what Future Days means to me

StuffnJunkStuffnJunk Posts: 896
edited October 2013 in The Porch
this song has been getting a lot of negative feedback, but i like it...maybe cuz the words mean something to me at the point i'm at in my life right now (every PJ album seems to have a song like that)

my wife and i take care of my elderly parents, my mom has Alzheimers, my wife is a saint for what she does for my parents...we have opted to do the caregiving ourselves and hold out on bringing in nurses until absolutely necessary, but it goes without saying all this elder care is a tremendous burden on us and our relationship, we have only been married a year

so the line "our future days, days of you and me" packs a punch, like maybe someday in the future the two of us can have this all behind us and finally have our "honeymoon period"

plus, in our first year of marriage our house got wrecked by Hurricane Sandy, so the line about hurricanes raging personalizes the song even more

i've been listening to it since the Wrigley show, the other day i listened to the studio version for the first time...as i listened, i was also on facebook....my cousin, who has had major problems with drugs and has been in prison, just spent a weekend with his long absent father, who he may now move in with to try to straighten himself out...and there was a great picture of them riding bikes and looking at each other and laughing...so i looked at this amazing picture of reunited father and son as i listened to the song...once again the line "our future days, days of you and me" packed a punch...i dare say i even got a little weepy

so there's some positive feedback for ya
"I'll tell you what: If all I had was Pearl Jam, and I didn't have another band in the world, I would not be worried. Because in there is the essence of making great music. You don't have to use it all at once, but it's there." - Neil Young
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Comments

  • rick1zoo2rick1zoo2 between a rock and a dumb place Posts: 12,632
    "I believe
    And I believe cause I can see
    Our future days
    Days of you and me "


    very powerful song. loved it first time I heard it at Wrigely, lyrics are very appropriate for me right now. One of those great songs that just strikes the right chord at the right time.

    been in my head all day
  • Getting married next year and considering this for our first dance.

    It's a very "pretty" song for lack of a more dignified word, and I think that turns a lot of people off who want the harder, angrier Ed.

    I dunno if Ed writes this way (he probably doesn't but in my head maybe?) but I kinda like to think Future Days is the same character from "Speed of Sound" who found his way.

    Again, cheeseball/cliche logic like that is gonna turn some of the PJ community off, but like I totally embrace it! :)

    I am really digging this new album.
  • boroff89boroff89 Posts: 786
    A little baffled by the negative feedback for this song. I love it. Much stronger than just about anything on Backspacer. Beautiful lyrics, beautiful musical arrangement.
    It makes much more sense to live in the present tense.
  • javis el errantejavis el errante Buenos Aires Posts: 6,144
    thanks for sharing your story, I was really moved, I wish you all the best...

    PM sent
    ... I am not in the business of being liked anymore ...

  • CTD10CTD10 Posts: 351
    BUSH-lager wrote:
    Getting married next year and considering this for our first dance.

    It's a very "pretty" song for lack of a more dignified word, and I think that turns a lot of people off who want the harder, angrier Ed.

    I dunno if Ed writes this way (he probably doesn't but in my head maybe?) but I kinda like to think Future Days is the same character from "Speed of Sound" who found his way.

    Again, cheeseball/cliche logic like that is gonna turn some of the PJ community off, but like I totally embrace it! :)

    I am really digging this new album.

    I'm getting married next June and after our first spin through the new album I looked at my fiancée and said " theres our wedding song " she said " sounds good to me " cant wait
    ctd
  • CTD10CTD10 Posts: 351
    its really crazy how some music just hits you........ amongst the waves....I love because it reminds me of how my wife to be really made me a better person.....and now future days just makes me think of everything I have to look forward to in life with her......

    don't me to sound sappy....but its true stuff... :)
    ctd
  • I'd like to say that any Pearl Jam fan who is gonna rip this song probably has a warped sense of what love is, but then you just gotta realize...
    Everybody has their own palate, their own story.
    Me, I think the song is beautiful. I think it's like an alternate version of the Beatles 'In My Life.'

    To you sir, hope your path gets a little clearer soon. Stay positive and be sound.
  • mrshock13mrshock13 Posts: 472
    BUSH-lager wrote:
    Getting married next year and considering this for our first dance.

    It's a very "pretty" song for lack of a more dignified word, and I think that turns a lot of people off who want the harder, angrier Ed.

    I dunno if Ed writes this way (he probably doesn't but in my head maybe?) but I kinda like to think Future Days is the same character from "Speed of Sound" who found his way.

    Again, cheeseball/cliche logic like that is gonna turn some of the PJ community off, but like I totally embrace it! :)

    I am really digging this new album.

    Well, thank you completely, I'm stealing that. I like that line of thought. If anything, I would go "speed of sound --> future days --> the end".

    After sitting down with the lyrics and listening to the song, Future Days has really grown on me. There's a sadness, yet an element of hope, within the song. I like the word "pretty" that you used. It's very apropos. It's strange that the song is getting the negative reaction, when we have songs that carry much of the same train of thought, reaching all the way back to "Ten". Maybe it's the lack of drums that changes the song for some? ;)
  • I am getting married in a few weeks (Nov 1st) and we had already planned on using Just Breathe as our first dance song. (Also using Eddie's version of Forever Young for my dance with my mom!) Then we were listening to the album and this song is pretty meaningful to me. I was married young and went through a painful divorce a year later. Took me almost 6 years to put myself back out there. This part really gets me when I listen

    Back when I was feeling broken
    I focused on a prayer

    You came deep as any ocean
    Did something out there hear?


    Now I am not sure what to do! I think we are going to keep Just Breathe as our song (it does have some sentimental value to us) and play Future Days as the last song of the night. I could care less what people think or say about the song. It means something to me and I think of it as an early wedding gift from the band!
    Oh I'm a lucky man, to count on both hands the ones I love

    Dream the dreams of other men, you'll be no ones rival
  • It's great, I love it!

    It's MUCH better live of course. Not sure if Boom plays on the album or not (too lazy and blind to look through the credits) but the way he plays it live sounds much better to me.

    Not everybody is going to like everything, to each their own...I don't like Sirens, live or studio and that is one a lot of people like.

    Can't wait to get the bootlegs, Ima crank it
    Oh dear dad
    Can you see me now
    I am myself
    Like you somehow
    I'll ride the wave
    Where it takes me
    I'll hold the pain
    Release me
  • pureocpureoc Posts: 2,383
    CTD10 wrote:
    BUSH-lager wrote:
    Getting married next year and considering this for our first dance.

    It's a very "pretty" song for lack of a more dignified word, and I think that turns a lot of people off who want the harder, angrier Ed.

    I dunno if Ed writes this way (he probably doesn't but in my head maybe?) but I kinda like to think Future Days is the same character from "Speed of Sound" who found his way.

    Again, cheeseball/cliche logic like that is gonna turn some of the PJ community off, but like I totally embrace it! :)

    I am really digging this new album.

    I'm getting married next June and after our first spin through the new album I looked at my fiancée and said " theres our wedding song " she said " sounds good to me " cant wait

    Getting married in July and same thing.
    Alpine Valley 6/26/98, Alpine Valley 10/8/00, Champaign 4/23/03, Chicago 6/18/03, Alpine Valley 6/21/03, Grand Rapids 10/3/04
    Chicago 5/16/06, Chicago 5/17/06, Grand Rapids 5/19/06
    Milwaukee 6/29/06, Milwaukee 6/30/06, Lollapalooza 8/5/07
    Eddie Solo Milwaukee 8/19/08, Toronto 8/21/09, Chicago 8/23/09
    Chicago 8/24/09, Indianapolis 5/7/10, Ed Chicago 6/29/11, Alpine Valley 9/3/11 and 9/4/11, Wrigley 7/19/13, Moline 10/18/14, Milwaukee 10/20/14
  • Go BeaversGo Beavers Posts: 9,389
    The song is even better to me when I look at it in the way that it brings resolution to the different themes in the album. There's a contentedness that comes through in the song, that despite the darker issues raised earlier in the album, that they can be faced when someone feels that connection to another person.
  • RiotZactRiotZact Posts: 6,263
    I think it's still my least favorite off of LB but I don't hate it like most seem to.

    And hearing your stories make me like it even a little more, good luck to you.
  • MrMerkinballMrMerkinball Posts: 1,978
    I love this song. It is stunning.

    I think of my daughters when I hear it.
  • know1know1 Posts: 6,794
    For me it means a bathroom break at a live show, but that's OK. Every once and awhile, you need those.

    I heard it at Wrigley and haven't listened to it since. I've skipped it on the CD every time it's come up so far. It's just not my thing and there are plenty of other good songs on the album.
    The only people we should try to get even with...
    ...are those who've helped us.

    Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
  • It's a great song that touches people in different ways.

    Thanks for posting.
    Happy up here in my tree
  • Johnny WongJohnny Wong Wauwatosa, WI Posts: 194
    great song. I really like it. Not sure why it's taking a beating...

    I'm pretty sure the "all the missing crooked hearts" lyric is a reference to Dennis from the Frogs.
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  • rick1zoo2rick1zoo2 between a rock and a dumb place Posts: 12,632
    Boom's organ intro when this is place live is really great
  • mikerlmikerl Posts: 580
    i love this song.. took me a while tho.. the very first line felt way to easy for me.. but once i got past that i was hooked. its a hard song to listen to while holding my 1 year old daughter, any song that makes me feel like that is ok in my book.
    Hartford 1996, Hartford 1998, Mansfield 1 1998, Mansfield 1 2000, Mansfield 2 2000, Albany 2003, MSG 2 2003, Mansfield 3 2003, Boston 2 2004, Albany 2006, Boston 2 2006, Mansfield 2 2008, Boston 2010, Worcester 1 2013, Worcester 2 2013
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