The neverending love for Sad thread!

ACCBootlegGoddess

The previous thread about this song didn't survive the last round of "board Maintenance" so I had to resurrect it.

I first heard this song live at the Grand Rapids show last year on teh VFC tour. I was sitting in the second row between Ed and Stone. They had just played Light Years, and I got emotional during it. I know the band saw it cause I got warm smiles from Mike and Stone during the song.

It was Ed who gave me the best gift though. They went straight into Sad, and Ed likes to change the lyrics "he could only love you" to "he will always love you" when they do this song live, and that night he looked me dead in the eyes at that point and sang that line to me and held my gaze for a bit after. I mouthed I know and smiled...and he looked away. It was a beautiful moment that I'll always cherish.

I didn't fall in love with this song that night though. It wasn't until this recent Canadian tour when I got it...at least 3 times that I totally fell in love with this song. Now I can't get enough of this masterpiece.



Sad

all the photographs are peeling
and colors turn to gray, he's stayin'
in his room with memories for days, he faced
an undertow of futures laid to waste, embraced
by the loss of one he could not replace
and there's no reason that she'd pass
and there is no god with the plan, it's sad
and his holiness is proof, it's sad
he could only love you, it's sad
the door swings through a passing fable
a fate we may delay, we say
holding on, to live within our embrace
eleven nights, he laid in bed
hoping that dreams would bring her back, it's sad
and his holiness is proof, it's sad
he could only love you, it's sad
holding his last breath, believing
he'll make his way
but she's not forgotten
he's haunted
he's searching for escape
if just one wish could bring her back, it's sent
and his holiness is proof, it's sad
he will always love you, it's sad

decides2dream

man, just yesterday took a beautiful drive upstate with my husband....gorgeous day....crisp fall air and all the colors...listening to lost dogs start to finish during the drive......and HELL YES.....sad is just UNREAL. love it.

bass_man10

Yeah Sad is THE best b-side. Its all so good but I especially love the "He's searching for escaAaAaApe!!!.........guitar solo........" I love it

mariposa

One of the best and one of my favourite b-sides from PJ ever!

Love the last line...

"he will always love you, it's sad.."

mymanvedder

This song reminds me of my dad. My parents were married for over 50 years when my mom died in 2004. My parents were in their 40's when they had me and my brother (who is younger)...

Ms. Haiku

I didn't know the lyrics until now, but it was one of my favorite Pearl Jam songs. I didn't realize the sadness in "Sad." I thought it was just about a break up - big deal, people get over it. In my opinion, death is a different matter.

When I hear "Sad" I still think of a photograph by Tina Modotti. It's one of her most famous works, I think. In it two workers are trudging up a plank from the dock to a ship carrying a heavy load. I always think people must be left behind in situations like that. I wrote a poem inspired by that photograph and "Sad" which basically illustrates my point.

darthvedder88

Sad is the greatest B-side ever!! If I'm correct, it's supposed to be the B-side to Light Years and that's why I didn't make the cut on Binaural.

MineAmI

the riff is so damn sexy

one of my favorite pj songs.

twin2

Really great lyrics. I like this.

vitalogiest

this song is awesome

VEDHEAD27

Ok, this post of praise is long overdue. WHAT A FUCKIN SONG!!!!!!!! JESUS!!! :eek: I remember before Lost Dogs even came out lots of folks on here got their hands on this one. Everyone was just going OFF! Instantly hooked and in love. I waited it out and was SO excited once I finally heard it. It lived up to every single amazing thing said about it and THEN SOME!!!! I was blown the hell away (extreme understatement)!!!! In true PJ fashion, I could not stop hitting that repeat button. Words and music alike...>WOW!!!!!!!!! Music...ok, how fuckin incredible is this guitar work?!?! :eek: I can't even make sense of these holy sounds but thank you PJ GODS for delivering such miracles. Right from the start it has you hooked with this super unique sound. Those layers and how sped up some of that strumming gets. I don't know, this guitar just sounds really fuckin incredible and one of a kind. Then in comes these drums! Loooooove it!!! LOVE the music so much and how all these sounds feed off each other and ooze together. Listening to this song with HEADPHONES is quite an experience. There are seriously soooooooooo many sounds going on here. INCREDBILE! THIS SOLO, the ring and slides of the guitar in the background.... the scratchiness to it, the layers, the twirls and twangs. Damn! These sounds are mindblowing. I can't stress it enough.


And pleeeeeeease...THIS BREAKDOWN!!!!!!???? I could easily write a novel on that alone but I will just say this.....FUCKIN LOOOOOVE IT!!!! One of the greatest breakdowns out there!!!!!


OOooh man.... ED?!?!?!?!?! FUCK! The voice + The Words. The emotion here in this story being told... Ed nails it & transfers it into us perfectly (as per usual). He really just paints such a picture here with that voice alone. SO strong and so broken all at once. Powerful things going on here!!!! These words just HIT YOU. Many of the words in the song just highlight how it feels....haunted, sad, gray. Like others have said...it IS Sad.



LOVE this part...


::
the door swings through a passing fable
a fate we may delay, we say
holding on, to live within our embrace
::


WOW! :(

And this one just DOES it

::::{{ if just one wish could bring her back }}::::

OMG!!!! The emotion behind those words and the way he drags out "baaa aaa aaaack"! He just puts ALL his energy into that line. How can you not hella feel that??! It just attacks me eveytime. Pleading, strong, broken, intense.

Good call Mel!! Your experience with this one live is so touching. "he will always love you"".:o Damn, just when you thought the song couldn't get any more powerful. Seeing this one live definitely pushed me into straight up obsession . I thought I was already obsessed .... but nope, seeing it live takes it all to another level. This one GOES OFF a million times more live!!!! To feel all these sounds swirl around you.... to have these words, that voice, that emotion sink directly into you!? Man. THAT is definitely the opposite of Sad right there. I also must give PJ mad props for the back to backness of ALONE & SAD!!!!!! OMG!!!!! JACKPOT! One of my major highlights from the recent shows without a doubt.


What a blessing! THANK YOU PEARL JAM for unleashing this GEM! The praise is definitely never-ending when it comes to this song.

Ms. Haiku

VEDHEAD27 wrote:

ALONE & SAD!!!!!! OMG!!!!!

How come some of their best songs are on Lost Dogs - it's like they are throwaways no no no no no!

thanksjems

i have been listening to it alot lately. in some weird way it s been getting me through a sad time. plus its just simply a great song that gives me chills

jeff's_the_man

catchiest riff ever! took me a few listens to really dig the whole song but i love it now....

Thin Air 211

This is the ultimate! I love it. You know when you have those memories with your favorite songs when its stuck in your head, or your listening to it? well, i have that with this one, something personal kinda happened that day and I remeber after school I had to go to feild hockey practice in the rain, so now when I listen to it thats what I remeber. I love the rain

but this song is really something, really important lyrics to me. I hope every pj fan gets to know the greatness of this song.

darthvedder88

Reminds me of my first true love...

thelowlightargentina

A song that eveybody have lived sometime...

one of my favourites

Great lyrics

vedderfan10

I first heard this song a few weeks ago (I'm slow sometimes), just after I met an elderly gentleman behind a dog in a small town. After I pet his dog, he told me that his wife of 54 years had died 8 days before and now he was alone with his photos and his memories - no kids - just the dog and all his memories. "I'm all by myself in our big house and she's not coming back no matter how hard I try to will it..." Then he started to cry and walked away quickly. I'd never met him before, but this encounter had such an impact on me. Then I heard "Sad" two days later and I bawled and bawled...such a powerful song, and so apt a description of this man's situation...

Whenever I listen to the song now, I think of this guy and how I hope I can run into him again and see how's he's doing...

Yes, it's a sad song, but I think it's also about overcoming grief and a reminder that it does take time...it's a bit of a survival song. Sad, but hopeful.

darthvedder88

Gosh, this song has so much power!!!

TouringFan2000

sad ... absolutely one of the best songs in the pj catalog.

and someone else mentioned (in another thread, i think) that the band hasn't even perfected it live yet. i agree with that. just the way they hadn't perfected green disease live until the canada tour. i think this song is only getting stronger in concert the more they play it.

Alone Together

The song I most look forward to hear live someday. I love it!