And the reason oughta leave her calm I know
I said I know what I wear that a box or the bag
Oh yeah can you see them?
Out on the porch
Ah, but they don't wave
I see them
Round the front way, yeah
And I know and I know
I don't want to stay
Make me cry
I see
I don't know there's something else
I want to drum it all away
An I said
I said "I don't, I don't know whether I was the boxer or the bag"
Oh yeah can you see them?
Out on the porch
Ah, but they don't wave
I see them
Round the front way, yeah
And I know and I know
I don't want to stay
I don't want to stay
I don't want to stay
The lyrics to Pearl Jam's eponymous track are open to interpretation, but the underlying themes seem to be centered around the desire to escape and the feeling of being trapped. The opening lines paint a clear picture of a letter left unsealed on a porch, suggesting a lack of communication or the inability to articulate feelings. The singer then expresses their desire to leave it all behind, using the imagery of a beach to convey a sense of longing for simplicity and a return to nature.
Throughout the song, there is a sense of restlessness and unease, as evidenced by the repeated refrain "I don't want to stay." The singer is torn between feeling like they are either the "boxer or the bag," a metaphor for feeling either in control or powerless in their situation. The references to people on the porch who don't wave further emphasizes the sense of isolation and disconnection from others.
Overall, Pearl Jam's lyrics suggest a search for meaning and a desire for freedom, even if it means leaving everything behind.
Line by Line Meaning
Unsealed
Something has been opened or unlocked
On a porch a letter sat
There was a letter that was left on the porch
Then you said I want to leave it again
Someone wanted to leave something behind for some reason
Once I saw him
Someone observed another person
On a beach of weathered sand
The place where the person was observed was a beach that was affected by weather
And on the sand I want to leave it again
The observer wants to leave something again in the same place as before
On a weekend want to wish it all way
There is a desire to get rid of everything on a weekend
And they called an I said an I want what
Someone was called and they asked for something
I said an I call out again
The person called out again
And the reason oughta leave her calm I know
There is a reason why someone wants to leave calmly
I said I know what I wear that a box or the bag
The person knows whether they are the one carrying the box or the bag
Oh yeah can you see them?
Someone is asking if others can see something
Out on the porch
The thing being seen is outside on the porch
Ah, but they don't wave
The people/thing being seen are not waving back
I see them
The person still sees the people/thing on the porch
Round the front way, yeah
Someone is going around to the front to see the people/thing
And I know and I know
The person is certain about something
I don't want to stay
The person doesn't want to remain in the current situation
Make me cry
Someone/something is making the person cry
I see
The person sees something
I don't know there's something else
The person is unsure about something else that might be happening
I want to drum it all away
There is a desire to drum away all the uncertainties
An I said
The person said something
I said "I don't, I don't know whether I was the boxer or the bag"
The person is unsure about their role in a situation
I don't want to stay
The person doesn't want to stay in the current situation
I don't want to stay
The person doesn't want to stay in the current situation
I don't want to stay
The person doesn't want to stay in the current situation
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: EDDIE JEROME VEDDER, JEFFREY ALLEN AMENT, MIKE MCCREADY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Davide Farina
0:00 Life Wasted
3:53 World Wide Suicide
7:21 Comatose
9:44 Severed Hand
14:11 Marker in the Sand
18:35 Parachutes
22:12 Unemployable
25:16 Big Wave
28:14 Gone
32:24 Wasted (Reprise)
33:18 Army Reserve
37:02 Come Back
42:31 Inside Job
Thank you Gal for your uploads!
Davide Farina
0:00 Life Wasted
3:53 World Wide Suicide
7:21 Comatose
9:44 Severed Hand
14:11 Marker in the Sand
18:35 Parachutes
22:12 Unemployable
25:16 Big Wave
28:14 Gone
32:24 Wasted (Reprise)
33:18 Army Reserve
37:02 Come Back
42:31 Inside Job
Thank you Gal for your uploads!
Laura Watters
Nothing like Pearl Jam live in concert though, I watched over 100 Pearl Jam concerts on my phone, there's nothing better than Vedder live just freakin amazing!! 😊💓🤘✌️
Samurai Rabbit
Been a Pearl Jam fan since 1992. Listening to them is like coming home.
david williams
absolutely
Matthew Thompson
I agree Usagi San.
Ozkr hills
Amo a esta banda!!
Laura Watters
This is an awesome album, ALL PEARL JAM ALBUMS ARE AWESOME!!! 💓 MY OPINION! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE PEARL JAM FOR LIFE!!! 😊🤘❤️✌️Sorry I get very passionate about Pearl Jam.
Laura Watters
@Prototype 81 sorry got a little excited in my comment, I know some people don't like the Avocado 🥑 album, I love all their albums, I'm a huge fan from the beginning. 😊💓✌️🤘
Prototype 81
Ok lol of course its ypur opinion whos else would it be?
Delisia Vedoy
Bem assim. Sso geniais