Well since one of the other songs is called Johnny Guitar it's safe to say that the lost of his best friend is still on Eddie Vedders mind. A best friend who had prostate cancer and left many who loved him behind.I thought maybe this song was written for him but the line about leaving someone behind with the kids doesn't support that theory. Johnny Ramone didn't have kids.
Randell's island 1,2-1996
Ft Lauderdale-1996
New Jersey-1998
MSG 1,2-1998
Jones beach 1,2,3-2000
Nassau-2003
msg 1,2-2003
Boston-2004
Kissimmee-2004
Philly-2006
New Jersey 2-2006
MSG 1 , 2 2008
Eddie Vedder Solo 1,2-2008
I guess after I heard it, I took it more as a kind of desperate attempt by a man who knows a relationship is probably over, but is desperately trying to keep the other person from actually leaving. Like listen, I know I fucked up and have been caught, I'll take the blaim, but I am just a human after all, can't you see if you just gave me another shot, I could try. I need you to help me see myself, cause I'm lost.
Maybe I'm just freaking out and making up stuff but I think I agree with the original post
Gonna see my friend
"I'm going to shake this thing
I'm wanna shake this pain before I retire"
And retire has always been a synonym for death.
And of course the "Buona Sera".
The Fixer
The whole song is all about how he is going to fix things. Very classic boy makes things right for girl. And the last stanzas are about staying by her side, "Find us a way to make a light" and "I'll dig your grave" - thus implying he'll be there for her when she dies.
Just Breathe
"Yes I understand that every life must end
As we sit alone, I know somday we must go"
"Stay with me
Let's just breathe"
Then there are three stanzas of essentially saying "did I ever tell you how much I love you" and it ends with
"Hold me till I die...
Meet you on the other side"
Amonst the Waves
The entire song continues this theme of "did I ever tell you how much I love you"
and then ends with "gotta say it now
Better loud
than too late"
Unthought Known
This song, from narrator to 'you' discusses the great expanse of the sky and notes
"see the path cut by the moon... for you to walk on"
and later notes "see the waves on distant shores... for you to walk on"
Both the path to heaven concept and the distant shores metaphor symbolizes heaven or an afterlife.
Speed of Sound
If this is not the song of man contemplating his own mortality while his wife sleeps beside him, I don't know what it is.
"Yesterdays, how quick they change
All lost and long gone now"
And then the refrain of battling despair and clinging to hope:
"And yet I'm still holding tight
to this dream of distant light
and that somehow I'll survive
But this night as been a long one
waiting on the sun... that just don't come"
I believe we mean 'survive' quite literally.
Force of Nature
"One man stands the edge of the ocean
a beacon on dry land
eyes upon the horizon
in the dark before the dawn"
While I can certainly see this being a literal moment as well, it is also quite metaphorical. The ocean and the horizon both being symbols of journey and death, and the solitary man facing this journey in the dark sounds a whole lot like a man who is facing death.
"All the strength you might think would disappear"
doesn't make sense in the literal sense of a man standing on a beach, but it does make sense if we are talking about a man facing his own death.
"Makes me ache... makes me shake
Is it so wrong to think that love can keep us safe?"
The End
"What were all those dreams we shared
those many years ago?
What were all those plans we made
Now left beside the road?
Behind us in the road"
"I wanted to grow old
Just want to grow old"
"Don't leave me so cold
or buried beneath the stones" .... headstones.
"Sickness in my bones .... a bit of a leap, but leukemia came to mind.
How it pains to leave you here
with the kids on your own
Just don't let me go"
--I don't think he means divorce.
"Before I disappear
whisper in my ear
give me something to echo
in my unknown future's ear"
"My dear
the end
comes near
I'm here
But not much longer"
"...Dimitri...He talks to me...'.."The Ghost of Greece..".
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
This song - and maybe Just Breathe - sound like a couple gems that Ed created for ITW but kept them up his sleeve to compose them with the band...great fucking songs
This song - and maybe Just Breathe - sound like a couple gems that Ed created for ITW but kept them up his sleeve to compose them with the band...great fucking songs
yes..amazing both..ITW style..
"...Dimitri...He talks to me...'.."The Ghost of Greece..".
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
with the breath "fianl breath" sound when he sings "but not much longer", i still think the subject dies at the end... especially with "sickness in my bones" in the song. those two things clinch it for me.
ADD 5,200 to the post count you see, thank you.
*NYC 9/28/96 *NYC 9/29/96 *NJ 9/8/98 (front row "may i play drums with you")
*MSG 9/10/98 (backstage) *MSG 9/11/98 (backstage)
*Jones Beach 8/23/00 *Jones Beach 8/24/00 *Jones Beach 8/25/00
*Mansfield 8/29/00 *Mansfield 8/30/00 *Nassau 4/30/03 *Nissan VA 7/1/03
*Borgata 10/1/05 *Camden 5/27/06 *Camden 5/28/06 *DC 5/30/06
*VA Beach 6/17/08 *DC 6/22/08 *MSG 6/24/08 (backstage) *MSG 6/25/08
*EV DC 8/17/08 *EV Baltimore 6/15/09 *Philly 10/31/09
*Bristow VA 5/13/10 *MSG 5/20/10 *MSG 5/21/10
Well since one of the other songs is called Johnny Guitar it's safe to say that the lost of his best friend is still on Eddie Vedders mind. A best friend who had prostate cancer and left many who loved him behind.I thought maybe this song was written for him but the line about leaving someone behind with the kids doesn't support that theory. Johnny Ramone didn't have kids.
The song is called Johnny Guitar because the man's name is Johnny Guitar Watson. Couldn't exactly call it Steve Guitar.
everybody wants the most they can possibly get
for the least they could possibly do
Maybe I'm just freaking out and making up stuff but I think I agree with the original post
Gonna see my friend
"I'm going to shake this thing
I'm wanna shake this pain before I retire"
And retire has always been a synonym for death.
And of course the "Buona Sera".
The Fixer
The whole song is all about how he is going to fix things. Very classic boy makes things right for girl. And the last stanzas are about staying by her side, "Find us a way to make a light" and "I'll dig your grave" - thus implying he'll be there for her when she dies.
Just Breathe
"Yes I understand that every life must end
As we sit alone, I know somday we must go"
"Stay with me
Let's just breathe"
Then there are three stanzas of essentially saying "did I ever tell you how much I love you" and it ends with
"Hold me till I die...
Meet you on the other side"
Amonst the Waves
The entire song continues this theme of "did I ever tell you how much I love you"
and then ends with "gotta say it now
Better loud
than too late"
Unthought Known
This song, from narrator to 'you' discusses the great expanse of the sky and notes
"see the path cut by the moon... for you to walk on"
and later notes "see the waves on distant shores... for you to walk on"
Both the path to heaven concept and the distant shores metaphor symbolizes heaven or an afterlife.
Speed of Sound
If this is not the song of man contemplating his own mortality while his wife sleeps beside him, I don't know what it is.
"Yesterdays, how quick they change
All lost and long gone now"
And then the refrain of battling despair and clinging to hope:
"And yet I'm still holding tight
to this dream of distant light
and that somehow I'll survive
But this night as been a long one
waiting on the sun... that just don't come"
I believe we mean 'survive' quite literally.
Force of Nature
"One man stands the edge of the ocean
a beacon on dry land
eyes upon the horizon
in the dark before the dawn"
While I can certainly see this being a literal moment as well, it is also quite metaphorical. The ocean and the horizon both being symbols of journey and death, and the solitary man facing this journey in the dark sounds a whole lot like a man who is facing death.
"All the strength you might think would disappear"
doesn't make sense in the literal sense of a man standing on a beach, but it does make sense if we are talking about a man facing his own death.
"Makes me ache... makes me shake
Is it so wrong to think that love can keep us safe?"
The End
"What were all those dreams we shared
those many years ago?
What were all those plans we made
Now left beside the road?
Behind us in the road"
"I wanted to grow old
Just want to grow old"
"Don't leave me so cold
or buried beneath the stones" .... headstones.
"Sickness in my bones .... a bit of a leap, but leukemia came to mind.
How it pains to leave you here
with the kids on your own
Just don't let me go"
--I don't think he means divorce.
"Before I disappear
whisper in my ear
give me something to echo
in my unknown future's ear"
"My dear
the end
comes near
I'm here
But not much longer"
Thoughts?
I think if you play Backspacer backwards it says "Ed is dead." :roll:
everybody wants the most they can possibly get
for the least they could possibly do
This song scares the shit out of me. Is Ed sick? What does this song mean? Any thoughts?
Wow........
My thoughts: Let the artist be the artist. This song is definitely a heavy hitter lyrically. What the motivation is behind it is of no importance to me. The fact that ed SHARED the emotion with us is what IS important to me. The ability to "feel" a song is what's its all about (for fans and artists). When I first heard ARC I really wanted to know the origin- we found it was tied to something very tragic- yet we were blessed to have it recorded and released to us. That song has lyrics- in the form of emotion. The End hit me like a sledgehammer when i first heard it.. Goosebumps and all. And that's because I could feel that ED is feeling something (whatever it may be) when he recorded that... Emotion is universal and I believe it is translated consciously and subconsciously. I'm just glad I'm alive to experience a band that trusts its audience enough to leave it all on the table. The meaning is the meaning- what does it mean to you?
Comments
Ft Lauderdale-1996
New Jersey-1998
MSG 1,2-1998
Jones beach 1,2,3-2000
Nassau-2003
msg 1,2-2003
Boston-2004
Kissimmee-2004
Philly-2006
New Jersey 2-2006
MSG 1 , 2 2008
Eddie Vedder Solo 1,2-2008
You can still think with MS, you're just in hell physcially....your mind is sharp, but you can't talk...etc, etc...
Gonna see my friend
"I'm going to shake this thing
I'm wanna shake this pain before I retire"
And retire has always been a synonym for death.
And of course the "Buona Sera".
The Fixer
The whole song is all about how he is going to fix things. Very classic boy makes things right for girl. And the last stanzas are about staying by her side, "Find us a way to make a light" and "I'll dig your grave" - thus implying he'll be there for her when she dies.
Just Breathe
"Yes I understand that every life must end
As we sit alone, I know somday we must go"
"Stay with me
Let's just breathe"
Then there are three stanzas of essentially saying "did I ever tell you how much I love you" and it ends with
"Hold me till I die...
Meet you on the other side"
Amonst the Waves
The entire song continues this theme of "did I ever tell you how much I love you"
and then ends with "gotta say it now
Better loud
than too late"
Unthought Known
This song, from narrator to 'you' discusses the great expanse of the sky and notes
"see the path cut by the moon... for you to walk on"
and later notes "see the waves on distant shores... for you to walk on"
Both the path to heaven concept and the distant shores metaphor symbolizes heaven or an afterlife.
Speed of Sound
If this is not the song of man contemplating his own mortality while his wife sleeps beside him, I don't know what it is.
"Yesterdays, how quick they change
All lost and long gone now"
And then the refrain of battling despair and clinging to hope:
"And yet I'm still holding tight
to this dream of distant light
and that somehow I'll survive
But this night as been a long one
waiting on the sun... that just don't come"
I believe we mean 'survive' quite literally.
Force of Nature
"One man stands the edge of the ocean
a beacon on dry land
eyes upon the horizon
in the dark before the dawn"
While I can certainly see this being a literal moment as well, it is also quite metaphorical. The ocean and the horizon both being symbols of journey and death, and the solitary man facing this journey in the dark sounds a whole lot like a man who is facing death.
"All the strength you might think would disappear"
doesn't make sense in the literal sense of a man standing on a beach, but it does make sense if we are talking about a man facing his own death.
"Makes me ache... makes me shake
Is it so wrong to think that love can keep us safe?"
The End
"What were all those dreams we shared
those many years ago?
What were all those plans we made
Now left beside the road?
Behind us in the road"
"I wanted to grow old
Just want to grow old"
"Don't leave me so cold
or buried beneath the stones" .... headstones.
"Sickness in my bones .... a bit of a leap, but leukemia came to mind.
How it pains to leave you here
with the kids on your own
Just don't let me go"
--I don't think he means divorce.
"Before I disappear
whisper in my ear
give me something to echo
in my unknown future's ear"
"My dear
the end
comes near
I'm here
But not much longer"
Thoughts?
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
I'm not sure either - very emotional 'first hand' sound though..
"..That's One Happy Fuckin Ghost.."
“..That came up on the Pillow Case...This is for the Greek, With Our Apologies.....”
ha ha!
*NYC 9/28/96 *NYC 9/29/96 *NJ 9/8/98 (front row "may i play drums with you")
*MSG 9/10/98 (backstage) *MSG 9/11/98 (backstage)
*Jones Beach 8/23/00 *Jones Beach 8/24/00 *Jones Beach 8/25/00
*Mansfield 8/29/00 *Mansfield 8/30/00 *Nassau 4/30/03 *Nissan VA 7/1/03
*Borgata 10/1/05 *Camden 5/27/06 *Camden 5/28/06 *DC 5/30/06
*VA Beach 6/17/08 *DC 6/22/08 *MSG 6/24/08 (backstage) *MSG 6/25/08
*EV DC 8/17/08 *EV Baltimore 6/15/09 *Philly 10/31/09
*Bristow VA 5/13/10 *MSG 5/20/10 *MSG 5/21/10
The song is called Johnny Guitar because the man's name is Johnny Guitar Watson. Couldn't exactly call it Steve Guitar.
for the least they could possibly do
I think if you play Backspacer backwards it says "Ed is dead." :roll:
for the least they could possibly do
Miss him, miss him
Awesome post.
My thoughts: Let the artist be the artist. This song is definitely a heavy hitter lyrically. What the motivation is behind it is of no importance to me. The fact that ed SHARED the emotion with us is what IS important to me. The ability to "feel" a song is what's its all about (for fans and artists). When I first heard ARC I really wanted to know the origin- we found it was tied to something very tragic- yet we were blessed to have it recorded and released to us. That song has lyrics- in the form of emotion. The End hit me like a sledgehammer when i first heard it.. Goosebumps and all. And that's because I could feel that ED is feeling something (whatever it may be) when he recorded that... Emotion is universal and I believe it is translated consciously and subconsciously. I'm just glad I'm alive to experience a band that trusts its audience enough to leave it all on the table. The meaning is the meaning- what does it mean to you?