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Off He Goes

OneLoveOneLove Posts: 563
edited August 2006 in Words and Music...Communication
Ok, I've heard this song 1000 times. Always liked it, but tonite it really hit the sweet spot, if you know what I mean. Things going on in life tend to lead me to different PJ songs. That is why I love this band, you can listen to an album and suddently the depth of a particular song brings new meaning.

I got chills, I fought back tears, and I rocked out just the same.

This song totally reminds me of a moment of lucidity with an addict. Or, maybe more accurately the cycle that an addict goes through.

A moment of lucidity where you honestly think this time they have the strength to kick the habit, its like things used to be, and then there they go.

Or, perhaps it is just because I experienced one of those moments today with someone, and I'm bending the meaning to suit my mood.

Anyway, love to hear your thoughts on this song.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • CHANGEinWAVESCHANGEinWAVES Posts: 10,169
    I never payed attention to this song before...but i loved it on the Benaroya Hall cd...and later rediscovered it on No code..and fell even more in love with the studio version...a peacefullness to it.(almost like u are there in the room)
    "I'm not present, I'm a drug that makes you dream"
  • jammerfalljammerfall Posts: 908
    One of my favorite tracks off of "No Code." I've known people who have gone away and then come back; nothing's changed yet everything is different. I always relate this song to those particular situations.

    'Scuse me now, gotta go put on NC. ;)
    "Hello Oregonians. Hello Washingtonians. Hello Portland..where the fuck are we? We're in Ridgefield!"
  • OneLoveOneLove Posts: 563
    jammerfall wrote:
    One of my favorite tracks off of "No Code." I've known people who have gone away and then come back; nothing's changed yet everything is different. I always relate this song to those particular situations.

    'Scuse me now, gotta go put on NC. ;)

    That is exactly what I always took from the song. That said, with my most current view, the "off he goes" isn't literal, its figurative.

    :)
  • romybianromybian Posts: 1,644
    That's exactly what I feel when I listen to it...
    I've also had experienced something similar with a friend...
    and everytime...Before his first step... he is off again

    "And now he's home... and we're laughing...
    like we always did... my same old... same old friend

    Until a quarter-to-ten... "

    Like... u think he's done it, there may be some hope, but he's always off again, though some moments, when he's sober, it's like nothing changed.....until a quarter to ten, till he falls, and he's off again...

    I even sent him this song and he said it was amazing, how it described the whole situation... now I don't see him that much, it was starting to hurt so I decided to let him be, and there he goes.
    "The joke in your language won't come out the same" (Tom Petty)
    I'm no dude! Dudette!
  • pjalive21pjalive21 Posts: 2,818
    after hearing Ed dedicate this song on the Seattle bootleg to one of those killed in Roskilde i have a whole new respect for the song
  • OneLoveOneLove Posts: 563
    romybian wrote:
    That's exactly what I feel when I listen to it...
    I've also had experienced something similar with a friend...
    and everytime...Before his first step... he is off again

    "And now he's home... and we're laughing...
    like we always did... my same old... same old friend

    Until a quarter-to-ten... "

    Like... u think he's done it, there may be some hope, but he's always off again, though some moments, when he's sober, it's like nothing changed.....until a quarter to ten, till he falls, and he's off again...

    I even sent him this song and he said it was amazing, how it described the whole situation... now I don't see him that much, it was starting to hurt so I decided to let him be, and there he goes.

    Damn, exactly. I think the song touches on the hook of addiction too, the way it has stripped my Mom's ability to deal with things on an emotional level.

    "I wonder bout his insides...
    Its like his thoughts are too big for his size
    He's been taken... where? I don't know... off he goes
    With his perfectly... unkept hope... there he goes"

    So I guess in my case its there She goes.
  • JPS79JPS79 Posts: 148
    My friend was away at rehab when no code came out and the 1st time I heard this song and still to this day I think of that time now over 10 yrs ago.
    Seems the more you make
    equals the loneliness you get
  • dharma69dharma69 Posts: 1,275
    "He's been taken... where?
    I don't know... off he goes
    With his perfectly... unkept hope...
    There he goes..."

    Of all the lines in this song, these are my chill lines. These words, their delivery say such a wealth. Unkept hope, indeed...

    I don't know if this song had a specific person as a target but it's such a sad but gorgeous piece of work that I can't help but feel it. And the love behind it.
    "I'm here to see Pearl Jam."- Bono

    ...signed...the token black Pearl Jam fan.

    FaceSpace
  • Two BirdsTwo Birds Posts: 256
    I thought this song was written about Neil Young? Could be wrong.. but that is what I was told.
    Peace,
    ________________________
    Too many shows but never enough!
    These guys are the fruit of the earth...
  • improvgirl312improvgirl312 Posts: 40
    Could it be about Kurt Cobain?

    Sounds kinda dumb, but that's the impression I got.
    Once upon a time, there was a lovely little sausage called Baldrick, and it lived happily ever after. The End.
  • PRfCTlYUNkPTCLtHsPRfCTlYUNkPTCLtHs Posts: 120
    This song is very relevant to me aswell. It has a lot of meaning to me. I have an ex..that was/is an alcoholic & needless to say was/is in & out of my life. I adore him, but can't take the heartache of his addiction. I actually played it for him once..If it weren't for all of the drinking we'd probably be married by now.
    Anywho..just when I think he's cleaned up & is going to stay around & be the person I care about "He's off again." I won't bore you with anymore of the details..but yeah..great song..& I think you've hit the nail on the head...for me, it is about the cycle of an addict.


    *it's Perfectly unkept clothes*
    No need to be void,.. or save up on life,...
    Got to spend it all,.....

    "Those who dance are called insane by those who don't hear the music." EV

    1-14-95, 9-04-00, 7-01-03, 5-30-06, 10-21-06, 10-22-06, 6-17-08, 6-22-08, 8-16-08 E.V., 6-15-09 E.V., 10-28-09, 5-13-10.
  • belfast1belfast1 Posts: 788
    i love this tune - 'nice little ditty' - ev

    it makes me think about several old friends of mine...

    i suppose it could be about neil young - wouldve been written around the time they were recording mirrorball?
    dublin 1996 london 2000 dublin 2006 prague 2006 copenhagen 2007 london 2007 rotterdam 2009 london 2009 dublin 2010 belfast 2010 vienna 2014 amsterdam 2014 london 2018
  • fran9480fran9480 Posts: 53
    I believe Ed has said in the past that he wrote this song about himself, and what a shitty friend he is. He may have been just joking, but I don't think he was.
  • mrwalkerbmrwalkerb Posts: 1,015
    fran9480 wrote:
    I believe Ed has said in the past that he wrote this song about himself, and what a shitty friend he is. He may have been just joking, but I don't think he was.

    I've heard him introp this as a song about an asshole and that kind of makes sense (not calling him an ass but you get what I mean) and the line about the clothes would fit him as well.
    "I'm not suicidal, except when I drink. That's why we don't all drink at the same time, there'd be no-one alive to drive home..."
    Chris Cornell

    http://www.myspace.com/mrwalkerb
  • OneLoveOneLove Posts: 563
    mrwalkerb wrote:
    I've heard him introp this as a song about an asshole and that kind of makes sense (not calling him an ass but you get what I mean) and the line about the clothes would fit him as well.

    Also an interesting theory. :)

    I'm sorry that others here have had similar experiences to myself with caring about an addict, but atleast we all find comfort in the song.

    Or, maybe Ed wrote it about Neil Young (think I heard that somewhere too, actually). Ed really has a talent, to write lyrics that are so dead on with addicts, and could also mean something totally different to another person.
  • TowsertunesTowsertunes Posts: 187
    I believe also that this song is about Ed.
    "unkept clothes".

    "Thoughts are too big for his size".

    "But I've seen his picture
    Doesn't look the same upon the rack".

    I took this line as meaning seeing himself
    on a magazine rack.

    Great tune.
    "they don't give a shit Keith Moon is dead,
    is that exactly what I thought I read?"


    How I choose to feel,...Is how I am.
  • releaselaurenreleaselauren Posts: 384
    "and there he goes....he's off again"


    that line, to me, equals relapse into addiction. To those that have dealt with an addict, that line pretty much sums up hope washed away.
    "you shall be released" ~ EV
  • DissidentmanDissidentman Posts: 15,378
    I see this song as a story being relayed to us by a friend of Ed's, about Ed.
  • damn_u85damn_u85 Posts: 6
    ya good observation I see how you would get that this songs about an addict. But I think it may not be that complicated. I think it may just be about a brother or somethin that he never got to hang out with just because he had that party lifestyle.


    he said I'll see you on the flipside....it's like his thoughts are to big for his size
  • tonestones Posts: 104
    it very well could be about Ed, through someone else's eyes. I was talking to someone about the meaning of this song and they thought it even sounded like he was talking about an innocent little boy....just one interpretation.
    "Your light's reflected now,... reflected from afar...
    We were but stones,... your light made us stars"
  • suffragettesuffragette Posts: 253
    I relate this song to a client of mine, a very intelligent guy who refuses to help himself. His has big thoughts, but no follow through, therefore has never moved into the life he should have had by now.

    And no, I'm not a prostitute. I'm a peer counselor in mental health and this guy taught me a lot about boundaries and letting people go.

    Off he goes indeed. Dammit.
  • OneLoveOneLove Posts: 563
    dissidentman wrote:
    I see this song as a story being relayed to us by a friend of Ed's, about Ed.


    I used to think that is what the song was about as well. Until I was discussing it with a friend. they pointed out that the song being about ed would be kind of self-deprecating (spelling?) which really isn't Ed's style, you know? Just seems self centered or something.

    Either way, love the song. suffragette, you do good work,
    I admire people who contribute to folks lives as you do :)
  • suffragettesuffragette Posts: 253
    Well, I haven't contributed to his, as he's still stuck in the same place, believing that his thoughts really are too big for his size. I get no big victories in my work and that gets me down.
  • OneLoveOneLove Posts: 563
    suffragette wrote:
    Well, I haven't contributed to his, as he's still stuck in the same place, believing that his thoughts really are too big for his size. I get no big victories in my work and that gets me down.


    You do more for people than you'll ever know. Keep at it, serioulsy. You never know, maybe he'll turn the corner. Even if you don't witness it personally, perhaps you've planted a seed that someday will help him figure things out.

    Huge, sincere hugs to you.
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