I'm Still Alive
Eddie likes to climb scaffolding during concerts...
Son, she said, have I got a little story for you
What you thought was your daddy was nothin’ but a...
While you were sittin’ home alone at age thirteen
Your real daddy was dyin’, sorry you didn’t see him, but I’m glad we talked...
Oh I, oh, I’m still alive
Hey, I, I, oh, I’m still alive
Hey I, oh, I’m still alive
Hey...oh...
Oh, she walks slowly, across a young man’s room
She said I’m ready...for you
I can’t remember anything to this very day
’cept the look, the look...
Oh, you know where, now I can’t see, I just stare...
I, I’m still alive
Hey I, but, I’m still alive
Hey I, boy, I’m still alive
Hey I, I, I, I’m still alive, yeah
Ooh yeah...yeah yeah yeah...oh...oh...
Is something wrong, she said
Well of course there is
You’re still alive, she said
Oh, and do I deserve to be
Is that the question
And if so...if so...who answers...who answers...
I, oh, I’m still alive
Hey I, oh, I’m still alive
Hey I, but, I’m still alive
Yeah I, ooh, I’m still alive
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Have you ever come across someone that is unusually charismatic, someone that people pay attention to when they choose to say something? For me, one of those people is Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam. I got Pearl Jam's Greatest Hits CD for Christmas (and yes, I asked for it), to listen a little more to one of the greatest bands of the '90's, and still going strong. "Alive" is probably their most well-known song, and it's largely autobiographical. Eddie did not find out until about age 15 or so that the man he had thought was his father in fact was not, and that his real father, a man he had met before, was dying and eventually died by the time Eddie was told the truth. Shortly after this, Eddie was living on his own, working to support himself while attending high school. He worked during this time at a Long's Drug Store, and later had worked as a gas station attendant, before his "success" came around as the lead singer for a major group. In the song, at the end, Eddie's mother seems to say, "what's the big deal, you're still alive", to which Eddie says back in the song, "Yeah I, oh, I, I’m still alive".
It's a very powerful song for anyone who has ever gone through some real shit, and can still yet say, defiantly, I Am Still Alive!!! I think a lot of people can relate with the feel of the song; I know I do, as well as with the group, Eddie Vedder, and the music of Pearl Jam. Sometimes I wonder why this type of music ever "went away", especially as related to what's out there today.
posted by Frank at 10:39 PM
3 Comments:
I think most everyone could relate to those lyrics. I remember knowing of pearl jam, and there was a song of theirs i used to listen to, but i do not remember it now. If I had my other computer, I would be able to perhaps download this song- alive.
I also never knew about that story of his life, that's just so hard.
What ever happened to them? were they disolved? or did they just stop making music or?
What?
Pearl Jam is really the only major group from the "grunge" era of the early '90's that's still going on today, although I haven't kept up with their present stuff. I hear that their style has changed somewhat, so I'd be curious to hear how they sound now. What I really like about them, besides their music, is that they always had that DIY (do it yourself) ethic, such as when they refused to do concerts until Ticketmaster made them affordable by lowering them, and bypassed them for a time, or just the low-tech, basic music, and basic way of existence and life they lived, undoubtedly influenced by Eddie, who was influenced by his own life experiences. Very humble and down to earth, which is why their fans related to them.
I listened to clips of Emiliana Torrini the other day. She sounds a lot like Bjork, minus some of the louder stuff. I liked her quieter, softer sound. I read that she has been compared to Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star, whose sound I also always liked.
I didnt know Pearl Jam was still around. It's good that they stayed true to themselves.
I like the quieter softer stuff too, I particularly like Sunny Day. I only have one recording of Bjork, singing it's oh so quiet, and I didnt appreciate her rendition :). So I really dont know much about her music.
I like Mazzy star too, even though sometimes you cant understand a word she is saying. They sang a version of "Sweet Jane", I believe you suggested that song but by the cowboy junkies.
Post a Comment
<< Home