Question about Black

somestupidfuk

ForceofNature101 wrote:

UnthoughtKelly wrote:

touchme.imdick wrote:

He doesn't seem to have a problem playing it live.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLzGCIeUkUE

That is why I love Pearl Jam (especially this particular song)

Eddie just sounds so heartfelt and genuine - how can you not moved by this performance?

I love this version of Black especially

I agree. The power, energy, and emotion in this version is unmatched.

Strangest Tribe

here's Black being used in an ad... I wonder if they approved this?
http://thestylerevolution.blogspot.com/ ... heets.html

or is this just some blog crap

tinkerbell

Strangest Tribe wrote:

here's Black being used in an ad... I wonder if they approved this?
http://thestylerevolution.blogspot.com/ ... heets.html

or is this just some blog crap

:silent:

StillHere

Eddie has said of the song Black

I'm sort of quoting but i probably have it a little bit wrong...twice I've heard him say something close to these two statements

"This is the saddest song I know...all that's left is the pain"

"Its personal, a relationship thing...I don't think I can ever explain what its all about"

"...hope none of you can relate"

he often tags black with "we belong together" which makes the whole thing just so much sadder

I don't know what Ed was thinking of course when he wrote it, I do know he doesn't like other people to sing it...that's quite telling

People will say that he doesn't like to sing it live so much, but its been played nearly 450 times since the first time at the Off Ramp in 1990...that's a lot of live! So, that's not holding water.

cent208

I met ed after a solo show in upper darby, pa last year. I asked him if black was based on real relationship or fictional. someone taped the coverasation and put it on youtube. the link is below. my question comes in at 2 minutes. if anybody wants a transcript of conversation let me know

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jAhS5VfFnw

pjtradeking

PJammer4life wrote:

riddled with metaphors wrote:

From what I understand, Black was written about Stefanie Sargent who was a guitarist in Seven Year Bitch. She died after suffocating on her own vomit from drinking and taking heroin. I'm not sure how much truth there is to this or if she was Ed's girlfriend at the time or whatnot. Ed doesn't talk about it for obvious reasons whatever they are. The song speaks volumes of the pain he went through.

I've listened to Black since 1992 and never knew this to be a possible motivation for the lyrics. But it could make sense..as she died in June 1992 in Seattle. The opening lyrics..sheets of empty canvas..untouched sheets of clay..were laid spread out before me as her body once did..could refer to the body bag made of canvas covering her body and the clay heroin that was yet to be lit..

As far as the original topic..Eddie did say he didn't like the song to be overplayed because it was so personal and stopped it from being a single much to Sony Music's chagrin. This is from the 1993 Cameron Crowe Rolling Stone interview.

"And one night, while sitting out on a deserted coastal sand bluff, contemplating life after the death of a friend, guitarist Stefanie Sargent of 7 Year Bitch, he heard strange voices coming from the hill behind him. They were singing "Black," the fragile song that to Vedder had come to symbolize the overcommercialization of the band. He'd fought to keep it from getting overplayed, didn't want a video made of the song. Vedder hiked out of the bushes to ask the surprised hikers not to sing the song. Months later, he still remembers their odd and concerned looks as they faced the angst-filled author of the song. "

Black was written in 1990. So this could not be written for or about her.

EZ1221C

I don't really like that station. I don't understand how they dictate what to play. They will play an awesome deep cut, like Glorified G, then rattle off eight or nine garbage songs in a row, but I digress. To the point, I have heard Black multiple times on that station and the DJ has never mentioned anything about it.

somestupidfuk

cent208 wrote:

I met ed after a solo show in upper darby, pa last year. I asked him if black was based on real relationship or fictional. someone taped the coverasation and put it on youtube. the link is below. my question comes in at 2 minutes. if anybody wants a transcript of conversation let me know

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jAhS5VfFnw

Damn, that was awesome. He is one cool customer. Actually, he transcends the word cool.

somestupidfuk

Thanks everyone for the input. I really appreciate it.

--Keep on Rockin

ForceofNature101

cent208 wrote:

I met ed after a solo show in upper darby, pa last year. I asked him if black was based on real relationship or fictional. someone taped the coverasation and put it on youtube. the link is below. my question comes in at 2 minutes. if anybody wants a transcript of conversation let me know

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jAhS5VfFnw

Can I have a transcript?

My speakers are blown out at the moment I I'm really interested as to what he said

The Juggler

UnthoughtKelly wrote:

Alright, so I was listening to 106.5 the end out of Charlotte,NC today when the DJ said, "coming up next is a song by Pearl Jam. Eddie Vedder personally called radio stations and asked them not to play this song." He went on to explain that because this song had so much personal meaning behind it, that Ed did not want it played. My first thought was, well then why are you playing it you tool. Shortly after Black began to play. Has anyone ever heard of this before or know if its true? I found it interesting. Incite??

not true.

StillHere

cent208 wrote:

I met ed after a solo show in upper darby, pa last year. I asked him if black was based on real relationship or fictional. someone taped the coverasation and put it on youtube. the link is below. my question comes in at 2 minutes. if anybody wants a transcript of conversation let me know

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jAhS5VfFnw

that is so awesomely cool!
i just love how ed takes the time to talk to all of us.
he is just so freakin wonderful. someone really got his heart there at the end...hugs and all.

he is so sincere in his feelings...and what a treat that must have been for you

but man...when you asked about black..wow! the look on his face said "don't go there man"

ya guys i'm pretty sure black was written before pj was even officially pj right? so it sure couldn't have been about the girl from 7yr..man that band had a hard time didn't they? wow...so many of those early seattle bands went through so much loss. its a sad sad story, but i seriously doubt black could have fit that time frame.

the video is priceless dude!

TravisTheSky

StillHere wrote:

"This is the saddest song I know...all that's left is the pain"

"Its personal, a relationship thing...I don't think I can ever explain what its all about"

"...hope none of you can relate"

he often tags black with "we belong together" which makes the whole thing just so much sadder

I do know he doesn't like other people to sing it...that's quite telling

I have written of this several times, but I'm happy to discuss it again: Other fans often insist that the song is about the breakup of a man and a woman, but the lyrics just don't fit. I clearly see Black as a heartbroken, tormented Lovesong to the aborted foetus from Vedder's teenage years.

"Empty canvas" and "Untouched clay" are metaphors for the potential of life that did not happen. The narrator "cradles" broken glass. Not holds, not caresses, but cradles.

He sings, "I'm surrounded by some kids at play. I can feel their laughter, so why do I sear?" Again, he is specifically referencing children- not happy loving couples, not the laughter of women, etc.

And the final line is a wish for reincarnation. "I know some day you'll have a beautiful life. I know/hope you will be a star/sun in somebody else's sky. But why can't it be mine? We belong together."
The narrator is insisting that the hypothetical child WILL have a life. He can't admit otherwise. "Star" and "Sun" (depending on the version of the song) are celestial and heavenly, like Western myths of afterlife.

I think that the "She" character in the song is the ex-girlfriend. But Black is in no way a simple breakup song. I hear a man whose heart, mind, and soul were shattered.

---Edit: Oops, I forgot the "Five Horizons" bit. The first or second post I ever made on this forum was in the several-years-long thread about Five Horizons in the lyrics section. "Five horizons revolved around the soul" could mean a pregnancy of five weeks or months.

Cradles Broken Glass

riddled with metaphors wrote:

From what I understand, Black was written about Stefanie Sargent who was a guitarist in Seven Year Bitch. She died after suffocating on her own vomit from drinking and taking heroin. I'm not sure how much truth there is to this or if she was Ed's girlfriend at the time or whatnot. Ed doesn't talk about it for obvious reasons whatever they are. The song speaks volumes of the pain he went through.

I thought Ed was with Beth at that time, but I'm not an expert on his personal life so I don't know. "She died after suffocating on her own vomit from drinking and taking heroin." ~Just one of the many reasons to abstain from that. Ed did seem to struggle a lot with the fame and privacy issue a lot back then, but to personally call a radio station sounds a little extreme to me, that's just my two cents.

doompony

i always assumed it was about his highschool gf... the one they talk about in that godawful 5 against 1 book.

PJammer4life

Some great lyrics from Black
"And now my bitter hands,shake beneath the clouds, of what was everything " Great imagery of him crying, his eyes the clouds..his hands shaking beneath his face.

"Oh, I'm spinning ..How quick the sun can, drop away... " What happens when the sun drops away or sets..it turns Black.

"All the love gone bad, turned my world to black" "And now my bitter hands
Cradle broken glass Of what was everything All the pictures had All been washed in black" The theme of blackness..permiates throught the song as well.

Cradles Broken Glass

PJammer4life wrote:

Some great lyrics from Black
"And now my bitter hands,shake beneath the clouds, of what was everything " Great imagery of him crying, his eyes the clouds..his hands shaking beneath his face.

"Oh, I'm spinning ..How quick the sun can, drop away... " What happens when the sun drops away or sets..it turns Black.

"All the love gone bad, turned my world to black" "And now my bitter hands
Cradle broken glass Of what was everything All the pictures had All been washed in black" The theme of blackness..permiates throught the song as well.

Agreed. This song has some of the most beautiful lyrics ever written (not just of Pearl Jam songs, but any song). You can feel the pain in them, you know his (the person in the song) heart has been ripped out, so beautiful. It captures those feelings of hopelessness and despair that comes with loss.

StillHere

this whole thing is just soooo sad
I wish I hadn't re-read any of it this morning
What a tormented soul
Suppose that's what it takes to
Make truly beautiful music

Vedder_Girl77

PJammer4life wrote:

Some great lyrics from Black
"And now my bitter hands,shake beneath the clouds, of what was everything " Great imagery of him crying, his eyes the clouds..his hands shaking beneath his face.

"Oh, I'm spinning ..How quick the sun can, drop away... " What happens when the sun drops away or sets..it turns Black.

"All the love gone bad, turned my world to black" "And now my bitter hands
Cradle broken glass Of what was everything All the pictures had All been washed in black" The theme of blackness..permiates throught the song as well.

Amazing lyrics for sure! Black has always been one of my favorite songs.

cent208

here is the transcript from the youtube video and the link again http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jAhS5VfFnw

Me: Ed, quick question. Was Black based on a real relationship or was that kinda fictional?
some girl: Oh don’t nag him right now.
Ed: Yeah, no that's a good question, yeah it’s fictional. (rolls his eyes a little)
Me: It wasn't a real relationship, you had.
(Ed tilts his head slightly)
Me: No
(Ed kind of lifts his hand): It was
Ed: You got it right from what you know. Sometimes you cover it up. See back then, we didn't, I didn't think anyone would ever hear that song. So I didn't think I would have to cover anything up.
Me: So it's a fictional story.
Ed: Oh, no, no, no.
Me: So it's a real experience Ed.
Ed: Oh Yeah. I think we've all had heartache???.

When he first said its fictional was clearly just sarcasm, him messing with me. I think what he meant by that he didn't "cover it up", was he did not try to hide his feelings or the meaning of the song. It was kind of funny when I asked him because everybody was just saying things like "i love you" and "you're great" and then I think I caught him off guard with a serious question. I tell his was very taken back. One the coolest most unforegetable moments of my life. I would appreciate any comments of their interpretation of his answer.