Tremor Christ meaning (or your interpretation)
AKRounder85
Phila Posts: 250
After many listens to this song, i realise I have no idea what this song is about and not even an interpretation on it. (And maybe that's why its a track i'd often find myself skipping) So I'm just throwing this out there and see what responses I get.
2000- 9/1 Camden
2003- 4/28 Philly, 7/5 Camden
2005- 10/3 Philly
2006- 5/27 Camden, 5/28 Camden, 6/3 East Rutherford
2008- 6/19 Camden, 6/20 Camden
2009- 10/29 Philly, 10/28 Philly, 10/30 Philly, 10/31 Philly
2012- 9/2 Made In America
2013- 10/21 Philly, 10/22 Philly
2016- 4/28 Philly, 4/29 Philly
Wishlist: Thumbing My Way, Black Red Yellow, Sleight of Hand
2003- 4/28 Philly, 7/5 Camden
2005- 10/3 Philly
2006- 5/27 Camden, 5/28 Camden, 6/3 East Rutherford
2008- 6/19 Camden, 6/20 Camden
2009- 10/29 Philly, 10/28 Philly, 10/30 Philly, 10/31 Philly
2012- 9/2 Made In America
2013- 10/21 Philly, 10/22 Philly
2016- 4/28 Philly, 4/29 Philly
Wishlist: Thumbing My Way, Black Red Yellow, Sleight of Hand
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
I think the subject of the song did something bad or made a bad decision that is coming back to haunt him (little secrets or tremors turning to quakes) and is trying to decide how to deal with the situation. The easy choice is to keep running/not face the consequences. The hard choice is to turn back and face the consequences. I think he's dreading making the choice but knows he must (the sailor drfiting by the storm). He ultimately decides to face the consequences even though he doesn't know what will happen next (turns the bow back/puts faith and love in tremor christ).
Of course, I may be talking utter bollocks but I do love trying to figure these things out
Another habit says its long overdue
Another habit like an unwanted friend
I'm so happy with my righteous self
*Agree*
long life to Pearl jam
Welcome, fellow countryman !
agreed. love it.
to me it's about secrets, lies that we all get caught up in. the bad things that we do to get what we want, how we get tempted to do bad things so easily and so many of us fall into a trap. one that we can't escape from and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger. same for lying and how easy it is and how it creates a web that we can get tangled in.
also about being strong willed, doing things for you instead of doing it to please others, having faith
lots of different ideas really, i get a different meaning from it each time i listen to it
my favourite part:
and of course
Wish you were here...
♥~RIP Dad
and the smallest oceans still get great big waves
so the thing that "corrects your course" is never what you expect it to be and sometimes what is good for you in the long run isn't always for someone else
Best on the web - check them out
http://www.youtube.com/user/cantkeepmehere
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2008 Bonnaroo - 2009 Philly 2&3 - 2010 MSG 1&2
I'm on my iPod so I can't see your sig. What is it? : )
Another habit says its long overdue
Another habit like an unwanted friend
I'm so happy with my righteous self
The bridge part, about waiting for signs, believing in lies, to get by ... from certain vantage points, that's the very definition of organized religion. And of course, all of the above, Ed says (derisively, I think) is "divine" -- another religious term.
My best guess about this song is that it's about people who call on someone to save them who isn't even there. Or something.
for the least they could possibly do
So using that logic, I guess the songs has endless meaning even to one person.
For me however, I think it is somewhat of an indivdual have a conflict with himself...
I personally think that's true of every song - the part where he said it's whatever the listener thinks it is.
I know there are some songs with more obvious meanings, but with all music, it's all subjective and interpretative and so I agree - it does have endless meanings.
I also agree with your interpretation of the song - I feel like it's about that too amongst other things.
and no, lyrics do not belong to Jeff. In fact these lyrics have that signature "Vedder feeling". How anyone assumes these are Jeff lyrics is surprising to me.
The whole world will be different soon the whole world will be RELIEVED
#resistgezi #resistturkey #resisttaksim #direnturkiye #direngezi
#standingman #duranadam
The whole world will be different soon the whole world will be RELIEVED
#resistgezi #resistturkey #resisttaksim #direnturkiye #direngezi
#standingman #duranadam
i think its pretty dead on with the mean...
There is a lot going on in Vitalogy but one of the main themes playing itself out is the desire for purity in the face of corruption—a desire for the salvation of music, and the salvation of self in a world where both are threatened, perverted, distorted (I’ve long felt Red Mosquito needs to be on Vitalogy, as it is addressing these same themes).
RM poster SLH has made the argument that Not For You should be seen as working itself out over time, rather than capturing a particular moment—and her interpretation makes a great deal of sense segueing into Tremor Christ. It picks up in the aftermath of a metaphorical shipwreck and while the song is exhausted you can cut yourself on its jagged sounds and sharp vocals. Musically Tremor Christ does a wonderful job evoking the stormy feel of the song. The subject had succumbed to the superficial ease of temptation, the promise of reward without cost. Slight surrenders of principle, seemingly innocuous decisions quickly spiral out of control. The smallest oceans still get big big waves. It turns out that there was a steep price after all, demanding payment in terms of lost love, lost innocence, lost purity. Both the art and the artist suffer for the easy choices, for the refusal to see the hidden price of playing the game instead of choosing to move Sisyphus’s rock. We’re left with an exhausted artist, passion bleeding itself dry, and the emancipatory promise of the music drowning in the wake left by the industry.
The second verse, chronologically, comes before the first one—it’s a flashback of sorts, what happened to the subject that lead to him washed up on the shore. The Devil is seductive, and it is rare for the angels to reach an artist before they’ve accepted his bargain, to let him know exactly what is at stake. We can hope for angels but if we’re honest with ourselves we know it is going we’re going to have to learn to fight the devils (this theme returns in Corduroy and Satan’s Bed).
While the subject is wounded, he isn’t dead yet. The second half of the song is a fighting creed, a declaration to resist, to forgo temptation and endure hardship, to do what is necessary to regain control over his soul, the only prize the devil ever seeks. And the song ends with the eerily calm determination to turn the boat back to the water, enter the waves and prepare to fight, with nothing on his side but faith in love (love of music, love as meaningful attachment and solidarity, love as purity), and the knowledge that the struggle itself has meanings. The liner notes of Not For You intimate that Eddie has at least a passing familiarity with Albert Camus, and this really starts to play itself out in the moments of defiance on Vitalogy (here, Whipping, and Corduroy). There is never any guarantee, or even expectation of victory, but it is the fight that preserves our humanity. There is no promise that he’ll find what he is looking for, and in fact he may be too far gone to be redeemed, but he is willing to accept responsibility for the mistakes made, and he is willing to keep searching for the possibility of a wavering, uncertain salvation (tremor Christ). Since that is all we can have, it will have to be enough.
THIS....
I know who does those interpretations and loved each one he did for every album....He's a great person to have conversations about lyrics.
The whole world will be different soon the whole world will be RELIEVED
#resistgezi #resistturkey #resisttaksim #direnturkiye #direngezi
#standingman #duranadam
for the least they could possibly do
+1000000000
I love reading other people's interpretations of songs and this one was great. Really great writing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2PzsRCgWdE
1998: Barrie
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2023: Chicago X2
2024: New York X2
Of my innocence... got back my inner sense...
.... the smallest oceans still get big, big waves ....
Love your response!! I agree the end is my favorite part of the song. As with any Vedder song it can mean many things, which is why it resonates with so many people. Me...I think it's about the struggle between our egos/human and our divine selves (our souls). our egos, our human selves see ourselves navigating as a lone sailor/boat in a huge ocean (the universe) and being alone, getting trapped in the "storms" of our lives and struggling, struggling, struggling. Sometimes we have moments where we step outside ourselves and our egos and realize this and the power we hold as individuals if we do realize we aren't separate from everyone and everything. If the angels reach us maybe we give up these struggles, have faith, believe that things are divinely guided, and realizing our oneness with each other in the universe...and be happy and not. if not we view our life is a constant battle for survival, clinging to our attachments, fearing death, and life too (believing in lies to get by) and are miserable. Sometimes you need a tremor christ (an earthquake ...catastrophic event) that shakes up your life and makes you realize this.