Strongest music, weakest lyrics - A difficult question - "In Hiding"?

michaeljamesmccabe

There literally is not a single Pearl Jam song that I do not absolutely love. They each have their own merits, and they deserve their own individual recognition. I actually hate it when people try to judge one song against the others, but that’s exactly what this post is about.

To me, a big part of Pearl Jam’s greatness is the way that the music and lyrics of their songs mesh together in such a natural and amazing way. The riffs, the rhythms, the solos, melodies, and choruses all fit perfectly to the mood and style that Ed uses with his lyrics. Or at least they almost always fit perfectly. It’s actually pretty difficult to find any issues that I have with their songs. But, there is one song that always just slightly rubs me the wrong way.

For some reason “In Hiding” just strikes me as a little bit off. I really like the sing-a-long aspect of this song, but to me, it’s always been kind of weak lyrically. Maybe I get that vibe because “Single Video Theory” highlights how much Stone enjoyed the melody that he wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLut7QVxXn0
I agree with Stone’s love and excitement for what he came up with. It’s classic Pearl Jam riffage and it rules. Ed says that he was trying to think of something for quite a while.

In my very humble opinion, I don’t know if Ed did the music justice with his lyrics and where he took this song. Like I said, I enjoy the chorus a lot. But, the rest of the lyrics just don’t quite measure up to the level of excellence that is achieved by so many of their other songs. I don’t know, I guess I just hear “In Hiding” and think about what could have been.

I don’t mean to be critical, but when my friends press me to be, this is the example that I bring up. They think that I can’t be critical of the band, because all I do is talk about how great they are.

What do you people think? Am I being too harsh?


Lyrics:

I shut and locked the front door
No way in or out
I turned and walked the hallway
And pulled the curtains down
I knelt and emptied the mouth of every club around
But nothing's sound, nothing's sound
I'd stay but my last tab left me
Ignored all my rounds
Soon I was seeing visions and cracks along the walls
They were upside down
I swallow my words to keep from lying
I swallow my face just to keep from biting, I, I..
I swallowed my breath and went deep, I was diving, diving
I surfaced when all of my pen wasn't writing
I'm in hiding
I'm in hiding
I'm in hiding
I'm in hiding
It's been about three days now
Since I've been aground
No longer overwhelmed and it seems so simple now
It's funny when things change so much
It's all state of mind
I swallowed my words to keep from lying
I swallowed my face just to keep from biting I, I...
I swallowed my breath and went deep, I was diving, I was diving
I surfaced and all around me was enlightened
Now I'm in hiding
I'm in hiding
I'm in hiding
I'm in hiding
I'm in hiding
I'm in hiding
I'm in hiding
I'm in hiding

Federico

I wouldnt say that this lyrics arent good, but i´d definitely say that pearl jam could already (being ed ved a reasonable good rythm guitarists) put more instrumental songs as the great bands in history did at some point of their career...

back to in hiding....i really think there are some beautiful images in the lyrics...it doesnt reach the level of a Present Tense or a WWS, but is not bad..i think

michaeljamesmccabe

Yes, I agree. I actually like the song, and I don't think it's bad. It's just the one song that I think wasn't given the kind of attention to really put it over the top.

Whatever though. Everytime I hear it live, I love it.

I think I'm just being over-critical about it, and the "Single Video Theory" kind of impacts my feelings about it.

MrFadedGlory

Of course the lyrics are a little bizarre; but he's representing being a little fucked up pretty well wouldn't you say?

michaeljamesmccabe

Yes, I think Ed's doing a great job representing the feeling of being fucked up with these lyrics. No question about that.

I guess maybe I mislabeled this thread. My point is about how the music and lyrics don't mesh together as well as they do in most Pearl Jam songs. The mood of the music and the mood of the lyrics are all mixed up.

I think that's what I'm responding to.

gue_barium

I think he's just writing about writing the song.

cariadllawn

This is definately one of my favourite songs, and its very much todo with the lyrics as well as vocals for me. For me i've got to be feeling a certain emotion for this song to really effect me. I suppose songs can mean very different things to different people, an maybe i've just created my own interpretation of it, but i'm certainly able to really 'feel' the lyrics. love it

Bushleaguer28

gue_barium wrote:

I think he's just writing about writing the song.

This is an interesting point - never though of this. In the SVT, Ed does say that for some time he couldnt find come up with lyrics to this song so you might be right. Just about how he had to resort to isolation in order to think straight.

thelowlightargentina

gue_barium wrote:

I think he's just writing about writing the song.

Interesting view...


To me, this song is very beautiful, I love the chorus part and specially how the guitar notes are ensambled with Ed´s voice.

audiodave

I love In Hiding and have never thought it to be weak lyrically.

When I saw the title of this thread, the song that instantly came to mind was Pilate. Not because I think the music is strong (the music is ok), but lyrically...I can't listen to this song. The chorus ruins it completely for me. Pretty much always skip it.

Rhinocerous Surprise

I always thought In Hiding was a really good song, lyrically. The last verse really appeals to me for some reason...

Anyway, my nomination would be Foxymop.:p

Or, more seriously, Evacuation. I'm one of the few who really likes the song, but apart from the bridge sections, the lyrics aren't that strong at all. Musically, I think it really rocks, especially on the aforementioned bridge bits. Very WWC.

DOSW

In Hiding and Severed Hand are two songs which their lyrics connect the least with me. It's not that they're bad, it's just that I feel nothing when I hear the lyrics because I don't take hallucinogenic chemicals, so I can't relate to "seeing dragons" or "seeing the sound in waves".

In My Tree is a little bit like that too, but there are feelings of isolation and loneliness in that song that I most definitely can relate to. It's one of my favorites, actually.

vedderfan10

I didn't think In Hiding didn't have any sort of hallucinogenic drug reference to it like "Severed Hand"...(well, OK, "soon I was seeing things, cracks along the wall"...but I figured that was from lying on the floor or being in bed isolating and not being able to do anything except stare at the walls or the ceiling...

To me, and this is because of where I was at the time, this song really hit me a couple of years ago as I starting to come out of my depression...this one, and "Down"...they both seem like "yay - the therapy's working!" songs. Once I was dragged out of bed and encouraged to rejoin society, these songs really hit home for me...Lyrically, they both hit the nail on the head. "It's all state of mind" and "won't let the darkness swallow me" - SPOT ON!!

Milestone

DOSW wrote:

In Hiding and Severed Hand are two songs which their lyrics connect the least with me. It's not that they're bad, it's just that I feel nothing when I hear the lyrics because I don't take hallucinogenic chemicals, so I can't relate to "seeing dragons" or "seeing the sound in waves".

To me.....In Hiding seemed to be what Ed feels when he comes off the road from touring, and then goes into hiding at home....takes him a while to come down from the "high" of being on stage. All of a sudden he finds himself staring at the walls, ect....

I could be wrong. But that's the beauty of the song. It can be interpreted many ways. To me, that makes an interesting song.

vedderfan10

Milestone wrote:

To me.....In Hiding seemed to be what Ed feels when he comes off the road from touring, and then goes into hiding at home....takes him a while to come down from the "high" of being on stage. All of a sudden he finds himself staring at the walls, ect.....

Ooooohhhh....that's good.....

LuthienTinuviel

always liked the lyrics of in hiding because they are clear and simple...always thought the song was a little weak...but then i saw it live...;)

the only songs with weak lyrics are help, help and evacuation imo but they are the weakest musically as well...