Home› The Porch

I am mine

jwmakesjwmakes Posts: 6
edited February 2012 in The Porch
I LOVE this song. But I've no idea what

The north is to south what the clock is to time

means.

I've read a few things on here and I'm not sure anyone else knows what Eddie meant either. Does anyone know if he's ever mentioned it in an interview? Does anyone who works at Ten Club know? Is there any way to write to Eddie these days to ask him?
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • appieappie Posts: 1,441
    Its all haiku... :D
    Pearl Jam 4 live
    h8 2 w8 for concerts
  • ozgurkdozgurkd Juneau, Alaska Posts: 434
    jwmakes wrote:
    I LOVE this song. But I've no idea what

    The north is to south what the clock is to time

    means.
    .....
    The way I feel about these lines is that it talks about how relative things can be and how in order to say" south" , or " bad" or "humble" .... we usually need a reference point; the opposite or a tool to measure..without north defined where is south? And also for perception...clock is so we can try to handle time and not get lost in its vastness.

    I love it in Dali paintings, the melting clock...cause time is one very difficult to mold and shape despite clocks, calendars...to me at least...

    this is what I feel about these lines...
    take care
    Living is no laughing matter: you must live with great seriousness like a squirrel for example - I mean without looking for something beyond and above living, I mean living must be your whole occupation.
    Nazım Hikmet
  • Pry ToPry To Posts: 285
    I love this song, too. Definitely in my PJ top 10. There's a bit of info on Wiki:

    "I Am Mine" was written by vocalist Eddie Vedder in a hotel room near Virginia Beach, Virginia before the band's first show after the Roskilde tragedy in 2000.[1] Vedder said that he wrote the song to "reassure myself that this is going to be all right."

    The lyrics for "I Am Mine" tackle existential matters. At the band's April 8, 2003 show in New Orleans, Louisiana at the UNO Lakefront Arena, Vedder stated, "This song is about what's inside you. You own it, and you have the freedom for it to come out. It's allowed to come out." At the band's July 8, 2003 show in New York City at Madison Square Garden, Vedder stated, "This song’s about personal safety, and the feeling of being secure, and even free."

    You can also go to http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/91253/ and see a bunch of other people's ideas about what it means.
    Los Angeles - Sep 11, 1992
    Memphis - Aug 15, 2000
    Chicago - May 16, 2006
    Chicago - Aug 23-24, 2009
    Columbus - May 6, 2010
    Noblesville - May 7, 2010
    Manchester - June 20-21, 2012
    Amsterdam - June 26-27, 2012
    Berlin - July 4-5, 2012
  • amongsTheWavesamongsTheWaves Posts: 68
    To me, it references the heart of the song "I know I was born and I know that I'll die, the inbetween is mine". Without north there is no south, without time there are no clocks, without death there is no life... The humbling truth of nature discovered and accepted...
  • The Waiting Trophy ManThe Waiting Trophy Man Niagara region, Ontario, Canada Posts: 12,158
    I Am Mine fucking rocks. That's all I know!
    Another habit says it's in love with you
    Another habit says its long overdue
    Another habit like an unwanted friend
    I'm so happy with my righteous self
  • StillHereStillHere Posts: 7,795
    I've always thought that the line
    the north is to south
    what the clock is to time

    means something along the lines of time being irrelevant in the grand scheme of things
    north and south are opposites
    if you stick with the metaphor
    then the clock and time are opposites as well, or have no relevance upon one another

    that your time here on earth matters only in what you do with that time
    so make it count

    as in :
    I know I was born
    and I know that I'll die
    the in between is mine
    I Am Mine

    i LOVE LOVE LOVE this song
    peace,
    jo

    http://www.Etsy.com/Shop/SimpleEarthCreations
    "How I choose to feel is how I am." ~ EV/MMc
    "Some people hear their own inner voices with great clearness and they live by what they hear. Such people become crazy, or they become legends." ~ One Stab ~
  • Tboz51Tboz51 Posts: 2,808
    Haha... The South=Bad The North=Good

    :crazy:

    Just kidding... I think it means everything has a needed counterpart to exist.
    "Honesty will always be construed as negative to a dumbass"
    :-)
  • javis el errantejavis el errante Buenos Aires Posts: 6,144
    amongsTheWaves wrote:
    To me, it references the heart of the song "I know I was born and I know that I'll die, the inbetween is mine". Without north there is no south, without time there are no clocks, without death there is no life... The humbling truth of nature discovered and accepted...

    that is pretty cool... interesting point of view...

    I always loved this song, to me it has a waltzy tune, that's what always struck me...

    I loved it even more when I got the 45rmp b/w Undone...
    ... I am not in the business of being liked anymore ...

  • BerasapjBerasapj Posts: 292
    I love I am Mine and I love the ' I know I was Born and I know that'll die, The in between is mine' line

    Which version of the song you think is best?

    I love the MSG '03 version
    Manchester 1&2 2012

    Waiting for the next PJ euro Tour

    Hoping not to get drown in the wave of life
  • tribejammer05tribejammer05 W'Ville, OH Posts: 696
    There's really no such thing as time or directions - they are human made.
    "There's a $10,000 bill in it for you."
    "Oh yeah? Which president's on it?"
    "Uh, all of them. They're having a party. Jimmy Carter's passed out on the couch."

    Columbus 2000
    Columbus 2003
    Hershey 2003
    Toledo 2004
    Cincinnati 2006
    Chicago/Lollapalooza 2007
    Columbus 2010
    Chicago/Wrigley 2013
    Pittsburgh 2013
    Portland 2013
    Cincinnati 2014
  • Get_RightGet_Right Posts: 13,791
    I never really liked this song until I saw a couple of EV solo shows. Now I love it.
  • EraserheadEraserhead Stoke-on-Trent Posts: 2,960
    The north is to south what the clock is to time
    My second is in red but not in wine

    THat sort of thing... :)
    Manchester 04.06.00, Leeds 25.08.06, Wembley 18.06.07, Dusseldorf 21.06.07, Shepherds Bush 11.08.09, Manchester 17.08.09, Adelaide 17.11.09, Melbourne 20.11.09, Sydney 22.11.09, Brisbane 25.11.09, MSG1 20.05.10, MSG2 21.05.10, Dublin 22.06.10, Belfast 23.06.10, London 25.06.10, Long Beach 06.07.11 (EV), Los Angeles 08.07.11 (EV), Toronto 11.09.11, Toronto 12.09.11, Ottawa 14.09.11, Hamilton 14.09.11, Manchester 20.06.12, Manchester 21.06.12, Amsterdam 26.06.2012, Amsterdam 27.06.2012, Berlin 04.07.12, Berlin 05.07.12, Stockholm 07.07.12, Oslo 09.07.12, Copenhagen 10.07.12, Manchester 28.07.12 (EV), Brooklyn 18.10.13, Brooklyn 19.10.13, Philly 21.10.13, Philly 22.10.13, San Diego 21.11.13, LA 23.11.13, LA 24.11.13, Oakland 26.11.13, Portland 29.11.13, Spokane 30.11.13, Calgary 02.12.13, Vancouver 04.12.13, Seattle 06.12.13, Trieste 22.06.14, Vienna 25.06.14, Berlin 26.06.14, Stockholm 28.06.14, Leeds 08.07.14, Philly 28.04.16, Philly 28.04.16, MSG1 01.05.16, MSG2 02.05.16
  • PJStatTrackerPJStatTracker Posts: 2,400
    no one knows what it means, but it's provocative...

    It gets the people going!!
    Download the unofficial <a href="http://bit.ly/PJStatTracker">Pearl Jam Stat Tracker</a> app for iPhone/iPad. It's <em>FREE.</em>

    PM me with any comments or suggestions for the app - or weigh in <a href="http://forums.pearljam.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=167611
    ">here</a>.
    or
    <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pjstattracker">Join the discussion on facebook</a>

  • belinda27belinda27 Posts: 731
    tribejammer05 wrote:
    There's really no such thing as time or directions - they are human made.
    +1 :clap:
    Cool 1st post OP! Welcome :wave:
  • eladdereladder Posts: 414
    Pry To wrote:
    I love this song, too. Definitely in my PJ top 10. There's a bit of info on Wiki:

    "I Am Mine" was written by vocalist Eddie Vedder in a hotel room near Virginia Beach, Virginia before the band's first show after the Roskilde tragedy in 2000.[1] Vedder said that he wrote the song to "reassure myself that this is going to be all right."

    The lyrics for "I Am Mine" tackle existential matters. At the band's April 8, 2003 show in New Orleans, Louisiana at the UNO Lakefront Arena, Vedder stated, "This song is about what's inside you. You own it, and you have the freedom for it to come out. It's allowed to come out." At the band's July 8, 2003 show in New York City at Madison Square Garden, Vedder stated, "This song’s about personal safety, and the feeling of being secure, and even free."

    You can also go to http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/91253/ and see a bunch of other people's ideas about what it means.[/

    Msg 03. Eddies 9 11/denmark speech before this song may be my favorite pj moment ever. The best.
    He was ok but wondering about wandering
  • jamminpearlsjamminpearls Posts: 7,078
    It's funny because I Am Mine is my least favorite PJ song. Different strokes for different folks.
    Go Birds!!!!
  • southernmanfansouthernmanfan Johannesburg, South Africa Posts: 1,025
    Certainly one of my favourites. Have tried playing it on guitar but chord change is pretty fast.

    It's about personal freedom I think.... 8-)
    rustedsigns
Sign In or Register to comment.