Red Mosquito

pacifier · April 2006

Is this song really about a red mosquito? I remember as a kid one night a big red mosquito came into the house and dad said to watch out for it, that it was a "devil's needle" and it really hurts if it bites you. Of course I was the lucky one to have it bite me so I got to understand why it was called the devils needle, it hurt like hell! Of course whenever I hear Red Mosquito this is what I think about, but I can't imagine a song being written about it

darthvedder88 · April 2006

I heard that Eddie wrote it about a person looking out the window from a hospital who'd been infected with a disease, or something like that...

Anyways, for me it's always been about regret, doing something when you know you shouldn't have done it in the first place. The Red Mosquito being the devil in this song.

Ms. Haiku · June 2006

Watched from the window, with a red mosquito
I was not allowed to leave the room
I saw the sun go down, and now it's coming up
Somewhere in the time between

I was bitten, must have been the devil
He was just paying me...
A little visit, reminding me of his presence
Letting me know, he's a-waiting... oh

Red man's your neighbor, call it behavior
While you're climbing up slippery hills
Two steps ahead of him, punctures in your neck
Hovering just above your bed
Hovering just above your bed

I was bitten, must have been the devil
He was just paying me...
A little visit, reminding me of his presence
And letting me know, he's a'waiting, he's a'waiting...
Ooh....

If I had known then what I know now...
If I had known then what I know now...
If I had known then what I know now...
If I had known then what I know now...

I could see it's about a hospital visit. Sounds Don't people recovering from drugs get the feeling that bugs are under their skin. So, it could be a rehab, you think, because the protagonist is itching for what got him/her there, but then he/she shows some regret in the last stanza. I just heard it on the Boston 1 06 boot, and I thought I wanted to know more about it.

DeLukin · June 2006

I thought I read somewhere that it was written about Ed's experience w/a bad tuna sandwich.

Ms. Haiku · June 2006

So, do I sense regret about eating the sandwich?

Red Mosquito is food illness? So, the devil made him eat the tuna sandwich, and because he is supposedly a vegetarian, he felt he paid physically for his lapse.

I actually heard that story, also. I just didn't pay much attention to it

prljmfan92502 · June 2006

Ms. Haiku wrote:

Watched from the window, with a red mosquito
I was not allowed to leave the room
I saw the sun go down, and now it's coming up
Somewhere in the time between

I was bitten, must have been the devil
He was just paying me...
A little visit, reminding me of his presence
Letting me know, he's a-waiting... oh

Red man's your neighbor, call it behavior
While you're climbing up slippery hills
Two steps ahead of him, punctures in your neck
Hovering just above your bed
Hovering just above your bed

I was bitten, must have been the devil
He was just paying me...
A little visit, reminding me of his presence
And letting me know, he's a'waiting, he's a'waiting...
Ooh....

If I had known then what I know now...
If I had known then what I know now...
If I had known then what I know now...
If I had known then what I know now...

I could see it's about a hospital visit. Sounds Don't people recovering from drugs get the feeling that bugs are under their skin. So, it could be a rehab, you think, because the protagonist is itching for what got him/her there, but then he/she shows some regret in the last stanza. I just heard it on the Boston 1 06 boot, and I thought I wanted to know more about it.

Was just checking out the board, and the funniest thing happened without me realizing it. I was just reading your post, and skimming through the lyrics and when i got to the bottom, i realized that red mosquito was playing, and the song was at the same part as where i was reading. I know this is sort of stupid, but it was weird.

Oatmeal lady · June 2006

I've vaguely wondered what this is about, but mainly just crank up the sound when it comes on-i loved the music before i knew what the words were.

reachdown12 · June 2006

Oh my goodness..as many gems as there are on No Code, I think this one in particular holds a certain huge anticipation for the track to come on. Just the vibe it gives off, Mikey's guitar playing, the lyrics..and once the instrumentals and lyrics, vocals reach that climax in the song...if i had known then what i know now...it is so emotionally impacting i can't even begin to describe. I love this song so very dearly. Beautiful in every which way.

Pearl_Jam_Necklace · July 2006

pacifier wrote:

Is this song really about a red mosquito? I remember as a kid one night a big red mosquito came into the house and dad said to watch out for it, that it was a "devil's needle" and it really hurts if it bites you. Of course I was the lucky one to have it bite me so I got to understand why it was called the devils needle, it hurt like hell! Of course whenever I hear Red Mosquito this is what I think about, but I can't imagine a song being written about it

I've never heard of a red mosquito.where do you live? I tell you for sure if i saw a red mosquito thatd freak my shit out .for reals.

pacifier · July 2006

Pearl_Jam_Necklace wrote:

I've never heard of a red mosquito.where do you live? I tell you for sure if i saw a red mosquito thatd freak my shit out .for reals.

I don't know if it is officially a mosquito but it definately looks like one. A big monster mosquito about 2cm long and red. I've only seen a few in my life, I don't know what they are really called but I call them a red mosquito and I stay well away. I grew up in New South Wales, Australia, in the bush.

Pearl_Jam_Necklace · July 2006

pacifier wrote:

I don't know if it is officially a mosquito but it definately looks like one. A big monster mosquito about 2cm long and red. I've only seen a few in my life, I don't know what they are really called but I call them a red mosquito and I stay well away. I grew up in New South Wales, Australia, in the bush.

wow !!! thats wicked !

se7v7en · July 2006

I thought it might be about a man on death row who is guilty and knows hes going to die soon and go to hell. The Devil is "always waiting" for him and "hovering above his bed." Hes "not allowed to leave the room."

suffragette · July 2006

I just thought it was Satan. Eddie writes a lot about the guy, doesn't he?

hardinm78 · July 2006

maybe its about a guy who's becoming a vampire because he was bitten by one? lol

I was bitten, must have been the devil

Two steps ahead of him, punctures in your neck

Hovering just above your bed

Red man's your neighbor, call it behavior ??

Pearl Jam and toast · July 2006

darthvedder88 wrote:

I heard that Eddie wrote it about a person looking out the window from a hospital who'd been infected with a disease, or something like that...

Anyways, for me it's always been about regret, doing something when you know you shouldn't have done it in the first place. The Red Mosquito being the devil in this song.

Ed (the other night i think): "This song was written after a really bad day" if that puts anything into persepctive

I've actually never quite figured this one out, i just like the imagery.

PNuttyJam · July 2006

Pearl Jam and toast wrote:

Ed (the other night i think): "This song was written after a really bad day" if that puts anything into persepctive

I've actually never quite figured this one out, i just like the imagery.

He said this at SF 3. Also said that it was written in a hotel room in San Francisco...after a really bad day.

Anon · August 2006

I swear I read that he specifically referenced at one of the recent San Fran shows about writing it from his hotel room while Neil was performing with the band at that infamous concert he had to sit out because of food poisoning.... at Golden Gate Park, I believe?!

Pearl Jam and toast · August 2006

moonbeampainter wrote:

I swear I read that he specifically referenced at one of the recent San Fran shows about writing it from his hotel room while Neil was performing with the band at that infamous concert he had to sit out because of food poisoning.... at Golden Gate Park, I believe?!

i know that incident is true,... interesting turn of events we have here..

Seems to add up doesn't it?

Also, Red Mosquito made appearances (at least one) in 1995, so we know it was around then.

Have we solved it?

Sounds to me like Ed took a little something to settle his stomach

Memories of Grey · August 2006

yeah i was at the SF3 show (amazing by the way) and before they played Red Mosquito, Ed said it was written in SF (on a sad day? rainy day? not sure) in a hotel. i'm pretty sure that's right.

the hospital thing seems to work really well
the red mosquito is definatly the devil
and where it says he's reminding me
he's a-waiting

Maybe, the red mosquito is a reminder that.. ed (or the person ed is writing about) has done some sin and is supposed to go to hell, since the devil is waiting for him.

just my thoughts, great song, and i just realized all this today haha

misty · August 2006

With 100 posts, I've just become Red Mosquito

Pearl Jam and toast · August 2006

misty wrote:

With 100 posts, I've just become Red Mosquito

^_^

Red Mosquito

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