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PJ's life-changing lyrics

harmless_little_f***harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
edited December 2007 in The Porch
At the risk of being overly sentimental, has anyone literally had their lives changed by some PJ lyrics?

Perhaps a set of lyrics went so inherently with a particular time in your life that you're not the same person since you heard them - either for the first time, or again, more recently.

Post what gets you 'right there', and perhaps a story to help us understand why.

I'll go first:

'Caught a bolt of lightning
Cursed the day he let it go.'

I'm going through a divorce and these lyrics stay with me like a satchel on my back.

'You can spend your time alone
Redigesting past regrets
Or you can come to terms and realize
You're the only one who can't forgive yourself

Makes much more sense.. to live in the present tense.'

I can honestly say that this philosophy has never fully clicked in place for me. Before getting married, I always looked back, never forward. At present, I'm happiest when I think of nothing but what needs to be done in the present second.. minute.. hour. Everything else will get looked at when it comes up. Every second counts. Only the present second matters. And I literally have PJ to thank for getting that into my head.
'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

- the great Sir Leo Harrison
Post edited by Unknown User on

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    Sian-of-the-deadSian-of-the-dead Posts: 8,963
    Nothingman - slapped me round the face with the line "Empty stares...from each corner of a shared prison cell..."
    My 6 year relationship was over and we both knew it.

    Given to Fly - helped me rebuild myself after said relationship broke down and I discovered he'd been lying to me for years. Made me recognise the fact my life wasn't over just because i'd lost what I saw at the time as 'everything'.
    "But first he was stripped and then he was stabbed... By faceless men, well, fuckers...He still stands" really stands out for me. Given is my song for realising i'd grown up and HAD to move on.

    Parachutes - took sometime to rebuild everything but got back on track and, after a while of being content, re-discovering life and feelings I thought i'd lost, I found this one. This song for me, represents my hope and future. To be honest, and only IMO, there isn't a lyric out of place in this song.
    I really love the lines "Cause when we're dead, We would've had it all" and "And to grasp this, I don't know"
    I just love the way it's sang too, so unsure but happy in whatever lies the unknown... as if, no matter what, everythings gonna be ok.

    Nuff said ;)
    Been to this many PJ shows: Reading 2006 London 2007 Manchester & London 2009 Dublin, Belfast, London, Nijmegen & Berlin 2010 Manchester 1 & Manchester 2 2012...

    ... and I still think Drive-By Truckers are better.
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    harmless_little_f***harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
    Sian-of-the-dead wrote:
    Nothingman - slapped me round the face with the line "Empty stares...from each corner of a shared prison cell..."
    My 6 year relationship was over and we both knew it.

    Given to Fly - helped me rebuild myself after said relationship broke down and I discovered he'd been lying to me for years. Made me recognise the fact my life wasn't over just because i'd lost what I saw at the time as 'everything'.
    "But first he was stripped and then he was stabbed... By faceless men, well, fuckers...He still stands" really stands out for me. Given is my song for realising i'd grown up and HAD to move on.

    Parachutes - took sometime to rebuild everything but got back on track and, after a while of being content, re-discovering life and feelings I thought i'd lost, I found this one. This song for me, represents my hope and future. To be honest, and only IMO, there isn't a lyric out of place in this song.
    I really love the lines "Cause when we're dead, We would've had it all" and "And to grasp this, I don't know"
    I just love the way it's sang too, so unsure but happy in whatever lies the unknown... as if, no matter what, everythings gonna be ok.

    Nuff said ;)

    Thanks for your responses Sian. :)
    'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

    - the great Sir Leo Harrison
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    tmud91087tmud91087 Posts: 97
    "All the rusted signs, we ignore throughout our lives. Choosing the shiny ones instead."

    This one, along with the whole song, from Thumbing My Way is just incredible. It is so true.
    5/24/06 - Boston
    5/25/06 - Boston
    6/28/08 - Mansfield
    6/30/08 - Mansfield
    8/2/08 - Eddie in Boston (FRONT ROW!)
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    harmless_little_f***harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
    tmud91087 wrote:
    "All the rusted signs, we ignore throughout our lives. Choosing the shiny ones instead."

    This one, along with the whole song, from Thumbing My Way is just incredible. It is so true.

    Nod nod.
    'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

    - the great Sir Leo Harrison
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    Sian-of-the-deadSian-of-the-dead Posts: 8,963
    tmud91087 wrote:
    "All the rusted signs, we ignore throughout our lives. Choosing the shiny ones instead."

    This one, along with the whole song, from Thumbing My Way is just incredible. It is so true.

    uhuh *nods*
    Been to this many PJ shows: Reading 2006 London 2007 Manchester & London 2009 Dublin, Belfast, London, Nijmegen & Berlin 2010 Manchester 1 & Manchester 2 2012...

    ... and I still think Drive-By Truckers are better.
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    KeiranKeiran Posts: 393
    RVM - "I gather speed from you fucking with me"

    Great way to take the crap people give you and use it to my full potential. And, I don't mean by turning it back against them. But, by taking the power of my anger and using that energy to fuel my will and drive towards what I know is right for me.

    I had a terrible problem with anger, it ate away at me like a cancer. These lyrics truly changed my life and the lives of those who are around me for the better.

    One of the bizillion reasons I love Pearl Jam!!!!
    I wish a guy like Eddie, would like me.
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    TouringFan2000TouringFan2000 Posts: 305
    during my breakup and divorce, the lyrics from nothingman saved me from drowning in despair. future's above ... but in the past he's slow and sinking. the shame and the relief i felt the first time i heard that line was overwhelming. to know that i was making such a terrible mistake (getting mired in the past) but also to know that someone else had gone through exactly the same thing in the same way ... it was a pretty profound moment for me.

    i'm not sure i'd call it one of my favorites but i think it's one of ed's best-written songs. it's absolutely perfect, lyrically.
    Give way to nature ...
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    pjtradekingpjtradeking Posts: 4,045
    "I know someday you'll have a beautiful life, I know you'll be a sun, in someone elses sky.. but why...why....How can it be mine...."
    Never, ever, flipping forget
    "Free Shipping" SPEEDY MCCREADY

    My friend was going to see Eddie last night. Since he was in Vegas, I gave him 5 Grand to gamble with. I told him I wanted it all to go on Black. Bastard! PhillyCrownOfThorns-11-2-12
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    Yellow LedbellyYellow Ledbelly Posts: 3,749
    My first year of college ('96) my long-time friend, a female, got engaged and then found out he was cheating on her. We were and still are very close and I listened to 'Nothingman' in a totally different light ever since then because it applied to her so well.

    Personally, 'I Am Mine' changed the way I thought about a lot of things, kind of made me try to take care of myself a little more than I had in the past instead of trying to please other people with whatever I did.
    'Given to fly' has also given me strength when things weren't going so well. I get chills every time I listen to the 'Fuckers, he still stands" line. Folks may be against and things may suck, but they can't eat you. Everybody needs to be reminded of that on occasion

    Black applies so well because I had one of those relationships I wished she was a star in my sky but knew she never would be.

    Other lyrics have definitely hit me hard throughout the years, but those three made the most memorable and lasting impact on me
    All I have to do is revel in the everyday....then do it again tomorrow

    They say every sin is deadly but I believe they may be wrong...I'm guilty of all seven and I don't feel too bad at all
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    harmless_little_f***harmless_little_f*** Posts: 8,005
    Thanks everyone for the responses so far..
    'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'

    - the great Sir Leo Harrison
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    edvedder913edvedder913 Posts: 1,810
    My fave lyrics:
    Do you see the way that tree bends?
    Does it inspire?
    Leaning out to catch the sun's rays
    A lesson to be applied

    Have you ideas on how this life ends?
    Checked your hands and studied the lines
    Have you the belief that the road ahead, ascends off into the light?
    Seems that needlessly it's getting harder
    To find an approach and a way to live

    And just about all of GTF.....so inspiring!

    I also love "a chin of stone a heart of clay" from Parting Ways
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    deadnotedeadnote Posts: 1,678
    nothing man and better man resonate for me


    also thanks for killing people in my mind and tempting me to trip the innocent boy
    set your laughter free

    dreamer in my dream

    we got the guns

    i love you,but im..............callin out.........callin out
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    Boston's got IDBoston's got ID Posts: 32
    Pearl jam lyrics move people in so many ways. I have more than 40 songs off the top of my head that I could pull something from. It's one of the things that makes them the best band ever. Everyone can relate in their own ways to the words and/or the music, they are both so well written and powerful.
    Jam on...
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    smile05smile05 Posts: 600
    all the love gone bad,turned my word to black

    still has strong 17 years on
    1:Black 2:Corduroy 3:All Those Yesterdays 4:I Got ID 5:Smile

    They can buy but cant put on my clothes
    Throw down my ace in the hole~~~~~~

    Let's go for three in a row, no sorry i can't think of anything thats not funny. - Paul Merton

    London96,Manchester00,Berlin06,London07
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    eMMIeMMI Posts: 6,262
    oooh, so many lines to choose from!!

    PJ lyrics have changed me and my life in the past and they continue to do so still..

    hmm.

    "how I choose to feel is how I am" along with "it's all state of mind". :)
    I love those lines and keep trying to live my life with that mentality.

    the whole song Indifference ("my" Pearl Jam song ;) ).. wow, when I first really heard it I was blown away. I can't point out a certain line in the song, it was the whole thing. I was feeling like crap and had been taking a lot of shite from my friends but that song made me realise I couldn't go on like the way is was anymore.

    I'm not sure if it's changed my life but I love "I'm lost, I'm no guide but I'm by your side". that's how I feel about my friends, family, everyone I love. especially when they're going through something - I might be just as confused and lost as they are but I'll be there.



    there's bound to be other lines.. but those are first ones that came to mind. :)
    "Don't be faint-hearted, I have a solution! We shall go and commandeer some small craft, then drift at leisure until we happen upon another ideal place for our waterside supper with riparian entertainments."
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    decides2dreamdecides2dream Posts: 14,976
    i can't really say any *changed my life*...but more like, helped me identify.....feel not alone, felt like someone else out there felt like me, or *got* me.


    as much shite as the song gets for being popular, i'd have to say betterman hit me hard for a long time. thankfully, i no longer feel like that in reality :)...but at a time, yea........


    also, when man of the hour first came out, my father was already long dead....but man, did it hit me! still does.


    hail, hail has always been a strong identifier for me in regards to realitionships, and depending on how i am feeling...can be a real testiment to love....positive, or negative. ;)


    i'm open totally makes me feel the possibility of my own mind, and a new/different perspective.

    lastly, just the line how i choose to feel is how i am from inside job...well yea, says it all.



    there are countless other lyric snippets that i feel/identify with regularly.....see http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=152510 or http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=150934 for starters. :D
    Stay with me...
    Let's just breathe...


    I am myself like you somehow


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    Marcus MaximusMarcus Maximus Posts: 282
    from my fav pearl jam song and for the me the best song ever Breath

    if I knew where it was I would take you there but there's much more
    than this.

    When ever im down i always remember this line, it tells me high just walk outside go to somewhere youve never been it tells me to let go who knows were your gonna be tomorrow which is so cool
    Speaking as a child of the 90's
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    Ms. HaikuMs. Haiku Washington DC Posts: 7,250
    . . . Given to Fly . . . (and all the words that surround those 3 absolutely beautiful words). I found a song that conveys the joy within a runner's high perfectly! I keep reaching for the flying, and I keep waiting for that song to shuffle on my iPOD :)
    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
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    gjemselgjemsel Posts: 77
    Betterman. I still get chills every time I hear it. Its hard to put into words unless you've lived it.
    . . . and in the aching night under satellites, I was not received. --CC
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