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Eddie and his father

funkyfoodfunkyfood Posts: 9
edited December 2004 in Words and Music...Communication
Why did Eddie mention father-figures so frequently on Ten, then pretty much stop (unless I'm missing something)? Release, Alive, and Jeremy all mention fathers and a few others I'm missing. Did he just get over his father leaving his mother? What happened?
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Comments

  • SchwingSchwing Posts: 17
    I think writing those lyrics was somewhat therapeutic for him and once he dealt with the loss it was easier to write about other subjects.
    And you said it ain't fair
    That a man walks
    When a bird can fly
    We have to kick the ground
    The stars kiss the sky
    They say that spirits live
    A man has to die
    They promised us truth
    Now they're giving us lies.
  • ellie1282ellie1282 Posts: 1
    Do you really not know the story of Eddie and his "father"? Listen to the song Alive:

    "Son, she says, have I got a little story for you.
    What you thought was your daddy was nothing but a....
    While you were sitting home alone at age 13,
    your real daddy was dying, sorry you didn't see him,
    but I'm glad we talked"

    Eddie met his father once or twice as a child, but only knew him as a friend of his mothers, who passed away. His mother's husband was an abusive jerk and once he learned he was not his real father, he changed his name from Eddie Louis Severson, to Vedder, his mom's maiden name.

    I also believe that Rearviewmirror is motivated by that situation and finally getting away.
    "Finally the shades are raised........" (from over his eyes)

    Betterman is about his mom and I believe that in Release Eddie is talking to his real father, looking for advice. "I'll wait up in the dark for you to speak to me"
  • Mr PyjamaMr Pyjama Posts: 253
    funkyfood wrote:
    Why did Eddie mention father-figures so frequently on Ten, then pretty much stop (unless I'm missing something)? Release, Alive, and Jeremy all mention fathers and a few others I'm missing. Did he just get over his father leaving his mother? What happened?

    I agree that Alive and Release are about his relationship with his father, but Jeremy is not. Jeremy is written from the persona of the child Jeremy Wade Dalle. I think Eddie tended to write songs about what was bothering him at the time ie.
    The era around Ten is when his songs were the most personal and about his father eg. Alive, Release, Footsteps etc..
    The era around Vs and Vitalogy is when he wrote lyrics based on the pressure and strain he suffered from the media etc (may i point out, the song Betterman, although on Vitalogy was actually written before Ten).
    Then I think that as the band began to shy away from the limelight Ed began to write about new, fresh things, until the release of Riot Act, which prompted more political lyrics.

    So to sum up, i think Eddie just writes songs about what's bothering him at the time.
    Situations get fucked up and turned around sooner or later...
  • LikeAnOceanLikeAnOcean Posts: 7,718
    ellie1282 wrote:
    Eddie met his father once or twice as a child, but only knew him as a friend of his mothers, who passed away. His mother's husband was an abusive jerk and once he learned he was not his real father, he changed his name from Eddie Louis Severson, to Vedder, his mom's maiden name. (from over his eyes)

    Betterman is about his mom and I believe that in Release Eddie is talking to his real father, looking for advice. "I'll wait up in the dark for you to speak to me"

    I wonder if his mother is still married to that "bastard" and I wonder how he feels that some of the greatest rock songs in history are written about him.
  • eddies grrleddies grrl Posts: 509
    ellie1282 wrote:
    Eddie met his father once or twice as a child, but only knew him as a friend of his mothers, who passed away. His mother's husband was an abusive jerk and once he learned he was not his real father, he changed his name from Eddie Louis Severson, to Vedder, his mom's maiden name.
    quote]

    Actually, according to Five Against One, his name was Eddie Mueller, after the stepfather, who Ed was raised to think was his real father. He was BORN E.L. Severson, but didn;t grow up as that. THAT was his biological father's last name. And Ed Sr. actually moved in with the Mueller family for a while, so Ed saw him more than once or twice. He just never knew he was his real father until after his death.
    Life is the riddle
    Of which we're caught in the middle.
    A couple of lucky ones
    Tangled up in too much love
    ~cowboy junkies
  • eddies grrleddies grrl Posts: 509
    LikeAnOcean wrote:
    I wonder if his mother is still married to that "bastard" and I wonder how he feels that some of the greatest rock songs in history are written about him.

    No, they divorced years ago. READ 5 Against 1, people!!!! :-)
    Life is the riddle
    Of which we're caught in the middle.
    A couple of lucky ones
    Tangled up in too much love
    ~cowboy junkies
  • hsewifhsewif Posts: 444
    eddie's grrl wrote:
    No, they divorced years ago. READ 5 Against 1, people!!!! :-)

    I've read the book a few times. The older I get and the older my children get I see Ed's step father in a new light. I don't see him as abusive anymore. I obviously don't know the truth but it seems like the man was a pretty good parent overall, at least he tried to be.

    Does anyone else agree?
  • PureandEasyPureandEasy Posts: 5,800
    Now it's making more and more sense to me :)

    You can't believe everything you read in an "unauthorized" book people
  • Restless SoulRestless Soul Posts: 805
    I'm not sure why, but for some reason I'm sure I read somewhere that Eddie's mother helped put his stepfather through law school, and eddie's own wages as a child model went to that cause too, but then when his stepfather became a lawyer he left the family for another woman. That's why he was referred to as "that lawyer fuck" by eddie once. I also think the stepfather has died since but I don't know when of course.

    I don't know if that's true though and I can't remember where I read it.
    "We have to change the concept of patriotism to one of “matriotism” — love of humanity that transcends war. A matriarch would never send her own children off to wars that kill other people’s children." Cindy Sheehan
    ---
    London, Brixton, 14 July 1993
    London, Wembley, 1996
    London, Wembley, 18 June 2007
    London, O2, 18 August 2009
    London, Hammersmith Apollo (Ed solo), 31 July 2012
    Milton Keynes Bowl, 11 July 2014
    London, Hammersmith Apollo (Ed solo), 06 June 2017
    London, O2, 18 June 2018
    London, O2, 17 July 2018
    Amsterdam, Afas Live (Ed solo), 09 June 2019
    Amsterdam, Afas Live (Ed solo), 10 June 2019



  • eddies grrleddies grrl Posts: 509
    PureandEasy wrote:
    Now it's making more and more sense to me :)

    You can't believe everything you read in an "unauthorized" book people

    I don't recall the band ever publicly disputing what Kim Neely wrote. It's widely considered a pretty good bio of the band. Have you read a different one you'd like to share with the class?
    Life is the riddle
    Of which we're caught in the middle.
    A couple of lucky ones
    Tangled up in too much love
    ~cowboy junkies
  • eddies grrleddies grrl Posts: 509
    hsewif wrote:
    I've read the book a few times. The older I get and the older my children get I see Ed's step father in a new light. I don't see him as abusive anymore. I obviously don't know the truth but it seems like the man was a pretty good parent overall, at least he tried to be.

    Does anyone else agree?

    Yes, I think that the way he's portrayed doesn't paint him as being a monster, but he & Ed definitely had their problems.
    Life is the riddle
    Of which we're caught in the middle.
    A couple of lucky ones
    Tangled up in too much love
    ~cowboy junkies
  • Restless SoulRestless Soul Posts: 805
    eddie's grrl wrote:
    Yes, I think that the way he's portrayed doesn't paint him as being a monster, but he & Ed definitely had their problems.

    Wasn't 5 against 1 written by Kim Neely? She didn't get on with eddie from what I recall so apparently she wrote a biased account against ed to make him look bad.

    But I haven't read that book so I don't know if thats true either. Sorry to be useless!
    "We have to change the concept of patriotism to one of “matriotism” — love of humanity that transcends war. A matriarch would never send her own children off to wars that kill other people’s children." Cindy Sheehan
    ---
    London, Brixton, 14 July 1993
    London, Wembley, 1996
    London, Wembley, 18 June 2007
    London, O2, 18 August 2009
    London, Hammersmith Apollo (Ed solo), 31 July 2012
    Milton Keynes Bowl, 11 July 2014
    London, Hammersmith Apollo (Ed solo), 06 June 2017
    London, O2, 18 June 2018
    London, O2, 17 July 2018
    Amsterdam, Afas Live (Ed solo), 09 June 2019
    Amsterdam, Afas Live (Ed solo), 10 June 2019



  • Ms. HaikuMs. Haiku Posts: 7,265
    I respect the journalistic integrity of "Five Against One" as much as I respect the opinion of a smushed snail covered in dog shit. If I recall correctly, the author previously was a Rolling Stone reporter, which taints the book right off the bat. (Do you think they get paid for number of pages or quality of work?) Of course the band would not dispute it. Who wants the negative press of sounding negatively against negative press? In this case it doesn't seem worth it. I have not heard anywhere that it is a respected bio of the band, especially since it focuses too much on one person. It's a grocery store tabloid covered in paperback markings. I didn't read it. It didn't seem fair.

    The only way to know about a person is by what that person decides to truthfully reveal.
    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
  • FlizankFlizank Posts: 59
    The era around Ten is when his songs were the most personal and about his father eg. Alive, Release, Footsteps etc..
    The era around Vs and Vitalogy is when he wrote lyrics based on the pressure and strain he suffered from the media etc (may i point out, the song Betterman, although on Vitalogy was actually written before Ten).
    Then I think that as the band began to shy away from the limelight Ed began to write about new, fresh things, until the release of Riot Act, which prompted more political lyrics.

    Pearl Jam has always been political. If anything, they were most political before Binarual (although Riot Act obviously quite political)
    PresiWAH of the Evenflow Fan Club
    Don't need a hand, there's always arms attached.
    Don't get behind I can't fall back.
    Why must we trust all these rusted rails?
    They don't want no change. We already have.
  • crazy mary78crazy mary78 Posts: 4
    We all know the stories about Eddie and his dad. What is beautiful is that Eddie has shared his stories with us through PJ's music, and they allow us to interprut the songs how we want to. All Pearl Jam's songs have their own different meaning to everyone, that is why I love PJ so much, so I'm sure Eddie has his own meanings in every song that he writes, some may not be as apparent as others. So maybe he sings about his father in every album, who knows, only Eddie. The awesome thing about music is it's extreme diversity, and ability to reach all people, without class and without race, sometimes we don't need to analyse a song just let it be what it is.
  • CycleflyCyclefly Posts: 17
    Does "Daddy Could Swear, I Declare" fit in somewhere?
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