Gone

slightofjeff

DPrecisionist05 wrote:

I think it pretty clear in this song life has been tough, hes lost some hope(disbelieving) and hes leaving...again,.....if you put all the words together in their related context its preety simple to get the meaning when they are as pointed as he has written them in tis song.,\

see, I agree with everything you wrote here. It's just that I think ed's saying "getting away from it all" is a good thing. you seem to think it's a bad thing.

to me, this song is the cousin of rearviewmirror ("saw things so much clearer") and MFC ("there's a lot to be said for nowhere").

burtschips

FinsburyParkCarrots wrote:

As a postgrad in Literature with a good knowledge of linguistics, I'll tell you no word in any language, no phoneme, no utterance is precise in meaning. I might think Gone is about an elephant escaped from the circus, and I might refute the argument "No it isn't, it's about a bloke who flees Atlantic City to leave the bad life of gambling and materialism behind him". I might be completely mad, but my interpretation isn't necessarily wrong. Just different.


Just opening up the interpretative possibilities there.

also, i think for this song it is deeply personal so the writers meaning is more difficult to understand than say unemployable which is more like social commentary and easier to identify with.

DPrecisionist05

Since, I already agreed with you, dont want to re-open can of worms...


but guess the reason I think its a bad thing, is beacuse as Ive stated before,
running away never solves problems, does it?

But I can accept the song as an insight in to the human condition, a temp feeling.....but the music making it sound triumphant,,makes it sound like the guys found victory by running away from his troubles,.,
thats my issue....

DPrecisionist05

slightofjeff wrote:

and, again, I'm saying the "American Dream" isn't just the house, the kids, the picket fence, the dogs, the material possessions. It's a sense of well-being. A sense of security. A sense that America is always on the side of right. A sense that there will be a tomorrow.

THAT'S the American dream he's disbelieving.

The other stuff you mentioned can play into it too, I suppose.

But, like I said, disillusionment with the American dream in total isn't just the property of the poor.

Another thing though ... so what if you're right? Ed's not allowed to write from someone else's perspective?

Ed wasn't a sexually abused girl. How could he write Daughter? He wasn't Jeremy ... so how could he write Jeremy? His hometown has never been bombed to bits ... how could he write Insignificance? Are those songs phony, too?

You are taking an extremly convenient interpretation to substantiate your point......The American Dream is about making it.....why do people come to USA to pursue American Dream, work, house,...dreams..

slightofjeff

DPrecisionist05 wrote:

Since, I already agreed with you, dont want to re-open can of worms...


but guess the reason I think its a bad thing, is beacuse as Ive stated before,
running away never solves problems, does it?

But I can accept the song as an insight in to the human condition, a temp feeling.....but the music making it sound triumphant,,makes it sound like the guys found victory by running away from his troubles,.,
thats my issue....

alright. agree to disagree. I think the song is pretty damn triumphant and I like it.

snail

Ledvedder wrote:

it definately about loss, but is it about death, or losing a love? i noticed on Jools Hollands show that Ed wasn`t wearing a wedding band, i dunno if he usually wears one or not, any one know?

didn't he get divorced years ago? not that it's our business, but you know.

dbr_of_matrix

and how about liberation from all?

DPrecisionist05

dbr_of_matrix wrote:

and how about liberation from all?

I love the idea.

But not realistic, and it's a euphymism in this case for giving up.

cookies

I just want to say that the american dream is more then the fenced in house children an money. That is part of it the other part is security land of the free. Live happy and comfortable and safe.. and it dose not mean if you have money or fame you have that dream. I mean come on who has freedom. Which is part of that American Dream. And just maybe Ed is saying he went for it got the money fame and sees its nothing. Becasue he still has worries even more becasue of the fame. And that was suppose to be everything But it offer nothing. And I don't see it as running away I see it more as walking away and that makes the difference. So maybe being at the top is no more different then being in the middle. And it is true you can't run from problems they just follow you. But I don't think it is problemns he is walking away from its more like situations. I mean that is how I try to live my life. I do all I can in every situation and when I can't do anymore I leave it alone and let it take care of it's self. This time I am gone.

romybian

EDIT: nevermind.

einatshaul

Interesting discussion you're having here, thought I'd add my input. I've been following Eddies writing and also his interviews and such, and I've noticed there is a theme of escape which is repetitive. Weather it is the need to escape, physically and mentally from the pressures – the writing, the family, fame which takes it's toll on him for sure… I know he has this need to get away, and in "Gone" he is leaving the lights of the city which holds within it all those pressures. He goes to the country, he goes surfing, were he is left alone to be inspired again, to be unrecognized… and I certainly agree that "American Dream" has wider meaning to it, as the land of the free, as a democracy, values which aren't to be taken for granted anymore.
Lyrics have no precise interpretation; we can all enjoy them and make them our own while being curious to what Ed was thinking of while he wrote it, there's no harm at that. And as we know Ed, he can say different things regarding the same song at different occasions.
So that's my gone for you.

Lanfear

"Gone" was one of the first songs on Avocado that reached out and grabbed me, the start is haunting, gives me shivers.

DPrecisionist05

cookies wrote:

I just want to say that the american dream is more then the fenced in house children an money. That is part of it the other part is security land of the free. Live happy and comfortable and safe.. and it dose not mean if you have money or fame you have that dream. I mean come on who has freedom. Which is part of that American Dream. And just maybe Ed is saying he went for it got the money fame and sees its nothing. Becasue he still has worries even more becasue of the fame. And that was suppose to be everything But it offer nothing. And I don't see it as running away I see it more as walking away and that makes the difference. So maybe being at the top is no more different then being in the middle. And it is true you can't run from problems they just follow you. But I don't think it is problemns he is walking away from its more like situations. I mean that is how I try to live my life. I do all I can in every situation and when I can't do anymore I leave it alone and let it take care of it's self. This time I am gone.

You made a great point there until you got to hes not running from problems, the lyrics are what they,...opens, no more painful mornings, no more trying evenings....um, I think he's running from situations/problems...

DanyBR

einatshaul wrote:

Interesting discussion you're having here, thought I'd add my input. I've been following Eddies writing and also his interviews and such, and I've noticed there is a theme of escape which is repetitive. Weather it is the need to escape, physically and mentally from the pressures – the writing, the family, fame which takes it's toll on him for sure… I know he has this need to get away, and in "Gone" he is leaving the lights of the city which holds within it all those pressures. He goes to the country, he goes surfing, were he is left alone to be inspired again, to be unrecognized… and I certainly agree that "American Dream" has wider meaning to it, as the land of the free, as a democracy, values which aren't to be taken for granted anymore.
Lyrics have no precise interpretation; we can all enjoy them and make them our own while being curious to what Ed was thinking of while he wrote it, there's no harm at that. And as we know Ed, he can say different things regarding the same song at different occasions.
So that's my gone for you.

Really good perspective you've brought to this topic.
The theme of escape is constant; and it has appeared in many different forms, in a handful of songs. And it's an experience that Ed has had in his past, and he knows how that feels, how this affected himself, etc. Maybe a psycologist could interpret Ed way better than us...
But, concerning to this particular song, I'm not sure it's about his own experience. This album has brought to us a lot of story-telling. It may be someone else's story, a moment his facing, and the escape appears as a sollution. Would we question if someone not so famous and rich were talking about running away? I guess, every human being, one day or another, feels (or may feel) like that, be affected by this disappointment.
The average North-american, from what I can perceive as an outsider, is probably unhappy from what he's living, the things that have been happening, the war, the economy, the politics, the lack of freedom, etc.
The American Dream, as we, that do not live in the US, understand is mostly about this freedom, opportunity and security, that are menaced.

Ms. Haiku

DanyBR wrote:

But, concerning to this particular song, I'm not sure it's about his own experience. This album has brought to us a lot of story-telling. It may be someone else's story

You brought up an excellent point. I thought in an interview that he tried more story-telling on this album. We could first assume the song is about a nameless protagonist, and once all that discussion is over we could try to apply it to Ed.

einatshaul

DanyBR wrote:

Really good perspective you've brought to this topic.
The theme of escape is constant; and it has appeared in many different forms, in a handful of songs. And it's an experience that Ed has had in his past, and he knows how that feels, how this affected himself, etc. Maybe a psycologist could interpret Ed way better than us...
But, concerning to this particular song, I'm not sure it's about his own experience. This album has brought to us a lot of story-telling. It may be someone else's story, a moment his facing, and the escape appears as a sollution. Would we question if someone not so famous and rich were talking about running away? I guess, every human being, one day or another, feels (or may feel) like that, be affected by this disappointment.
The average North-american, from what I can perceive as an outsider, is probably unhappy from what he's living, the things that have been happening, the war, the economy, the politics, the lack of freedom, etc.
The American Dream, as we, that do not live in the US, understand is mostly about this freedom, opportunity and security, that are menaced.

!... and... storytelling is a gift that Pearl Jam and Ed in peticular have, in a way that makes you feel every song comes from the gut, pure emotional... that is why we all have these different outlooks on the songs and we can't blame him for not being the character he's singing about.

cookies

Running away from a problem to me is saying you can't handle it. Walking away would mean you let it go. And that is the difference between the two. And it is only said no more of it so to me that is making the decision to let it go. Be free of it. I'm Gone. I had it don't want it I am letting go. Its not what it was advertised to be, for whatever reason. To sum it up you can say The American Dream is nothing but false hope.

And no matter where you are in life being rich and famous or middle class if there is such a thing or proverty there will always be situations, and how you deal with them is what makes it a problem, but once again it is all about choice.


Cookies

dbr_of_matrix

I think 'it's about letting things go in order to fly. 'cos ''american dream'' is just another name for mediocrity, restraints and ''one knows how things should be done''. it used to be name for freedom, but not anymore.

tarotvixen

This song is definitely the best on the album in my view. It was so powerful the first time I heard it, I went and booked my tickets to fly to USA and see them. Who hasn't wanted that kind of freedom - leave and do what your spirit needs you to do

burtschips

tarotvixen wrote:

Who hasn't wanted that kind of freedom - leave and do what your spirit needs you to do

That's the best view of the song I've read. completely sums it up for me.