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)
Porch
Pearl Jam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Running to, you didn't
Leave a message, at least I
Could have learned your voice one last time
Daily minefield, this could
Be my time, 'bout you?
Would you hit me?
Would you hit me?
Oh whoa whoa, oh
All the bills go by, and
Initiatives are taken up
By the middle, there ain't gonna be any middle any more
And the cross I'm bearing home
Ain't indicative of my place, left the porch
Left the porch, oh oh oh
Hear my name, take a good look
This could be the day
Hold my hand, walk beside me
I just need to say
Hear my name, take a good look
This could be the day
Hold my hand, walk beside me
I just need to say
I could not take a-just one day
I know when I would not ever touch you
Hold you, feel you in my arms ever again
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
The lyrics of Pearl Jam's song Porch are full of emotional power and existential musings about the world we live in. The opening lines express the sense of confusion and disorientation that many people feel in modern society. The singer wonders about the direction of the world and the people who inhabit it, expressing regret over not being able to hear the voice of someone who has left his life: "What the fuck is this world/ Running to, you didn't/ Leave a message, at least/ I could have learned your voice one last time."
As the song progresses, the lyrics delve deeper into the themes of identity and purpose in life. The line "All the bills go by, and initiatives are taken up/ By the middle, there ain't gonna be any middle anymore" speaks to the sense of isolation and disconnection that many people feel in modern society. The mention of the "cross I'm bearing home" suggests a kind of spiritual burden that the singer carries with him, and the final lines express a sense of longing and loss for someone who is no longer present: "I could not take a-just one day/ I know when I would not ever touch you/ Hold you, feel you in my arms ever again."
Overall, the lyrics of Porch are a powerful and moving reflection on the human condition and the challenges that we face in the modern world.
Line by Line Meaning
What the fuck is this world
Expressing frustration and confusion at the state of the world
Running to, you didn't
Someone ran away with no explanation
Leave a message, at least I
Regret of not being able to hear the voice of the person who left
Could have learned your voice one last time
Sadness at the thought of never hearing the person's voice again
Daily minefield, this could
Life is full of dangers and one never knows when their time is up
Be my time, 'bout you?
Wondering if the person who left is thinking about them too
Would you hit me?
Expressing a desire to feel something physical, even if it's pain
Oh oh oh
Repetition for emphasis and emotional effect
All the bills go by, and
Life goes on, even though time seems to have stopped for the artist
Initiatives are taken up
People are busy with their own lives and making changes
By the middle, there ain't gonna be any middle any more
The world is rapidly changing and everything is becoming more extreme
And the cross I'm bearing home
Metaphorically carrying a burden back home
Ain't indicative of my place, left the porch
Feeling disconnected from one's surroundings and past
Left the porch, oh oh oh
Repeating the line for emphasis and emotional effect
Hear my name, take a good look
Desire to be seen and recognized
This could be the day
Sense of urgency and importance
Hold my hand, walk beside me
Desire for companionship and support
I just need to say
They have something important to communicate
I could not take a-just one day
Feeling overwhelmed and unable to cope
I know when I would not ever touch you
Acceptance that the person they miss is gone forever
Hold you, feel you in my arms ever again
Longing to be reunited with the person who left
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Repetition for emphasis and emotional effect
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Repetition for emphasis and emotional effect
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Repetition for emphasis and emotional effect
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Repetition for emphasis and emotional effect
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Eddie Vedder
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind