Comatose
Ms. Haiku
Posts: 7,265
Any ideas what it's about? It seems like a man feeling I-don't-know-what which makes sense with the title. But halfway through there's a passionate sequence including love, hate, and blood spurting. I think there may be multiple stories, but they don't cross over. Any ideas?
There is no such thing as leftover pizza. There is now pizza and later pizza. - anonymous
The risk I took was calculated, but man, am I bad at math - The Mincing Mockingbird
The risk I took was calculated, but man, am I bad at math - The Mincing Mockingbird
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-Eddie Vedder
6/24/06 Cincinatti, Ohio
6/14/08 Manchester, Tennessee
The risk I took was calculated, but man, am I bad at math - The Mincing Mockingbird
exactly... I dunno about the lyrics but dayum go MIKE!
You make me feel uncalm and I think I like it - 311
JEFF ROX MY SOX!
"Jeff is just a badass all the way across the board" ~aNiMaL~
"Chill out Kaddikat"
"If some guy's not really giving me a reaction, I'll try and fucking get a reaction out of him. And I feed off of that. I go crazy. In a good way."-Mike McCready
www.myspace.com/lovethejam
YES YES YES!!! Maybe thats why i love it so much? Fast, hard, and Mike shredding.. DAYUM!
I hope you hear it live too!! YAY!!
You make me feel uncalm and I think I like it - 311
JEFF ROX MY SOX!
"Jeff is just a badass all the way across the board" ~aNiMaL~
"Chill out Kaddikat"
ôjô
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
haha. I don't know man but as far as "swinging" I swear that's what this song does. Swings/tosses you around like a ragdoll. I FULLY appreciate these kinda songs. Welcome to the ass kickers club. Whew! I've grown quite fond of this beating I must say.
All around, the song is....relentless. \m/
"Lo√e, you know the word
...YOU invented it!" ~ E√
¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸,ø¤
...::STONE--YOU--OWN!::...
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
If it's illegal...
to be in love
swinging..... sounds a lil *chesty* to me...
You make me feel uncalm and I think I like it - 311
JEFF ROX MY SOX!
"Jeff is just a badass all the way across the board" ~aNiMaL~
"Chill out Kaddikat"
Comatose is a political song, but it’s a lot like whipping, in that it is more about a feeling than a particular issue. It picks right up on the anger felt at the end of WWS. It’s a howl directed at all that is wrong with America, which at times can be so much it defies specifics. The verses and chorus are sung from the perspective of a ‘typical’ (as if there is such a thing) American, lost in his vacuum oblivious to the air and friction of the outside world, unaware of how his actions affect everyone else. There is obvious contempt in Eddie’s voice, and given the subject matter of WWS it’s hard for there not to be. The lyric about hanging upside down attests to the ways in which our priorities and values have become inverted—the ways in which we celebrate hate and selfishness instead of love and community.
The chorus introduces the image of falling, which is a crucial part of the next three songs. Falling implies a mistake, an imperfection. We’re supposed to be standing upright—we fall when we trip, when we’re not careful about where we’re going, or when the ground around us becomes unstable. Down also implies damnation. Up is heaven, down is hell. And if we’re not careful that’s the direction America is heading in. Not hell, per se, but certainly towards disaster—see songs like DTE or the works of Daniel Quinn. But, happy in our vacuums, we have no idea the danger we’re in and no fear of it. After all, we’re Americans (or humans more generally if you want to push the Quinn angle)—problems are for other people. We can keep this up for all eternity. The consequences of our actions never come back to affect us, and if other people don’t like they should have thought of that before they decided to be born somewhere else. Nor is it even clear that, as Americans—God’s chosen people designed to erect his City on the Hill—that we can even make mistakes. Certainly nothing we can’t justify in the name of progress/freedom/democracy/right. Ultimately we are oblivious/comatose with no fear of falling/damnation. The rising could refer to Ed’s anger/awareness, or our own inflated sense of self-importance.
The second verse basically repeats the same sentiments. The blood on all the pistons/running my transmission lines seem to acknowledge that there are consequences to how we live. We’re running our engine into the ground, and taking who knows what with us. But, happy in our vacuum, it’s not our problem.
A few people have speculated that the bridge is about gay marriage. That seems possible, in the same way the album art made whipping seem to be about abortion, but I think the lyrics are meant to be more generic/universal—a prelude to the themes of Marker in the Sand. He’s talking from a perspective that’s high above, one infused with love, compassion, tolerance, and understanding instead of hate, vengeance, and judgment. Those are seductive values. They’re easier, and hate is less demanding than love. His observation that love seems illegal is a direct tie in to WWS and a transition into Marker (although Severed Hand comes first). As a society, and as individuals (since this record is about individual salvation as much as it is group salvation—conveniently they require the same thing) we’ve gotten so swept up in war and hate, are so self-absorbed, that it’s become difficult for us to love one another, and in some cases, even ourselves. When Jesus was crucified he was supposed to die for our sins, to grant us a new beginning, and until we leave the hate on that cross, he’s essentially died in vein
The last line expresses Ed’s general sense of bewilderment. How did things get like this, and since I’m an American, how did I play a part in it. What can I do to change it? The record is in part a working through of that problem (although in the end I’m not totally satisfied with the answer).
Mos definitely getting a "Spin the Black Circle" vibe (maybe since they're both crazy fast & have 'spin' in the chorus?)...I really fell in love with this song after seeing PJ perform it on the David Letterman webcast...can't wait to see it live in DC!
Actually thats not true. I am curious as to the meaning.
ahahahahah
this song kicks my ass live. i actually like it more LIVE than on CD.. ahhahah
i still like *crapshoot* lyrics or whatever we heard at the NW school benefit..
dayum STIP thats fucking INTERESTING!!
You make me feel uncalm and I think I like it - 311
JEFF ROX MY SOX!
"Jeff is just a badass all the way across the board" ~aNiMaL~
"Chill out Kaddikat"
I have to agree with gleemonex. It seems most of the album is political in one way or another. RIght on...