Marker in the Sand

korbykorby Posts: 298
This song has layers of an onion i believe.

Its about "holy wars" .

It Also about people who would put themselves and others in harm or bad situations because thier faith tells them." over moral ground" do come down

Others agree that people shouldnt stay in hopeless situations for thier faith. Sometimes its better to walk away.

What do you say ?
its ok
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Comments

  • I listened to this song 6 times today. For some reason I just couldn't get enough of it. I think it's meaning is similar to any other politically motivated Pearl Jam song (something along the lines of powerful people who think they are doing right by us are actually ruining what we do have).

    I think it is one of the most well-written songs Pearl Jam has done. I think the rhyme schemes are phenominal. I like the way the chorus in many Pearl Jam songs changes throughout (ie "seeing visions of falling up somehow" the first time becomes "walk the bridges before you burn them down" the second time).

    Songwriting like this is why Pearl Jam doesn't dominate the top 40 anymore. It is far too cerebral for a mass audience. No offense to the millions of people who like simpler music, or the people who make said music. But it is the truth.
    I love my female wife...
    we sit around and wonder exactly why our marriage should feel threatened by gay marriage
  • I'm kind of surprised this song never gets radio-play. The lyrics aren't really that controversial and I think this has one of the catchiest choruses of the whole album. Out here in L.A., Life Wasted and WWS got a lot of airplay at first, but nothing else from the album was ever played. Did they ever release a third single? And if not, why? Instead we get the same Killers and the Chili Peps song over and over and over. Rock radio out here sucks.
    Change don't come at once, it's a wave, building before it breaks.
  • Ms. HaikuMs. Haiku Posts: 7,265
    I was just reading the lyrics, and some of the words are very sharp, very direct - like from someone who is past anger or confusion and is willing to hurt back, and some of the words I don't get. I need to look at them again because I want to understand the parts I don't get.
    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
  • Ms. Haiku wrote:
    I was just reading the lyrics, and some of the words are very sharp, very direct - like from someone who is past anger or confusion and is willing to hurt back, and some of the words I don't get. I need to look at them again because I want to understand the parts I don't get.

    Which parts didn't you get?
    I love my female wife...
    we sit around and wonder exactly why our marriage should feel threatened by gay marriage
  • Ms. HaikuMs. Haiku Posts: 7,265
    Which parts didn't you get?
    There is a marker,... No one sees it cause the sand
    Has covered over,... All the messages it kept
    Misunderstanding,... What original truth was
    And out expanding,... In a faith, but not in love

    What went wrong?

    Walking tightrope high,... Over moral ground
    Seeing visions of,............. Falling up somehow
    Do come down


    With the living, Let,..... What is living love
    So unforgiving, yet,.... Needing forgiveness first

    God, what do you say?

    Those undecided,........ Needn't have faith to be free
    And those misguided, There was a plan for them to be
    Now you got both sides Claiming killing in Gods name
    But God is nowhere,..... To be found, conveniently

    What goes on?

    Walking tightrope high,... Over moral ground
    Seeing visions of,............. Before you burn them down
    Do come round


    With a living, let,...... What is living love
    So unforgiving, yet... Needing forgiveness first

    God, what do you say? What do you say?

    There is a sickness,...... A sickness coming over me
    Like watching freedom,. Being sucked straight out to sea
    And the solution?,........ Well, from me far would let it be
    But the delusion,.......... Is feeling dangerous to me

    What goes wrong?

    Walking tightrope high,... Over moral ground
    Seeing visions of,............. Falling up somehow
    Do come down


    With a living, let,...... What is living love
    So unforgiving, yet... Needing forgiveness first

    God, what do you say? What do you say?

    Calling out,......... Calling out.
    Calling out,......... I'm calling you out.

    I bolded the initial parts I don't understand.
    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
  • Ms. Haiku wrote:

    Walking tightrope high,... Over moral ground
    Seeing visions of,............. Falling up somehow
    Do come down


    A delusion of moral righteousness, I think.
    Ms. Haiku wrote:

    Walking tightrope high,... Over moral ground
    Seeing visions of,............. Before you burn them down
    Do come round



    The correct line is:

    "Walk the bridges be...fore you burn them down"
    Ab Pbqr
  • korbykorby Posts: 298
    do u find the words sound different than what the liner notes say ?

    in some versus ???

    they reminded me of a conversation i had with a co-worker about marriage, faith and war.
    its ok
  • korbykorby Posts: 298
    Scigatt wrote:
    A delusion of moral righteousness, I think.



    The correct line is:

    "Walk the bridges be...fore you burn them down"


    i know alot of bridges. some are still there. some damaged. some gone.
    fortunatley i learn from my mistakes
    its ok
  • SpunkieSpunkie Posts: 6,672
    Did you ever play a game of trust where you fall backwards into your partners arms and get caught? This whole falling theme reminds me of the time I wasn't caught. Damn.
  • eclecticeclectic Posts: 244
    korby wrote:
    i know alot of bridges. some are still there. some damaged. some gone.
    fortunatley i learn from my mistakes
    Does it not suggest keep talking and exploring the diplomatic route regardless, cos after 'shock and awe' and the like,you have a distinct lack of bridges and a whole lot of avoidable innocents in body bags?
    'All the rusted signs,we ignore throughout our lives,
    Choosing the shiny ones instead'

    Reading 06 - Torino 06 - Wembley 07
  • smarcheesmarchee Posts: 14,539
    I am cranking this song right now because I love this song and any mention of it makes me want to hear it LOUD

    This little ditty rules me
    1998 ~ Barrie
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    2009 ~ Toronto, Chicago I, Chicago II
    2010 ~ Cleveland, Buffalo
    2011 ~ Toronto I, Toronto II, Ottawa, Hamilton
    2013 - London, Pittsburgh, Buffalo
    2014 - Detroit
    2019 - Chicago X 2
  • My3rdEyeMy3rdEye Posts: 927
    Love this song. It's got such a cool groove to it. I love the choppy guitars. I was sorta suprised to see that the music was written by Mike. It's just got an Ed feel to it to me for some reason.

    I've never really examined the lyrics to this one too much but it seems to me its questioning both sides of the current wars we find ourselves involved in. Both sides are fighting based on their own set of morals or ideals.

    What went wrong?
  • kenny olavkenny olav Posts: 3,319
    I'm kind of surprised this song never gets radio-play. The lyrics aren't really that controversial and I think this has one of the catchiest choruses of the whole album. Out here in L.A., Life Wasted and WWS got a lot of airplay at first, but nothing else from the album was ever played. Did they ever release a third single? And if not, why? Instead we get the same Killers and the Chili Peps song over and over and over. Rock radio out here sucks.

    Their 3rd single was Gone. But apparently it didn't take off. I think MITS would have been a better choice.
  • korbykorby Posts: 298
    mits ?
    its ok
  • kinetickinetic Posts: 148
    korby wrote:
    mits ?

    MITS=Marker in the Sand

    or oven mitts (the B-side)
    When you're married, you'll understand the importance of fresh produce.
  • spiral outspiral out Posts: 1,052
    I'm kind of surprised this song never gets radio-play. The lyrics aren't really that controversial and I think this has one of the catchiest choruses of the whole album. Out here in L.A., Life Wasted and WWS got a lot of airplay at first, but nothing else from the album was ever played. Did they ever release a third single? And if not, why? Instead we get the same Killers and the Chili Peps song over and over and over. Rock radio out here sucks.

    Man radio sucks way more over here in england we don't get any new pearl jam stuff, were just subjected to crap all day.
    Keep on rockin in the free world!!!!

    The economy has polarized to the point where the wealthiest 10% now own 85% of the nation’s wealth. Never before have the bottom 90% been so highly indebted, so dependent on the wealthy.
  • korbykorby Posts: 298
    anyone know where this marker is ?
    its ok
  • I'm kind of surprised this song never gets radio-play. The lyrics aren't really that controversial and I think this has one of the catchiest choruses of the whole album. Out here in L.A., Life Wasted and WWS got a lot of airplay at first, but nothing else from the album was ever played. Did they ever release a third single? And if not, why? Instead we get the same Killers and the Chili Peps song over and over and over. Rock radio out here sucks.
    this is the reason it still means as much to u today as the first time you heard it cause its not back ground noise that u shut out
  • gue_bariumgue_barium Posts: 5,515
    korby wrote:
    anyone know where this marker is ?

    in the sand.

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    except by express written permission of ©gue_barium, the author.
  • gleemonexgleemonex Posts: 848
    This song is best in the context of the album. I see this song as Eddie's plea to God to help out on Earth. There's this war going on right now in Iraq that can't be won because we are so fundamentally different, both sides are fighting in the name of God. All these people have delusions that what they do will get them into Heaven (falling up somehow). I see the Marker in the Sand as Ed raising his hand waiting to ask God how we can make this all better and the point of this song is to get everyone else to raise their hands as well. If God looking down on Earth sees 6 billion markers in the sand maybe He'd give us an answer.
    “Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.’” - Kurt Vonnegut
  • cornnifercornnifer Posts: 2,130
    gleemonex wrote:
    This song is best in the context of the album. I see this song as Eddie's plea to God to help out on Earth. There's this war going on right now in Iraq that can't be won because we are so fundamentally different, both sides are fighting in the name of God. All these people have delusions that what they do will get them into Heaven (falling up somehow). I see the Marker in the Sand as Ed raising his hand waiting to ask God how we can make this all better and the point of this song is to get everyone else to raise their hands as well. If God looking down on Earth sees 6 billion markers in the sand maybe He'd give us an answer.

    i like this interpretation and agree. i think some people hear this song as a challenge to the very notion or idea of God, and i just don't hear that at all. i think it points to the hypocrisy of some people who do bad things in God's name. i think it is ringing acknowledgement of God, and, for lack of a better term, prayer for God to show us the error of our ways and straighten us out.

    "do come down, with the living, let what is living love..."
    "When all your friends and sedatives mean well but make it worse... better find yourself a place to level out."
  • korbykorby Posts: 298
    i finally got it. all of it. took me long enough. it shook me...fuck.

    what happened there? what went wrong ?
    its ok
  • gleemonex wrote:
    This song is best in the context of the album. I see this song as Eddie's plea to God to help out on Earth. There's this war going on right now in Iraq that can't be won because we are so fundamentally different, both sides are fighting in the name of God. All these people have delusions that what they do will get them into Heaven (falling up somehow). I see the Marker in the Sand as Ed raising his hand waiting to ask God how we can make this all better and the point of this song is to get everyone else to raise their hands as well. If God looking down on Earth sees 6 billion markers in the sand maybe He'd give us an answer.

    well said. i really like your interpretation, especially " All these people have delusions that what they do will get them into Heaven (falling up somehow)." hadnt thought about it that way before.
  • korbykorby Posts: 298
    like praying. saying "i am christian" i believe. i even go to church sometimes.

    and then hurt the person you are closest too. like cheat on a spouse
    its ok
  • gue_bariumgue_barium Posts: 5,515
    I kind of think of "a marker in the sand" as a take on "the writing on the wall." The observer of this "sign" identifies with the character, ponders the meaning, and asks himself, "what went wrong?"
    I tend to think of the observer as a soldier looking over a fallen comrade, or even more simply, a failed war, a failed leader.
    "God, what do you say?" means: "I'm calling you out..." to the godless one, the dead.

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  • gue_bariumgue_barium Posts: 5,515
    Damn, that's a good song. I just listened to it for the first time in awhile.

    Q: er, that was an interesting interpretation you gave.
    A: well, i was tired, i could have worded it better, i guess.
    Q: what do you mean by "calling out" to "the godless, the dead"?
    A: well, i understand the general idea of the song. that being that there is no god to say anything at all. i mean, that's what i think most people pick up on. i see it a little differently.
    Q: how so?
    A: the war isn't over, so i don't really align myself with the people who see this song in an attitude that is in a "haha, i told you so" kind of way, or a taking sides sort of way. we're all soldiering on, collectively, through this mess.
    Q: hmmm.

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  • korbykorby Posts: 298
    i thnik im getting a clearer interpretation of the song now. and it probly hits home closer to different people. sometimes the music is so layereed its takes a long time for the lyrics to become clear. did for me anyway. maby im just reading into it, my own peronal feelings . especially lately. im feeling its a war at home. not the battlefield
    its ok
  • augustwestaugustwest Posts: 739
    The music on this song is really what gets me going :)

    Lyrically, I don't spend a lot of time over analying any lyrics, but the central theme I lean towards is the very fine line between right and wrong and the judgment process around which makes one person lean one way vs the other
  • gue_bariumgue_barium Posts: 5,515
    augustwest wrote:
    The music on this song is really what gets me going :)

    Lyrically, I don't spend a lot of time over analying any lyrics, but the central theme I lean towards is the very fine line between right and wrong and the judgment process around which makes one person lean one way vs the other

    It's razor thin, isn't it?

    The horror, the horror. I mean of the snail in Marlon Brando's Apocalypse Now.

    I think there's a good fight to be carried that doesn't absolve itself in madness.

    What does this mean?
    You want real answers?

    Funny thing is, you are, you're looking for answers.

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    except by express written permission of ©gue_barium, the author.
  • korbykorby Posts: 298
    gue_barium wrote:
    It's razor thin, isn't it?

    The horror, the horror. I mean of the snail in Marlon Brando's Apocalypse Now.

    I think there's a good fight to be carried that doesn't absolve itself in madness.

    What does this mean?
    You want real answers?

    Funny thing is, you are, you're looking for answers.


    you know. messages that are that deep about the meaning of the lyrics in some rock song. people r gonna start calling you nuts. they already tell me that
    its ok
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