Unthought Known

13

Comments

  • Does anyone mind if I get a tattoo of the following;

    See the path cut by the moon,... for you to walk on,...
    see the waves on distant shores,...awaiting your arrival,...
    dream the dreams of other men,...you'll be no ones rival,...

    I want these words cast into my skin for the rest of my life, I would also want to put a small stickman beside it but am unsure if it fits with the lyrics.
    Perth 1998
    Adelaide 2003
    Melbourne 13 Nov 2006
    Adelaide 21 Nov 2006
    Adelaide 22 Nov 2006
    Adelaide 2009
    EV Adelaide 27 Mar 2011
    EV Adelaide 28 Mar 2011

    'Always amongst the waves'
  • I'm a senior in High School graduating this year and we need a quote that will be beside our photo in the yearbook. Mine is going to be..

    "Feel the air up above, a pool of blue sky. Fill the air up with love, black with starlight. Feel the sky blanket you, with gems & rhinestones. See the path cut by the moon, for you to walk on."

    LOVE LOVE LOVE these lyrics! Some of the most inspiring I've ever heard.
  • justamjustam Posts: 21,392
    I love the way this song sounds, but what does this song MEAN?
    I can't quite tell what the message is. :geek:
    &&&&&&&&&&&&&&
  • DangDangDangDang Posts: 1,551
    The meaning of Unthought Known? Why, that's an easy one!

    It's known. But I'm sorry, it's unthought at the moment.

    Please try again later.
  • I was at my brothers tonight. His wife has cancer and it's her last hours and I found myself singing under my breath these lyrics:

    Feel the air up above,... A pool of blue sky,...
    Fill the air up with love,... Black w/starlight,...

    Feel the sky blanket you,... w/gems & rhinestones,...
    See the path cut by the moon,... For you to walk on,...
    For you to walk on,...

    It makes me feel like no matter what the world is willing to wrap you up in itself and allow no more pain, no more suffering...just the beauty and understanding that seems so out of reach to those of us unwilling to just look for it.

    I hope in some small way she heard me.
    MSG 6-24-08, 5-20-10, 5-21-10, Prudential Ctr. 5-18-10
    Spectrum 10-30-09, Wachovia 10-3-05


    Do you see the way that tree bends? Does it inspire?
  • zeletty wrote:
    I was at my brothers tonight. His wife has cancer and it's her last hours and I found myself singing under my breath these lyrics:

    Feel the air up above,... A pool of blue sky,...
    Fill the air up with love,... Black w/starlight,...

    Feel the sky blanket you,... w/gems & rhinestones,...
    See the path cut by the moon,... For you to walk on,...
    For you to walk on,...

    It makes me feel like no matter what the world is willing to wrap you up in itself and allow no more pain, no more suffering...just the beauty and understanding that seems so out of reach to those of us unwilling to just look for it.

    I hope in some small way she heard me.

    I'm sure she did, with words like that how can she not feel blanketed with jewels. I hope she has a full recovery or a peaceful passing, whichever the great unknown has in mind for her, let her walk that path to the moon. God bless.
  • JDBJDB Posts: 277
    I don't mind if you do but I think it's a dumb idea.
    ooba Fox wrote:
    Does anyone mind if I get a tattoo of the following;

    See the path cut by the moon,... for you to walk on,...
    see the waves on distant shores,...awaiting your arrival,...
    dream the dreams of other men,...you'll be no ones rival,...

    I want these words cast into my skin for the rest of my life, I would also want to put a small stickman beside it but am unsure if it fits with the lyrics.
  • BhagavadGitaBhagavadGita Posts: 1,748
    ooba Fox wrote:
    Does anyone mind if I get a tattoo of the following;

    See the path cut by the moon,... for you to walk on,...
    see the waves on distant shores,...awaiting your arrival,...
    dream the dreams of other men,...you'll be no ones rival,...

    I want these words cast into my skin for the rest of my life, I would also want to put a small stickman beside it but am unsure if it fits with the lyrics.

    Whatever your heart desires, you should do. Forget what other people say....

    p.s. stickman doesn't really work in this case. :)
  • I like the last part where the author says "dream the dreams of other men and you will have no rivals" Its kinda martin luther kingish...but hearing it song beautifully is awesome...
    E. Pressman
  • AbuskedtiAbuskedti Posts: 1,917
    Its about the Golden Rule.
    the golden rule is a path cut by the moon for you to walk on.
    each line lead to the following conclusion
    don't wait around for a distant time and place
    you are already there
    and the question you need to be asking yourself is
    What are you giving?
    What are you giving is the essence of all religion and of this song.. if you spend your time giving.. you will be in Heaven.. which is essentially what Jesus was trying to tell us.
  • Abuskedti wrote:
    Its about the Golden Rule.
    the golden rule is a path cut by the moon for you to walk on.
    each line lead to the following conclusion
    don't wait around for a distant time and place
    you are already there
    and the question you need to be asking yourself is
    What are you giving?
    What are you giving is the essence of all religion and of this song.. if you spend your time giving.. you will be in Heaven.. which is essentially what Jesus was trying to tell us.

    I am pretty sure Eddie wasn't thinking about Jesus when he wrote this song. His distaste for religion is clear as the sky is blue.

    For me this song is about living in the moment with other humans on this planet. Setting aside differences, which religion all to many times has created, and hopefully getting along. Giving love and getting it back.
  • AbuskedtiAbuskedti Posts: 1,917
    Jesus and religion are two completely different things.
    Jesus was not the only historical figure that teaches
    that giving is the secret.

    No, Eddie is not talking about Jesus.. I just used him as the most famous example of one teaching about giving.

    Unthought Known... is indeed about the natural human benefit of giving.

    so what you giving?
  • Abuskedti wrote:
    Its about the Golden Rule.
    the golden rule is a path cut by the moon for you to walk on.
    each line lead to the following conclusion
    don't wait around for a distant time and place
    you are already there
    and the question you need to be asking yourself is
    What are you giving?
    What are you giving is the essence of all religion and of this song.. if you spend your time giving.. you will be in Heaven.. which is essentially what Jesus was trying to tell us.

    Sorry, but I don't see the golden rule at all in this song.

    Like previous post has said this is more about the thoughts or ways many people in the world think are within our DNA. The majority of us are looking for love and good.

    This has nothing to do with Jesus or religion. Both of which came millions of years after some form of man was on this planet. Like EV has stated religion seems to be that popular movie everyone likes, the story.

    So for me the thoughts were with us before religion. Religion is using these in way to control us or make some sort of advance for the institutions it has created.

    I give plenty to my wife and our kids every day. When teaching I give plenty.

    However, these have nothing to do with my ticket to heaven. Which might not even exist at all.

    Again, EV is clearly not a religious person so why do attempt to put those thoughts into his music?
  • BhagavadGitaBhagavadGita Posts: 1,748
    edited May 2010
    How can anyone of us presume Ed is or is not thinking about religion in this song.....

    .....It seems spiritual to me.

    "There is a difference between religion and spirituality. Religion is for people that are afraid to go to hell. Spirituality is for people who ARE ALREADY THERE :oops:
    Post edited by BhagavadGita on
  • How can anyone of us presume Ed is or is not thinking about religion in this song.....

    .....It seems spiritual to me.

    "There is a difference between religion and spirituality. Religion is for people that are afraid to go to hell. Spirituality is for people that have already been there." :idea:

    For me it's simple.

    Ed said this song was written after a night of too much drinking and smoking with actress Catherine Keener.

    Keener stared in the movie Where the Wild Things Are. I have read this book to my kids well over 300 times.

    This book seems to have had a huge influence on the lyrics of this song.

    If you have never read it do so. Then play the song and look at the illustrations. It jumps out at me every time.

    This book is about a boys dream to get away from being punished. He dreams of a distance place, on a distance shore.

    He wants to be Wild and they are the Wild things.

    So, he is dreaming the dreams of these monsters.

    Monsters can also be viewed as a rival. So with similar thoughts they get along.

    Giving of each other.

    We humans are deep, our brains are wired, we are always thinking.

    But again this need not be tide to some spirit or fairly tale heaven.

    I don't fear hell.

    I have faced some points of hell in my life. I am sure not as deep or troubling as others. But I got through it.

    I did it with music and support of others.

    I did it with songs like I am Mine, Inside Job.

    Not religion, god, or a spirit.
  • freshymadfreshymad Posts: 54
    My take on the song from where I am in my life, is that one layer is about the will to act on thoughts and ideas. Normally I wouldn't share this sort of thing, but everyone here seems to be fairly open with their music obsession!

    "All the thoughts you never see. You're always thinkin."

    All the thoughts you never see/manifest because you are too caught up in thinking and not doing. It's so sad and sickening because it is someone who mindlessly thinks and never takes deliberate action.

    The song feels like a call to serve ("So what you givin?"). I find this very inspirational. I can talk and think about stuff (like this song ironically) and do nothing, sitting in my little space, talking via computer to strangers without even hearing a real voice! ... all the while missing the beauty of nature and people that my world offers.

    It makes me cry when Ed sings "feel the sky blanket you ..." because it's such a release from the first verse and all of its worry. Go outside and feel the sky blanket you; walk the path cut by the moon and then give it all back. He and the band sound pissed off when he sings this, like they're saying "Look FOOL! Your treasure and your path are right here in front of you and you are too numb to see it!!!"

    "Nothing left ... nothing there ... nothing left"

    Feels transcendental, as if I'm following the moon's path and somewhere in the middle I look back and say "I left nothing" and look ahead and say "WTF, there's nothing there ahead either." After the last "nothing left" Ed mumbles something like "Look in." So I am left somewhere on that path with only myself.

    "Dream the dreams of other men. You'll be no one's rival."

    I believe this means you are no one's rival when you dream what you are programmed by a society to dream. I consider my dreams sacred and personal. It is not necessary for people to have the same dreams in order to feel connected. It is quite the opposite. This reminds me of the poem, "A Display of Mackerel" by Mark Doty. The price for dreaming the dreams of other men is selflessness.

    For me, the title feels too heavy when considered as a reference to a psychoanalytical theory. I am glad I didn't know that when I heard the song for the first time. I know some songs are meant to be a learning lesson, but no! Not this one!! This song is magic. On a side note, someone has lyrics to this song on their website and says “Eddie Vedder has said the song’s lyrics are about the human psyche.” I thought that was kind of funny because most songs are about the human psyche, right? I just don’t like to be reminded that the psyche can be mapped into a theory of absolutes.

    I could go on and on ... if you are still reading, thanks for listening!

    This is a kick ass gorgeous song. Every note, every word is essential. Brilliant! Thank you Pearl Jam for never letting me grow stale and uninspired. I love you.
  • canoegirlcanoegirl Posts: 295
    edited March 2010
    ugh what is it with these lyrics
    Post edited by canoegirl on
  • DangDangDangDang Posts: 1,551
    freshymad wrote:
    "All the thoughts you never see. You're always thinkin."

    It's so sad and sickening

    It makes me cry when Ed sings "feel the sky blanket you ..." because it's such a release from the first verse and all of its worry. Go outside and feel the sky blanket you; walk the path cut by the moon and then give it all back.

    "Nothing left ... nothing there ... nothing left"

    "Dream the dreams of other men. You'll be no one's rival."

    I thought that was kind of funny because most songs are about the human psyche, right?

    if you are still reading, thanks for listening!

    kick ass gorgeous song. Every note, every word is essential. Brilliant! .

    Freshymad,

    Even reading your description of the song got me quite worked up. Strange that even your writing "feel the sky blanket you" made me "hear" that line in yet another moving way.

    And yet there's no words that can do that song ANY justice in comparison to the feeling, the goosebumps, the tears, the soul's own orgasm--that that song does to somebody!
  • freshymadfreshymad Posts: 54
    Dang, I totally appreciate your comments. Soul orgasm: you said in two words what took me a whole page to try to explain!
  • morellomorello Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 6,210
    Dang & freshymad, excellent readings of this fabulous song. Thanks. :-)
    <hr>
    PJ - Auckland 2009; Alpine Valley1&2 2011; Man1, Am'dam1&2, Berlin1&2, Stockholm, Oslo & Copenhagen 2012; LA, Oakland, Portland, Spokane, Calgary, Vancouver, Seattle 2013; Auckland 2014
    EV - Canberra, Newcastle & Sydney 1&2 2011
  • TM45060TM45060 Posts: 1
    Good posts, only thing I'll add is that to me this is the song is a sequel to Given to Fly. Same kind of stuff, generally he's talking about. And the song elicits the same type of emotion when you listen to it.

    On the "dream the dreams" debate - here is my interpretation:

    "dream the dreams of other men, you'll be no one's rival" - be yourself, don't copy others b/c you won't be anything special

    "dream the dreams of others then" - put dreams into other heads, inspire them...you'll be no one's rival
  • DangDangDangDang Posts: 1,551
    "Dream the dreams of other men, you'll be no one's rival"

    is simply "walk a mile in my head".

    Whether that walk takes place on the path cut by the moon is perhaps another discussion.
  • ColinAllCarsColinAllCars Waterbury, CT Posts: 53
    i cannot play this song loud enough. i think it will go down as one of my favorite songs of theirs of all time. there is definitely something magical about it that brings the waterworks. very spiritual stuff, being alive in the world...

    it's ELECTRIFYING live. when i was talking to a few other tailgaters on halloween, you could see people's eyes light up when that song was mentioned. definitely a huge fan favorite.

    my interpretation is that, although there is so much in our world, head, and hearts we might not understand... everything in existence could have come from a very benevolent source...

    the sky blankets you, the moon cuts a pathfor you, lovingly. the rich wonders of life, everything in its right place, all the treasures we have access to, and all the treasures we don't.
    10/2/96- Hartford, CT; 9/13/98- Hartford, CT; 9/15/98- Mansfield, MA; 9/4/00- Columbia, MD; 7/8/03- NY, NY; 7/9/03- NY, NY; 9/28/2004- Boston, MA; 5/4/06- NY, NY; 6/14/08- Manchester, TN; 6/27/08- Hartford, CT; 6/30/08- Mansfield, MA; 6/9/09- Albany, NY (Ed solo); 10/31/09- Philadelphia, PA; 5/15/10- Hartford, CT; 10/25/13- Hartford, CT
  • Oceans 98Oceans 98 Posts: 232
    The lyrics are great but I think musically this song is also amazing! I love how it builds into the chorus it opens you up and makes you really happy. Its one of my two fav BS songs.
    St. Louis 07/02/98, St. Louis 10/11/00, New York 07/08/03, New York 07/09/03, Chicago 05/16/06, Chicago 05/17/06, Bridge School 10/21/06, Bridge School 10/22/06, Chicago 07/05/07, Chicago 07/24/09, Kansas City 05/03/10, St Louis 05/04/10, PJ20 09/03/11, PJ20 09/04/11, Chicago 07/19/13, St. Louis 10/03/14, Ohana 09/24/21 (EV/Earthings), Ohana 09/25/21 (EV/Earthlings), Ohana 09/26/21, Nashville 09/16/22, Louisville 09/17/22, St. Louis 09/18/22, Oklahoma City 09/20/22

  • BlueflareBlueflare Posts: 88
    and one more thing.......i CAN'T WAIT to hear this LIVE!!! :shock: :o:mrgreen:
    to hear ed belt out certain lyrics with such emotion....OMG......cannot wait!



    OMG.this song is great live, and i was in a outdoor venue. eddie referenced our sky...to take advantage of looking up at it during the song.....love the way that man thinks :P
    all is as it will be, as it should be
  • AyedavanitaAyedavanita Posts: 1,443
    This part reminds me of a sick, sad lost soul.

    Look for love & evidence,... That you’re worth keeping,...
    Swallowed whole in negatives,... It's so sad & sickening,...
    "You think I got my eyes closed but I'm lookin' at you the whole fuckin' time..."
  • TM45060 wrote:
    Good posts, only thing I'll add is that to me this is the song is a sequel to Given to Fly. Same kind of stuff, generally he's talking about. And the song elicits the same type of emotion when you listen to it.

    On the "dream the dreams" debate - here is my interpretation:

    "dream the dreams of other men, you'll be no one's rival" - be yourself, don't copy others b/c you won't be anything special

    "dream the dreams of others then" - put dreams into other heads, inspire them...you'll be no one's rival

    "sequel to Given to Fly" - Yep, this song seems to impact my emotions much like Yield, the album that always leaves me feeling more connected to everything.
    I carried a watermelon
  • weenieweenie Posts: 1,623
    http://www.michaelrobbinstherapy.com/articles/EmbeddedReflection.pdf

    most of us know that Ed is a huge participator/believer in Transcendental Meditation. This article ties Mindfulness meditation into the meaning of Unthought Known (these are the last 2 paragraphs of the link above):

    Another source of uncovering the unthought known is to explore the repetitive roles that we act out in
    our interpersonal relationships and the corresponding redundant roles that we induce in others. When we
    release the energy and information that is held in these roles, we travel a long way towards the goal of
    liberating ourselves from unconscious fixations and patterns. Once we have done this we are free to
    choose the roles that are adaptive for the situation that we are in at the moment and release the roles that
    are maladaptive.
    Perhaps the deepest level of the unthought known is the heart of the teachings of mindfulness
    meditation.
    The heart of these teachings, which we know already but have forgotten, is that
    fundamentally we are awareness itself, already liberated from our fixations, fears and redundancies,
    without essential content, beyond subject and object, everything and nothing, and that whatever we are
    in life we also are not. This is the “non-dual” consciousness at the heart of so many mystical and
    meditative traditions (Wilber, 2003). In other words, the deepest level of the unthought known and the
    edge of the unknown, are the same thing.

    Hey BS_B: Thanks for this. Really interesting stuff I was totally unaware of before. Looking forward to learning more about it.
    :)
    ~I want to realize brotherhood or identity not merely with the beings called human, but I want to realize identity with all life, even with such things as crawl upon earth.~
    Mohandas K. Gandhi

    ~I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance than I should have been by any epaulette I could have worn.~
    Henry David Thoreau
  • PygPyg Posts: 16
    To all,

    I've really enjoyed reading all of your Thoughts Known or theorized--he he--about this phenom of a song. Below are some thoughts I've had after about 100 or so listens. This only hits on a few pieces of the song, but I absolutely think you must not overlook the last question Ed poses ("What ya givin?) because I think it is a real clue to the central theme of the song--service. So here goes:

    Unthought Known is a brave and vulnerable examination of the pain and loneliness of the depression that hits middle aged persons who've spent their lives establishing themselves through their careers and selfish desires only to realize that they have produced nothing of enduring value to mankind.

    Ultimately UK ends in an anthemic exaultation that the one true way to self-actualization (or spritual/Christian salvation) is to give of one's self through serving your fellow man. "Dream the dreams of others and you'll be no one's rival," the song's climax appeals. By choosing "rival" Ed cleverly communicates that you will not only avoid the conflict that plagues the spirit, but also expresses that you will be without "rival" in reaching the highest levels of self-worth and personal satisfaction.

    He also uses some beautiful imagery of the ocean and sky which invokes far-reaching and visceral reactions so many people have when contemplating the enormity of these beautiful gifts of nature.

    What a great song! My new PJ favorite!
    Pyg
  • I love this song. First one (after Just Breathe) that stood out. I love the build up and break down with the piano, strings, etc. It has such an amazingly full sound. It gives me chills sometimes. They played this at Jazz Fest and it was very moving.

    I think the beginning lyrics are describing the unrealistic thoughts in our own heads:
    -"All the thoughts, you never see" (not real except to you)

    -"Brain is wired. brain is deep. are you sinking?" ( we can be our own biggest down fall. Think you're shitty and worthless long enough. you become shitty and worthless.)

    -"look for love and evidence that you're worth keeping. swallowed whole in negatives" (we're not ok after listening to those negative,
    unrealistic thoughts so we look outside of ourselves for false fulfillment)

    Then it sings of reality:

    -"feel the air up above. a pool of blue sky.feel the air up with love..... feel the sky blanket you
    see the path cut by the moon.....see the waves on distant shores, waiting your arrival.
    ( this is what is real. we have a beautiful world and so many things to tell us we are worthy and loved. If we don't look around us and right in front of us, we miss it.)

    Final thought- this is a gorgeous song. I wish I had this kind of insight to the universe and my feelings.
    This says to me not to stay in my head and nurse a false reality. If I live in a false reality, then I'm giving bullshit.
    I need to get up, get out and experience what life has to offer. In doing that, I have more to offer and will be able to give back a more positive energy to the world after receiving it myself.
    "Before his first step.. he is off again."


    6/24/06-Cincinnati
    5/1/10- Jazz Fest
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