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Just Breathe Meaning Debate

pearlhawkpearlhawk Posts: 631
edited August 2013 in Words and Music...Communication
I keep seeing in threads how couples have used Just Breathe as their wedding song, or played the song at their wedding. To me, this seems odd. I think the song is more appropriate for a funeral. Listening to this song, and interpreting the lyrics, it seems clear to me this song is about missing someone that has recently passed away. I suppose with all music, individuals are free to interpret things how they wish, but I just have vision of these lyrics running through a persons head as they think about someone they have recently lost.

Examples:
Opening line: Yes, I understand that every life must end, aw huh... As we sit alone, I know someday we must go, aw huh..
Throughout the song: The first person point of view of regret, wondering if the person that they lost knew that they were loved.

Let's take a look at the lyrics:

Yes I understand that every life must end, aw huh,..
As we sit alone, I know someday we must go, aw huh,..
I’m a lucky man to count on both hands
The ones I love,..

Some folks just have one,
Others they got none, aw huh,..

Stay with me,..
Let’s just breathe.

Practiced are my sins,
Never gonna let me win, aw huh,..
Under everything, just another human being, aw huh,..
Yeah, I don’t wanna hurt, there’s so much in this world
To make me bleed.

Stay with me,..
You’re all I see.

Did I say that I need you?
Did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn’t now I’m a fool you see,..
No one knows this more than me.
As I come clean.

I wonder everyday
As I look upon your face, aw huh,..
Everything you gave
And nothing you would take, aw huh,..
Nothing you would take,..
Everything you gave.

Did I say that I need you?
Oh, Did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn’t now I’m a fool you see,..
No one knows this more than me.
I come clean.

Nothing you would take,..
Everything you gave.
Hold me till I die,..
Meet you on the other side.

Thoughts?
-Pearlhawk.

Kansas City 5/3/2010
St. Louis 5/4/2010
St. Louis 7/1/2011 (EV Solo)
East Troy 9/3/2011
East Troy 9/4/2011
Wrigley Field 7/19/2013
Post edited by Unknown User on

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    Jason78Jason78 Posts: 400
    Yeah, I had a freind die last April and one of the first songs that struck me was Just Breathe.
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    AzWickerAzWicker Posts: 1,162
    Just Breathe to me means, stop rushing to die and stop and smell the roses. don't let good shit pass you by while worrying about something that means nothing
    Ed: 2011-07-09 2012-11-04
    PJ: 2011-09-03 2011-09-04
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    PARSONSPLACEPARSONSPLACE Posts: 27
    Yeah this is no wedding song
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    marcosmarcos Posts: 2,111
    There was a thread about what PJ song to use at a wedding and it's a difficult task though many people have used them. But I think this is as close to a love song that a couple could get as it has a pretty sound without delving too much into actually lyric meaning, which of course is open for interpretation as you mention. And love and death always have much in common as extreme emotions. But overall it has a happy pretty sound that I could see a guy singing to girl and vice versa.
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    Jason78Jason78 Posts: 400
    One that comes to mind for a wedding........ Untitled. Love it.
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    magga1976magga1976 Albury NSW Australia Posts: 522
    I interpret Just Breathe as being about someone you love that is seriously ill or near death

    for example:

    Nothing you would take,..
    Everything you gave.
    Hold me till I die,..
    Meet you on the other side

    Yes I understand that every life must end, aw huh,..
    As we sit alone, I know someday we must go, aw huh,..

    I wonder everyday
    As I look upon your face, aw huh,..
    Everything you gave
    And nothing you would take, aw huh,..
    Nothing you would take,..
    2009 ~ Melbourne
    2011 ~ Canberra (EV)
    2011 ~ Melbourne 2 (EV)
    2014 ~ Melbourne BDO
    2014 ~ Melbourne 1 (EV)

    "Pearl jam are not just a band, they are a choice, and if you make that choice, you become one of the few lucky people on this planet to have your life enriched by the greatest gift that music ever gave" -- substitute
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    justamjustam Posts: 21,394
    I don't think you need to doubt that it is a love song. It IS a love song.

    I think maybe what you're noticing about the beginning is that perhaps the person realized that the idea hadn't been expressed clearly enough before so now the person is making it SO clear that there's no mistaking the idea.

    "Did I say that I want you? DId I say that I need you? Oh, if I didn't I'm a fool you see."

    I think the message is, if I didn't say this before, I'm saying it NOW so there's no missing it.
    &&&&&&&&&&&&&&
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    water_boywater_boy Posts: 74
    I think it's about using the reflection of a loss to look at ones new situation with a new person and make a wonderful new world with them
    Jordan
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    vedder89vedder89 Posts: 177
    i think its definitely a love song. its a song about living for today.

    theres no doubt that it also talks about death, but i think its tell us to live and not worry about death.

    Just breath or "just live" and do it with those that you have around you. tell the ones you love that you love them and let them know how you feel.

    the lyrics "Some folks just have one,
    Others they got none, aw huh,.. is talking about one love or a person to share your life with.

    dont take what you have for granted and cherish it every day.

    .
    ...and ive heard ed dedicate it to many couples and referenced it as a "love song"/"something romantic"
    Stab it down, fill the pages, suck my fuckin' life out, man
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    ejh76ejh76 Posts: 133
    I read that Ed wrote the song one night at home, after putting the kids to bed, he was lying next to his wife and they didnt talk and just tried to enjoy the moment they had alone and to feel each others presence. to listen to eachother breathing..

    Ed said there is a line in this song about sacrifice...

    Ed dedicated the song numerous times in Australia to moms who often sacrifice a lot, putting thier children first. and that they should be appreciated.

    Music is deeply personal and anyway you interpret it is the right way. Ed would like that the song has different meanings to different people.
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    pickupyourwillpickupyourwill Posts: 3,135
    edited April 2011
    I never really thought of it as a funeral song before, or missing someone who has died...but I do see your point.

    "Yes, I understand that every life must end."--I just saw this as a person realizing they're not going to live forever, so they need to be happy with the people in their life right now.
    Post edited by pickupyourwill on
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    pickupyourwillpickupyourwill Posts: 3,135
    ejh76 wrote:
    I read that Ed wrote the song one night at home, after putting the kids to bed, he was lying next to his wife and they didnt talk and just tried to enjoy the moment they had alone and to feel each others presence. to listen to eachother breathing..

    Ed said there is a line in this song about sacrifice...

    Ed dedicated the song numerous times in Australia to moms who often sacrifice a lot, putting thier children first. and that they should be appreciated.

    Music is deeply personal and anyway you interpret it is the right way. Ed would like that the song has different meanings to different people.

    :thumbup:
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    Valiant_23Valiant_23 Posts: 13
    AzWicker wrote:
    Just Breathe to me means, stop rushing to die and stop and smell the roses. don't let good shit pass you by while worrying about something that means nothing

    ...and make sure that you do it with those important to you.

    This is such a beautiful, poignant love song.
    After the song (Even Flow) Eddie Vedder said, “We have to play that song every night otherwise Mike McCready will f*cking kill somebody”
    :D

    http://community.pearljam.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=109175&start=0
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    slightofjeffslightofjeff Posts: 7,757
    There isn't really a debate, because Ed -- in interviews -- has literally spelled out the meaning for us. He says it's about the end of a long, hectic day when all of life's little tasks are complete and the kids are in bed and the lights are low and you're with the one you love ... you don't have to speak to one another ... you just breathe.

    It's about being together, and making the most of your time together -- even the silences -- because we're not going to be here much longer.

    It's an idea Ed first explored on "Light Years." ("Every inch between us becomes light years now ... no time to be void, or save up on life, got to spend it all.")

    It's not about death per se, but about the recognition of one's own mortality and how that knowledge should inform your day to day life.

    It is, at its core, a love song. I'd play it at my wedding, if I were to ever have another one. :)
    everybody wants the most they can possibly get
    for the least they could possibly do
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    slightofjeffslightofjeff Posts: 7,757
    magga1976 wrote:
    Hold me till I die,..
    Meet you on the other side

    Hell, this line in particular is practically ripped directly from traditional American wedding vows ("till death do us part.")

    That should be another tip off.
    everybody wants the most they can possibly get
    for the least they could possibly do
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    andyhberryandyhberry Posts: 1
    I think while Eddie says it means things about life, I think it says cherish what you've got while you have it.

    My wife died a few years ago & I played this at the funeral. Because it's about recognition of what's really important. Loving in life. Nothing more. And it challenges listeners to express those feelings every day because you never know how much time you have.

    Cherish it.
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    CAVSTARR313CAVSTARR313 Posts: 8,756
    magga1976 wrote:
    I interpret Just Breathe as being about someone you love that is seriously ill or near death

    for example:

    Nothing you would take,..
    Everything you gave.
    Hold me till I die,..
    Meet you on the other side

    Yes I understand that every life must end, aw huh,..
    As we sit alone, I know someday we must go, aw huh,..

    I wonder everyday
    As I look upon your face, aw huh,..
    Everything you gave
    And nothing you would take, aw huh,..
    Nothing you would take,..


    This..

    I will always love the song because it came at the exact right time... I lost my father to cancer 8/26/09 like a month before the album came out.. I sat with him in the hospital all day on the last day.. We had a great relationship, got tough from like 16 to 24, but it was certainly back in full swing.. Every word of that song hit me like a ton of bricks.. It hit so close to home I freaked, like it was written for me (I know, but the thought did cross my brain)..
    My brother gave the eulogy at his funeral and in his nervous, sad, freaked out speech he kept making reference to " he gave everything, without a single thought for himself.. he gave us all he had" .. even he (who is a DMB fan) found it extremely odd that this song was suddenly there..

    It was really weird to hear those words come across a month later.. really, really weird

    but the song will always make me cry and always be special to me.. no doubt, I love it..
    None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe that they are free.
    Abrn Hlls '98 - Clarkston 2 '03 - Grd Rpds '06 - Abrn Hlls '06 - Clvd '10 - PJ20 - Berlin 1+2 '12 - Wrigley '13 - Pitt '13- buff '13- Philly 1+2 '13 - Seattle '13
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    slightofjeffslightofjeff Posts: 7,757
    ejh76 wrote:
    I read that Ed wrote the song one night at home, after putting the kids to bed, he was lying next to his wife and they didnt talk and just tried to enjoy the moment they had alone and to feel each others presence. to listen to eachother breathing..

    Yup. This is pretty much a direct quote from Ed. Is there really a "debate" about a song's meaning when the songwriter has basically told you out loud what he meant?

    It isn't a funeral song. It is a love song. Because Ed said so.
    everybody wants the most they can possibly get
    for the least they could possibly do
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    fortyshadesfortyshades Posts: 1,834
    Caveeze wrote:
    magga1976 wrote:
    I interpret Just Breathe as being about someone you love that is seriously ill or near death

    for example:

    Nothing you would take,..
    Everything you gave.
    Hold me till I die,..
    Meet you on the other side

    Yes I understand that every life must end, aw huh,..
    As we sit alone, I know someday we must go, aw huh,..

    I wonder everyday
    As I look upon your face, aw huh,..
    Everything you gave
    And nothing you would take, aw huh,..
    Nothing you would take,..


    This..

    I will always love the song because it came at the exact right time... I lost my father to cancer 8/26/09 like a month before the album came out.. I sat with him in the hospital all day on the last day.. We had a great relationship, got tough from like 16 to 24, but it was certainly back in full swing.. Every word of that song hit me like a ton of bricks.. It hit so close to home I freaked, like it was written for me (I know, but the thought did cross my brain)..
    My brother gave the eulogy at his funeral and in his nervous, sad, freaked out speech he kept making reference to " he gave everything, without a single thought for himself.. he gave us all he had" .. even he (who is a DMB fan) found it extremely odd that this song was suddenly there..

    It was really weird to hear those words come across a month later.. really, really weird

    but the song will always make me cry and always be special to me.. no doubt, I love it..

    Completly agree. In my case it was my father in law... But the lyrics of this song hit a nerve. There is some experience seeping through here...

    To me it's the "stay with me, let's just breathe" line... Holding someone's hand who is dying; you start to breathe with them. Sometimes the most complex things can be said with the simpelest words...
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    DeLukinDeLukin Posts: 2,733
    The more I listen to the song the more I'm convinced the second verse says:

    "Did I say that I'd leave you..."
    "Did I say that I'd want to..."

    Which would indicate to me that it was about a present relationship. I think the beauty of the song is that it could have multiple meanings depending on who is listening.
    I smile, but who am I kidding...
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    fortyshadesfortyshades Posts: 1,834
    DeLukin wrote:

    Which would indicate to me that it was about a present relationship. I think the beauty of the song is that it could have multiple meanings depending on who is listening.

    I think this is the strength of almost all PJ lyrics...
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    BlueflareBlueflare Posts: 88
    slightofjeff wrote:
    There isn't really a debate, because Ed -- in interviews -- has literally spelled out the meaning for us. He says it's about the end of a long, hectic day when all of life's little tasks are complete and the kids are in bed and the lights are low and you're with the one you love ... you don't have to speak to one another ... you just breathe.

    It's about being together, and making the most of your time together -- even the silences -- because we're not going to be here much longer.

    It's an idea Ed first explored on "Light Years." ("Every inch between us becomes light years now ... no time to be void, or save up on life, got to spend it all.")

    It's not about death per se, but about the recognition of one's own mortality and how that knowledge should inform your day to day life.

    It is, at its core, a love song. I'd play it at my wedding, if I were to ever have another one. :)

    :D:D:D:D and this is exactly how i interpreted it. i get so little time with the one who stole my heart that we make the most of every minute we have together...knowing that it could end tomorrow.
    all is as it will be, as it should be
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    fortyshadesfortyshades Posts: 1,834
    slightofjeff wrote:
    There isn't really a debate, because Ed -- in interviews -- has literally spelled out the meaning for us. He says it's about the end of a long, hectic day when all of life's little tasks are complete and the kids are in bed and the lights are low and you're with the one you love ... you don't have to speak to one another ... you just breathe.

    It's about being together, and making the most of your time together -- even the silences -- because we're not going to be here much longer.

    It's an idea Ed first explored on "Light Years." ("Every inch between us becomes light years now ... no time to be void, or save up on life, got to spend it all.")

    It's not about death per se, but about the recognition of one's own mortality and how that knowledge should inform your day to day life.

    It is, at its core, a love song. I'd play it at my wedding, if I were to ever have another one. :)

    Well, one interpretation doesn't necessarily exclude another one, does it? The recognition of mortality is also the recognition of death. I think, like many PJ songs, we always derive meaning from personal experiences. Like soap that makes you taller ;)
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