Home› Words and Music...Communication

Tremor Christ

pearljamfan11pearljamfan11 Posts: 50
edited March 2006 in Words and Music...Communication
Just wondering what you guys thought this song, especially the title, meant. If you have any hard evidence (quotes or articles, etc), that'd be great to hear, also. Thanks everyone.
He who forgets will be destined to remember.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Hitch-HikerHitch-Hiker Posts: 2,873
    I have no idea what it means. Maybe it's about the fragility of a mans faith, but I know I love it. It's my favourite off Vitalogy.
    I'll Ride The Wave Where It Takes Me
  • whoYOUarewhoYOUare Posts: 274
    definately one of (if not the) best off of vitology. its all a matter of personal opinion, however i think it is about choices and how each choice you make effect (or is it affects?) anything and everything. there is a lot of referances to secrets and lies, and it may be that the choice that was made was a lie that ended up screwing whomever the song is about... just a thought
    peace
  • Innocent_BystanderInnocent_Bystander Posts: 615
    It's written about the book Old Man and the Sea according to Eddie. Hemmingway's book inspired the whole song.
    Life reveals what is dealt through seasons
    Circle comes around each time
  • AbuskedtiAbuskedti Posts: 1,917
    pearljamfan11 wrote:
    Just wondering what you guys thought this song, especially the title, meant. If you have any hard evidence (quotes or articles, etc), that'd be great to hear, also. Thanks everyone.

    the Tremor is the small shake before the earthquake

    I think Tremor Christ is warning you to Worship (Christ) the little things (tremor) or eventually there will be an earthquake.

    so don't miss out on the your georgeous savior drowning in your wake!

    Take the dive!!

    its devine!
  • tsopotelbatsopotelba Posts: 80
    I've always thought Tremor Christ was the wettest Pearl Jam song. I don't know why, but I've always thought that.
  • pearljamfan11pearljamfan11 Posts: 50
    Innocent_Bystander wrote:
    It's written about the book Old Man and the Sea according to Eddie. Hemmingway's book inspired the whole song.
    Do you have a source to where you heard that? Certainly interesting.
    He who forgets will be destined to remember.
  • MerkyjammMerkyjamm Posts: 272
    Whatever it's about, it was the first song I heard on Vitalogy that truly fucked me up, in a good way :D
    Too many cowboys, not enough indians, so just go ape shit!

    I may be boring but at least I'm not Jack fucking Johnson.

    TV is such shit; let's go outside and ride bicycles, right now!

    Madrid 07/09/06 - Little mofo'ing Wing!!!
    Wembley 06/18/07 - Speechless

    www.last.fm/user/StNick_
  • STXLAXSTXLAX Posts: 46
    I always thought that Tremor Christ was about someone who tends to put his faith into things/ or people that can't really be trusted, possibly a girl. He needs this girl and he's going to do whatever he can to have her. But since he's so dependent, he gets hurt along the way.
    "And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
    -Nietzsche

    EMPATHY
  • Innocent_BystanderInnocent_Bystander Posts: 615
    pearljamfan11 wrote:
    Do you have a source to where you heard that? Certainly interesting.

    Eddie said it in an interview awhile back. I will update you with it as soon as I find it!
    Life reveals what is dealt through seasons
    Circle comes around each time
  • dontgimmenolipdontgimmenolip Posts: 198
    I don't know why, but I've always thought that Tremor Christ had a bit of a Beatles feel to the drums (even though no Beatles song I have heard has ever actually sounded like Tremor Christ).

    I used to think this song was just a straight-forward relationship song, but my years of "drifting by the storm" has afforded me with a different way to look at things.

    Here's my interpretation:

    Tremor Christ
    winded is the sailor...drifting by the storm...
    wounded is the organ he left all...bloodied on the shore...
    Here we have a person who has just drifted through his life, nothing guiding his "journey" so to speak.

    The organ, to me, means the heart. Leaving it bloody on the shore could be either leaving your heart out of things, or that it was just broken, and he set sail away from where it happened.

    gorgeous was his savior, sees her...drowning in his wake...
    daily taste the salt of her tears, but...a chance blamed fate...
    She loves him so much, it makes her cry. And he knows. But he's still moving forward, afraid, it seems, to go back and take a chance.

    "A chance blamed fate" is an amazing line, when you really think about it. How often do people act like something that happened out of dumb luck was actually destiny?

    little secrets, tremors...turned to quake...
    the smallest oceans still get...big, big waves...
    This part was always tricky for me, but I think I have it figured out enough for what my mind makes of it.

    I think that the hero of the song realizes that in some dark corner of his soul, he loves this woman, his saviour, but he tries to ignore it. His ignoring of his feelings has led to the metaphorical quakes.

    "The smallest oceans still get big, big waves" - No matter how safe you think you are, you can be rocked. Love does that to you. You think you're safe by yourself, but then the tide comes in.

    ransom paid the devil...he whispers pleasing words...
    triumphant are the angels if they can...a get there first...
    Temptation is a motherfucker isn't it? In his quest to deny/escape his feelings, our hero starts heading down other paths. He can only be saved if she who is drowning in his wake gets there first.

    i'll decide...take the dive...
    take my time...not my life...
    wait for signs...believe in lies...
    to get by...it's divine...whoa...
    oh, you know what it's like...

    This is the struggle you go through as you are realizing that you love someone. One side of you wants to sleep on it (I'll decide), the other side wants to say fuck it, and grab the bull by the horns (take the dive). By the time Ed sings "Oh you know what it's like", if you've been in the hero's position yourself, then you do know.

    turns the bow back, tows and...drops the line...
    puts his faith in love and tremor christ...

    I think by now we can tell which side won. He's going back for the girl, prepared to take the chance. Tremor Christ being a solid metaphor for a person you are falling in love with, as they are both your saviour and your source of unrest.
    - Justin

    You think the Slayer tour is out, or what?

    "Finally! I get to save the earth with deadly lasers instead of deadly slide shows." -- Al Gore.
  • justamjustam Posts: 21,410
    I interpret it in a similar way to dontgimmenolip.

    I think it's about a man in a ship (representing a relationship) and someone he loves and who loves him but somehow he's hurt her and she's drowning in her sadness...he's aware of it but keeps moving at first

    but by the end, he turns the boat around I think
    &&&&&&&&&&&&&&
  • Innocent_BystanderInnocent_Bystander Posts: 615
    Read Old Man and the Sea and you will understand the whole connection.
    Life reveals what is dealt through seasons
    Circle comes around each time
  • artin90artin90 Posts: 66
    I cant comment on what it means but i love tremor christ. its one of those songs that does not pop into your mind when you are thinking of favorite songs but it really stands out anyway
    “ ahh…. Yaa…. If you trust me at all… if you wanna listen to me at all… which you certainly don’t have to. Speaking from experience I can tell you that things change. You could believe me, you don’t have to. They probably won’t change, unless you make them. The best way to change something around you, something you don’t like, is.. to change yourself. I don’t think you want other people changing you.. I think.. I think.. the only person you want changing you… is yourself. So if you ain’t happy…. If you’re reading magazines about generation x’s and thinking ‘ya im one of them’ well fuck that…. Don’t let anybody tell you who you are. No… No…. No one can tell me who I am. I can tell you who I am but that would be a long story… I can tell you who I am and it wouldn’t fit in a Rolling Stone…. It wouldn’t fit in a video… it wouldn’t… its my life…. Its your life. Youre the only one that knows who you are. I hope you know who you are. If you don’t know who you are, figure it out. Cause you are some body. And Im probably stating the obvious. But I just thought I would do it anyway. So if you fell like you got a piece of duct tape on your mouth, if you feel like you cant speak. Take it off, Speak up. Speak your Mind. Shout it Out. Let ‘em Hear Ya. Shout it out…… YAAA YAAAAA yAAAAAAAAAAA.” Eddie Vedder (Porch ’96 Randle Island 2)

    10/22/03
    Ten, No Code, Vs., Yield, Riot Act, Vitalogy, Binaural

  • ListlessListless Posts: 37
    Innocent_Bystander wrote:
    Read Old Man and the Sea and you will understand the whole connection.

    yeah I never thought about it like that, but it definitly makes sence
    especially if you know that there are often made analogies between that book and christs life, so the title is perfect

    now it all just klicked :)
    "I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy."
    "I may be drunk but at least I'm not insane."
    "I don't have a drinking problem 'Cept when I can't get a drink."
    "There ain't no devil, there's just god when he's drunk"
    -Tom Waits
  • i forgeti forget Posts: 281
    This song's underrated, imo.
  • spilled_my_tincturespilled_my_tincture Posts: 84
    Innocent_Bystander wrote:
    It's written about the book Old Man and the Sea according to Eddie. Hemmingway's book inspired the whole song.

    well they did say they were heavily hemingway influenced...lol

    nah, I think it's about faith, organized religion, etc.

    I thought those themes were pretty obvious.

    not sure what the whole "tremor christ" name is about

    not my fav off vitalogy but still very good song.
    everything has chains
    absolutely nothing's changed
    take my hand, not my picture
    spilled my tincture...
  • EDucatedEDucated Posts: 7
    This is just one more piece of evidence to confirm the theories I've come up with regarding the band- With that said:

    Tremor Christ

    I agree with whoever said that tremors are what happens before earthquakes, that is true. However, I looked at the word tremor differently. There's tons of neurological disorders which become prevelant through a person tremoring (or getting the shakes) I know I had tremors for awhile after a tragic event that I went through. Doesn't necessarily have to be neurological, it could definitely be psychological as well.

    As for Christ-well Christ could mean the Christ, which I can see how that would work. I mean what is known about the man Christ is that he was all good, but he could get pretty pissed off now and then (i don't want to get into a religious debate...just trying to coherently organize the thoughts that have been in my head with this song). Anyways, I had read that the band i don't know believes but perhaps engaged with the writings of Spinoza who believes that God or some ultimate good is found directly linked throughout nature. Thats why there are certain laws of nature that cant be defied. If they were contradicted, then whoever created nature would be undermining themselves. Anyho- in relating the title to the text, tremors(whether in the earth or a persons head) are quite similar to "little secrets". U know how when something is not addressed it builds and builds and the erupts...especially in my family, which I can compare it to-after the eruption there are reminders left. Even on a one person level-for instance my mother knew about a lump on her breast for months and did nothing and it just got bigger and bigger. Well obviously it was breast cancer, and if she gets through it there will be scars and reminders of it. Psychologically, I hope she recovers from it, but regarding the song, I think frustration with the fact that there is supposed to be the "almighty" who gave us "free choice" is highly upsetting. Like why does shit happen the way it does? all i can say is that it just does. I think this is where the song becomes more of an internal battle with whatever...and the fact that a person can overcome adversity is evidence of something great, but if a person becomes ignorant (in whatever context u can take it-for example ignorant to their health) there will be those things that grab our attention and take a second look over things, which i do think can be totally beautiful at times.

    Sorry this is long- I could have gone word for word, but oh well-its just my experience of the song. Thanks for listening!
    Nothing can stop me now 'cause i just don't care anymore.
  • darthvedder88darthvedder88 Posts: 1,023
    I've always thought of this song to be one of the best the band has ever written. Really there was an incident just yesterday between my best friend and his girlfriend that is adding more meaning to this song for me!!
    "Darth Vader would say 'Impressive'."

    -Eddie Vedder

    6/24/06 Cincinatti, Ohio
    6/14/08 Manchester, Tennessee
  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    this song sucks. again. and again. and again ... and UH!
    :rolleyes:
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • thelowlightargentinathelowlightargentina Posts: 592
    Innocent_Bystander wrote:
    It's written about the book Old Man and the Sea according to Eddie. Hemmingway's book inspired the whole song.

    great info!!! thanks for sharing!
    definetly, one of my favourites from vitalogy...in an argentinian magazine, there was this interview with jeff and mike where jeff was saying that this song was his favourite to be played live, because they don´t do this too much...hope this will change!!!
    ...can´t wear my mask, your first my last...
Sign In or Register to comment.