Red Mosquito

ucsbledbetter

I thought it was about a bad trip with a drug.... red mans your neighbor.talkin about smokin somethin!!

Guiness

I had always heard that this song was written after Ed left a show in San Francisco after 8 songs because he had bad food poisoning. Neil Young came out and finished the show with the band.

Watched from the window, with a red mosquito
I was not allowed to leave the room
I saw the sun go down, and now it's coming up
Somewhere in the time between

- This is a clear reference to the food poisoning. I think the red mosquito is temptation. At this time, the band was fighting with ticketmaster and really starting to pull away from the mainstream. I believe the devil and the red mosquito represent the temptation to stay mainstream.

I was bitten, must have been the devil
He was just paying me...
A little visit, reminding me of his presence
Letting me know, he's a-waiting... oh

- I believe the bitten part refers to the fans at the show turning on the band as well as the media backlash for fighting with ticketmaster and the partial show. In a sense the devil reminding the band that their decision to pull back was not full proof and that they could lose it all. All they would have to do is give into the temptation and keep making the same albums and they could be on top forever.

Red man's your neighbor, call it behavior
While you're climbing up slippery hills
Two steps ahead of him, punctures in your neck
Hovering just above your bed
Hovering just above your bed

- I believe the slippery hills represent the band's decision to fight with ticketmaster and change their sound and pull back. While they felt this was the right decision, the devil is always present

I was bitten, must have been the devil
He was just paying me...
A little visit, reminding me of his presence
And letting me know, he's a'waiting, he's a'waiting...
Ooh....

If I had known then what I know now...
If I had known then what I know now...
If I had known then what I know now...
If I had known then what I know now...

- they end the song questioning if they did the right thing. Which ultimately they did, they might not sell as many albums but at least they have never sacrificed their visions for main stream success. As a result they have the most loyal fan base of any band touring today.

Of course I could be wrong about the song...just a theory

oktacoma

reachdown12 wrote:

Oh my goodness..as many gems as there are on No Code, I think this one in particular holds a certain huge anticipation for the track to come on. Just the vibe it gives off, Mikey's guitar playing, the lyrics..and once the instrumentals and lyrics, vocals reach that climax in the song...if i had known then what i know now...it is so emotionally impacting i can't even begin to describe. I love this song so very dearly. Beautiful in every which way.

Lovely words...nice...:D

darthvedder88

Red Mosquito is one of those songs where you hear each member showcase how good of a musician they are. I mean, Eddie's lyrics are amazing, and his vocals rock your nuts off when you listen to it, Stone's riffs on the acoustic guitar provide a nice waltz feel which makes you wanna rock out, and his backing vocals towards the end really enhance the climatic ending, Jeff's bass work adds a nice bounce to the song which then adds to Stone's groove, Mike's guitar work just totally blows you the fuck away as he goes haywire, and Jack's tribal feel on the song just makes it a classic.

BrainOfJD

darthvedder88 wrote:

Red Mosquito is one of those songs where you hear each member showcase how good of a musician they are. I mean, Eddie's lyrics are amazing, and his vocals rock your nuts off when you listen to it, Stone's riffs on the acoustic guitar provide a nice waltz feel which makes you wanna rock out, and his backing vocals towards the end really enhance the climatic ending, Jeff's bass work adds a nice bounce to the song which then adds to Stone's groove, Mike's guitar work just totally blows you the fuck away as he goes haywire, and Jack's tribal feel on the song just makes it a classic.

That's a great point. I love that buzzy sound on the lead guitar, supposedly due to being played with a zippo lighter.

When they play it live, it also showcases what a psychopath I am. Time to rock out, apologies to the poor suckers sitting next to me!

pjfanatic10

ucsbledbetter wrote:

I thought it was about a bad trip with a drug.... red mans your neighbor.talkin about smokin somethin!!

That was always my take on the song too...about a bad trip.

darthvedder88

jdonelson.nyc wrote:

That's a great point. I love that buzzy sound on the lead guitar, supposedly due to being played with a zippo lighter.

When they play it live, it also showcases what a psychopath I am. Time to rock out, apologies to the poor suckers sitting next to me!

Yeah, there's no other song like it really. I love the 12/8 feel in it, gives it a unique vibe!!

ucsbledbetter

I took this off the skyiscrape because it shows what I think the song is about...

It took me a while to realize what this song was about and I've come to the conclusion that this song is about someone that has tried heroin. It's a about someone not sleeping because the drug keeps them up; "I saw the sun go down and now it's coming up somewhere in the time between." Also whoever this person is justified taking the drug by saying that Native-Americans used drugs as a way of life; "Red man is your nieghbor. Call it behavior." But the high is an awful and confusing one which distorts reality; "While you're climbing slippery hills." The user now knows that it was a bad idea to have taken the drug because know he wants to try it again and refers to it as "the devil" who is "always waiting" for him to come back for more. He regrets trying the drug; "If I had known then what I know now." The title itself, Red Mosquito, is also a reference to the color of heroine and the way it is used, by injection with a needle, like a mosquito's sting. The reason I feel that this is what this song is about is bacause right before the sang this song in the 2nd Houston (a place known for it's mosquito population) show in 2000, Eddie Vedder raises up his sleeve and says "these aren't track marks, i promise. they're mosquito bites."

Pearl Jam and toast

ucsbledbetter wrote:

I took this off the skyiscrape because it shows what I think the song is about...

It took me a while to realize what this song was about and I've come to the conclusion that this song is about someone that has tried heroin. It's a about someone not sleeping because the drug keeps them up; "I saw the sun go down and now it's coming up somewhere in the time between." Also whoever this person is justified taking the drug by saying that Native-Americans used drugs as a way of life; "Red man is your nieghbor. Call it behavior." But the high is an awful and confusing one which distorts reality; "While you're climbing slippery hills." The user now knows that it was a bad idea to have taken the drug because know he wants to try it again and refers to it as "the devil" who is "always waiting" for him to come back for more. He regrets trying the drug; "If I had known then what I know now." The title itself, Red Mosquito, is also a reference to the color of heroine and the way it is used, by injection with a needle, like a mosquito's sting. The reason I feel that this is what this song is about is bacause right before the sang this song in the 2nd Houston (a place known for it's mosquito population) show in 2000, Eddie Vedder raises up his sleeve and says "these aren't track marks, i promise. they're mosquito bites."

I think he's absolutely right.

I hope Ed was talking about a friend..

Solat13

All I know is there is nothing better than being drunk on wine and listening to Red Mosquito on Vinyl.

Wooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love this song.