rats

They don’t eat, don’t sleep
They don’t feed, they don’t seethe
Bare their gums when they moan and squeak
Lick the dirt off a larger one’s feet
They don’t push, don’t crowd
Congregate until they’re much too loud
Fuck to procreate till they are dead
Drink the blood of their so called best friend

They don’t scurry when something bigger comes their way
Don’t pack themselves together and run as one
Don’t shit where they’re not supposed to
Don’t take what’s not theirs, they don’t compare

They don’t scam, don’t fight
Don’t oppress an equals given rights
Starve the poor so they can be well fed
Line their holes with the dead ones bread

They don’t scurry when something bigger comes their way }
Don’t pack themselves together and run as one } (2x)
Don’t shit where they’re not supposed to }
Don’t take what’s not theirs, they don’t compare... }

Rats...they don’t compare (2x)
Ben, the two of us need look no more (5x)

Stripes got there before me. Haven't listened to this for a while, Great song.

I listened to the song after an eternity...usually I listened to just "animal" and "daughter" from the album...then i discovered the incredible rhythm of the song. it's unbelievable...i feel as if my insides are thumping to the beat when the song starts...it's pure, unadulterated euphoria!

guildenstern wrote:

does anybody know who this Ben in the last lines actually is? is it from AliceInWonderland? i remember a rat, a mouse, whose name was... what?

There was a cheezy horror flick back in the early 70's about a killer rat called 'Ben'. (It was actually a sequal to another killer rat movie called 'Willard')

Michael Jackson did the theme song for it, also called 'Ben'.

The first line in the song is "Ben, the two of us need look no more" and during the song background singers echo it. I've always assumed that's where it came from.

darthvedder88 wrote:

really great bass lines in this song. Def. one of the best from VS.

Completely agree.
I would love to see it done live.

Adelaide Feb 16 2003 wrote:

My favorite memory of RATS was in 1994 when I was on a training course in Scotland. I had just bought V's and had been listening to it non-stop. I was sitting in the pub at the bar listening to it on my personal CD player. RATS was playing and these two guys tapped me on the shoulder and said" are you listening to PJ" I said 'yeah RATS'.
Turns out these two guys were from Seattle and were obviously huge PJ fans. Anyway they bought me a beer and two hours later after many Bourbons and depth charges and huge discussions about all the songs on the album we were all loaded and best of mates. Good memories!

What a cool story.
It's awesome when you meet people simply based on Pearl Jam's music.

I once had a long conversation about PJ's music in the parking lot of the local grocery store. A guy stopped to talk with me simply because I was wearing a PJ t-shirt. We shared concert experiences, favorite songs, etc.
It was a fun trip to the grocery store.

I love that song too ... one of my favourites