Betterman....come On!!!

2

Comments

  • I think Betterman is an incredible song. It's so beautiful, and it's such a great song live. I don't care how much it was overplayed on the radio, it's still a great song. How can any Pearl Jam fan not absolutely love Betterman? It brings a smile to my face each and every single time I hear it.

    And for those who complain that Pearl Jam plays it too often in concert, you're going to far too many shows! :)
    No time to be void or save up on life. You got to spend it all.
  • Blue11Blue11 Posts: 200
    I love this song....heard it on my first PJ concert, Toronto '03, the crowd basically sang the song, cept from "Memories back when she......", Ed sang it from there....afterwards he says..."great singing Toronto"...that was cool
    " All the stars in the sky, thought you were up in mine
    Still I wonder, I wonder......" "Black" tag 09-16-2005 Ottawa

    Toronto 2003, Kitchener 2005, Montreal 2005, Ottawa 2005, Toronto II 2006, Albany 2006, Hartford 2006, Camden I 2008, Camden II 2008, Washington, D.C. 2008, Toronto 2009, Chicago I 2009, Columbus 2010, Noblesville, 2010
  • gazgaz Posts: 233
    sevensins wrote:
    i love betterman, my friends dont (they think its soft) but fuck them they dont know shit!!Who's with me?

    Fuckin love it!
    23/8/06.
    18/6/07.
    22/6/10.
    23/6/10.
    20/6/12
    21/6/12
  • It's one of my ultimate favourites. It's like a wierd feeling of comfort that Ed seems to know me and be able to write me into a song. I'm living to hear it live, and hopefully this August, I will

    *cwosses fingies*
  • '{&#91 wrote: »
    ']i'm a little tired of betterman... but it's a nice song...

    i just love when there's a tag :)
    What's a tag guys?

    John
    everything has chains...absolutely nothing's changed..take my hand...
  • prodacakeprodacake Posts: 319
    MeddleDeal wrote:
    But of course, I LOVE Betterman. Never get sick and tired of that song. I love it when they use the English Beat's Save It For Later tag...makes me want to dance:D


    me to it some how makes a great song better
  • ell33ell33 Posts: 8
    Such an awesome song, one of my all time favourites. The crowd at Reading were so loud when they sang it, I had goosebumps all over!
  • TonykinTonykin Posts: 252
    prodacake wrote:
    me to it some how makes a great song better

    I'm w/ you. the best tag is save it for later.... its just great!!!


    ...and I thank God its overplayed!! is that fckng good song!!!

    "... Tan suato mi'jo!!"

    -Salomón & Artemisa Vargas
  • Abuskedti wrote:
    San Antonio 2003!

    Two dozen other billion lovers,
    But I'll be a sucker for it.
    Don't you cry to your mother,
    Just hold my hand while
    I come to a decision on it.
    Sooner or later,
    You'll live the way you think about.
    Save it for later,
    Don't runaway, don't let me down.
    Sooner or later,
    You'll hit the ditch, and he'll find out.
    Save it for later, don't
    Runaway, runaway

    glad i finally found someone's version. was lucky enough to be at this concert and i still love listening to it. best version of betterman ive heard yet. could never figure out all the lyrics. never really sat down and tried until i saw yours and sat down to put them up against the music. still not clear on all of it, but here is what i get from it:

    Two dozen other billion lovers,
    Oh, can be a sucker for it.
    Don't you cry to your mother,
    Just come, let me come,
    To a decision on it.
    Sooner or later,
    You'll live the way you think about.*
    Save it for later,
    Don't runaway, don't let me down.
    Save it for later,
    You'll hit a ditch, you can't climb out.*
    Save it for later, don't
    Runaway, runaway
    Don't let me down


    * are lyrics im still not sure about, but sounds really close.

    anyone know anything about these lyrics? are they from a different song or does eddie just do that at live shows?
  • Save It For Later
    English Beat

    Two dozen other dirty lovers
    Must be a sucker for it
    Cry, Cry, but I don't need my mother
    Just Hold My hand while I come
    To a decision on it

    Sooner or later
    Your legs give way, you hit the ground
    Save it for later
    Don't run away and let me down
    Sooner or later
    You hit the deck, you get found out
    Save it for later
    Don't run away and let me down
    You let me down

    Black air and seven seas and rotten through
    But what can you do?
    I don't know how I'm meant to act with you lot
    Sometimes I don't try
    I just now, now, now, now ,now .....

    Two dozen other stupid reasons
    Why we should suffer for this
    Don't bother trying to explain them
    Just hold my hand while I come
    To a decision on it


    Fucking awesome tag! Love Betterman!
    Nothing divine dies. All good is eternally reproductive. The beauty of nature reforms itself in the mind, and not for barren contemplation, but for new creation. ~ Nature, Emerson
  • Fucking awesome tag! Love Betterman!

    nice! thanks man. eddie definitely doesnt sing it exactly that way when they played San Antone in '03, but that helps a ton.
  • Welcome. He mixes it up a bit, deliberate or on purpose?? who knows. It is my favorite tag! On the Gorge DVD, don't remember which date, when they play the tag Mike goes running back and forth across the stage! Sweet!
    Nothing divine dies. All good is eternally reproductive. The beauty of nature reforms itself in the mind, and not for barren contemplation, but for new creation. ~ Nature, Emerson
  • KosmicJelliKosmicJelli Posts: 1,855
    April 03, 1994 was the first time I heard Betterman. It was a satellite radio show which was on an Easter Sunday. It sounded so familiar and was and instant classic in my mind the first time I heard it. Thanks for putting it my Easter basket... cause its my life being sung and untold story for many women. Love you for it Ed!!
  • KosmicJelliKosmicJelli Posts: 1,855
    April 03, 1994 was the first time I heard Betterman. It was a satellite radio show which was on an Easter Sunday. It sounded so familiar and was and instant classic in my mind the first time I heard it. Thanks for putting it my Easter basket... cause its my life being sung and untold story for many women. Love you for it Ed!!


    anyone have that concert recorded?????? My casette tape of that GONE!!!
  • in 2000 it used to be my bathroom break song... somehow 03 and 05 enjoyed it much more, it seemed as if the ending was more intense and climactic, maybe its like an aged wine.
  • sevensins wrote:
    i love betterman, my friends dont (they think its soft) but fuck them they dont know shit!!Who's with me?
    i remember when it came out it was on the radio on a loop it seemed like on every station. . .actually found myself changing the station. . .i know, i know, blasphemy. . .but after the initial craziness and giving the song a little break i can give it the proper love it deserves, cause it is a great song
    i have wished for so long, how i wish for you today
    JEFFREY ROSS ROGERS 1975-2002

    9.10.98 NYC / 8.23.00 JONES BEACH /4.30.03 UNIONDALE / 7.9.03 NYC /5.12.06 ALBANY/ 6.1.06 E.RUTHEFORD/ 6.3.06 E. RUTHEFORD/ CAMDEN 6.19.08/ NYC 6.24.08/ NYC 6.25.08/ HARTFORD 6.27.08/ CHICAGO 8.24.09/ PHILLY 10.31.09/ HARTFORD 5.15.10/ NEWARK 5.18.10/ NYC 5.20.10/ CHICAGO 7.19.13/ BROOKLYN 10.18.13/ BROOKLYN 10.19.13/ HARTFORD 10.25.13/ NYC 9.26.15/ 4.8.16 FT. LAUDERDALE/ 4.9.16 MIAMI / 5.1.16 NYC/ 5.2.16 NYC / 8.5.16 BOSTON / 8.7.16 BOSTON/ 8.20.18 CHICAGO/ 9.2.18 BOSTON/ 9.4.18 BOSTON/ 9.18.21 ASBURY PARK

    finally, FUCK TICKETMASTER
  • i like it, but it's pj's most overrated song, definitely. SOOOO much better live though. love when the crowd sings the verses.
    2006: Hartford
    2008: MSG 1, Hartford, Mansfield 2, Ed Solo NYC 1
    2009: London (O2), Philly 1, 2, 3, & 4
    2010: Hartford, Boston, MSG 1 & 2
    2011: Ed Solo Hartford
    2012: Philly (MIA Fest)
    2013: Worcester 2, Brooklyn 1 & 2, Hartford
  • KosmicJelliKosmicJelli Posts: 1,855
    i like it, but it's pj's most overrated song, definitely. SOOOO much better live though. love when the crowd sings the verses.

    It is the live version I fell in love with... i was kinda disappointed of the studio cut... whatever!!! A great song not overrated... but kinda sad when ur in WalMart and you hear it
  • Betterman and Alive are their best songs. It's what they'll be remembered for. Very few bands can even write one perfect song, let alone 2.

    They're not my personal favorites tho.
  • The first time I heard "Betterman" was on a bootleg of the Atlanta show when he introduced it as "a new song, but it was written a long time ago; it's dedicated to the bastard that married my mama."

    The song instantly became one of my favorite songs of theirs (of course that was only 2 albums in) and remains among my very favorite songs of any band.

    That song was written by Ed either before or during his time with Bad Radio and I recently heard a very rough cut of it but the overall tone and pace is the same.

    What amazes me the most is how well-received it has been by fans at the shows, not because it's a "ballad" but because most people think of Pearl Jam as pretty rambunctious rockers. I wonder to this day if Ed ever expected that Betterman would have the impact or be as well-received as it has.

    I saw them @ Shoreline in Mt View California the day before my birthday in 2003 with a friend. That show is AMAZING (as most are) in terms of setlist and just how they played.

    When Betterman started, I expected a sea of lighters flickering but nothing prepared me for what happened as thousands of fans sang the first verse and chorus in perfect unison, me included. If you listen to the live copy they released, you can hear what I mean and I think it's the best version I've heard on any of their live releases.
  • Better is one of my favorite songs of all time of anything. I learned it on guitar and play it with my buddies... so melodious and soothing. Love the story in it. Love the song.
  • StaffanStaffan Posts: 606
    thats the first PJ song I put on a mix CD for my wife to be :)
    love her to pieces..........love the song equally, it's a piece of art!

    and I'm happy to learn about the "save it for later" tag, that is really awesome, I thought Ed was just improvising stuff.

    my hope is to travel to the US sometime in the future to see PJ and be able to sing that song with thousands of people, it must be a mindblowing experience, which one just can sence by watching/listening to the boots.

    betterman rocks bigtime !!
    Everyday................is Pearl Jam Day.

    Except Sundays, that's Ed day.

    The mind is like a parachute, it doesn't work unless it's open. FZ

  • chicks love betterman and i love chicks, thus, i love betterman
  • i love this song for so many reasons...

    why 'she dreams in red' ?

    perhaps i should use the search function.. scared after reading the forum elitists thread :D
    wah
  • it is one of my favorite PJ tunes but I dont listen to it as much as I used to for some reason
    Atlanta 92
    Columbia 08
    Atlanta 12
    Charlotte 13
    St Louis 14
    Greenville 16
    St Louis 22
    Seattle 24
  • sevensins wrote:
    i love betterman, my friends dont (they think its soft) but fuck them they dont know shit!!Who's with me?

    You need to get some new friends.
    one foot in the door
    the other foot in the gutter
    sweet smell that they adore
    I think I'd rather smother
    -The Replacements-
  • dcfaithfuldcfaithful Posts: 13,076
    '{&#91 wrote: »
    ']i'm a little tired of betterman... but it's a nice song...

    i just love when there's a tag :)

    agreed. but yes, i still love this song.

    the original recording on vitalogy...mmmmmmm
    7/2/06 - Denver, CO
    6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
    8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
    9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
    9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
    9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
  • paperpaper Posts: 10
    Such a great song because it takes that emotional journey from despair and emptiness to acceptance and celebration. Love it.
  • Jam10Jam10 Posts: 654
    I love Betterman. Great song!
  • sweetpotatosweetpotato Posts: 1,278
    sevensins wrote:
    i love betterman, my friends dont (they think its soft) but fuck them they dont know shit!!Who's with me?

    i just happen to be listening to it right now, and you're right... they don't know shit. :)

    i love vetterman- er- i mean betterman. :o
    "Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, Barack Obama."

    "Obama's main opponent in this election on November 4th (was) not John McCain, it (was) ignorance."~Michael Moore

    "i'm feeling kinda righteous right now. with my badass motherfuckin' ukulele!"
    ~ed, 8/7
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