Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 12:59 am Posts: 18643 Location: Raleigh, NC Gender: Male
SONG OF THE MOMENT!
The Song of the Moment discussion goes as follows. A moderator or myself will start a new thread. We'll post the lyrics of the song along with links to the previous discussions.
SOTM gives us a chance to come together and talk about the music in a very focused manner. Many of these songs touch us in different ways and this is a great medium for enjoying the reason we are all here, the music.
A few of us were lucky enough to catch the band last Friday, and every last one of us was suprised when the full band opener (after TKAA) was Porch. This is a song generally reserved for the end of a very long show, a long encore...it's a climax dammit! This is not a fair way to start! Needless to say, the Paramount exploded at the second utterance of "Would you hit me....ohhhh...." You know the rest.
Written By: Vedder Album: Ten Release Date: 1991-08-27
what the fuck is this world running to you didn't leave a message at least i coulda' learned your voice one last time daily minefield, this could be my time by your... would you hit me? would you hit me? all the bills go by, and initiatives are taken up by the middle there ain't gonna be any middle any more and the cross i'm bearing home ain't indicative of my place left the porch left the porch hear my name, take a good look this could be the day hold my hand, walk beside me i just need to say... hear my name, take a good look this could be the day hold my hand, lie beside me i just need to say i could not take a-just one day i know when i would not ever touch you...hold you...feel you...in my arms... never again...
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 6:15 pm Posts: 3318 Location: Brizile Gender: Male
Now this feels like a love song to me... "Lets run away my love, somewhere far from here"... I love this song since the first time i heard it and still love it, the intensity of it live back in the 90s and now... it really blows my mind...
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 1:14 am Posts: 37778 Location: OmaGOD!!! Gender: Male
I haven't posted in any of these threads before, but I feel a special connection with this song because it has been instrumental in bumping my level of fandom up a notch on a couple of occasions.
It was just another quick rock number on side two of Ten until the first time I saw pearl jam live at Lollapalooza in 92. It was the first time I had heard an extended jam associated with Porch, and it was outside in the middle of a gorgeous afternoon in the sun and Ed went nuts. He climbed to the top of the stage scaffolding at Waterloo Village and leaned out 40 or more feet over the crowd hanging just by his elbows. He then proceeded to climb down to a height of about 10 feet before diving into the crowd and riding the arms back to the stage to finish the song. I was floored, and Pearl Jam went from being one the main bands I wanted to see that day, to being my favorite band making music at the time.
Later, in early 1998, I had just discovered the internet and MP3's and I was seeking out all of the rarer PJ songs that I didn't have already. The version of Porch from Melbourne was posted as the song of the month at 5H so I downloaded it and it reawakened the song in my imagination. I hadn't seen a live PJ show since that first time, and this was the first live MP3 I ever downloaded, so I guess this opened the floodgates for me for collecting live recordings.
At that time, however, I focused on the lyrics for the first time, and without the stage theatrics that so dazzled me in 92, the song itself took on new importance. I was also just recovering from a long and bad breakup and I was soothing myself a lot with music and my guitar. I learned this song, and I can remember screaming out the lyrics through a cracked teary voice, "I could not take just one day, I know when I would not ever touch you, hold you, feel you in my arms EVER AGAIN!!!" I hardly ever play my guitar in front of anyone, especially not people who aren't very good friends. Porch is the only song I can ever remember playing, and definitely the only time singing, for a group of people at a party once.
Porch is a love song.
--PunkDavid
_________________ Unfortunately, at the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the Flower Children jerked off and went back to sleep.
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 11:36 pm Posts: 25824 Location: south jersey
i think of porch as a love song too. ive also seen people talk about how it could be related to politics as well. its wonderfully written w/ great lyrics no matter how you view there meaning.
this was the first song i though of when i saw the greatest hits list. how the fuck could this song not make a "greatest hits" list? i think this is one of pearl jams best song ever. i would easily put this in a top 5 list.
best live version-unplugged
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Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 11:36 pm Posts: 25824 Location: south jersey
i also think putting this at the beginning of sets wouldnt be a bad idea. i know its been used as a closer or toward the end of a show almost every time its been played, but i could see it as an early rocker b/c sometimes ed's voice goes towards the end of a show.
_________________ Feel the path of every day,... Which road you taking?,...
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 6:41 am Posts: 5867 Location: Providence, RI Gender: Male
Whenever I talk about Porch, there are two words I always put in front of it: mother and fucking. Mother fucking Porch. This is one of the fews songs on which I think Pearl Jam becomes greater than a sum of its parts. I think this song gets away from them (and it's not just because they sneak the word "indicative" into a rock song). I'll try to explain.
I think it all starts with the live intro this song gets every time. "1, 2, 3, 4..." This reels me in, hook, line, and sinker every time. The first and so far only time I ever heard this song live was Boston 1 2003, and Ed leaned into the first row to let a young fan count it out. You don't even need to wait for the first notes to get pumped up...just the counting makes me want to jump out of my chair when I'm listening to a bootleg, or I'll suddenly jump up another five miles an hour if I'm in the car. Then the first few words just cut into you: "What the fuck." The song can be interpreted in so many different ways...but like a few people who have said it before me, I think it's a love song. And it's not a good love song...well, it's an awesome song, but it's about when love goes bad. And isn't that what you want to say when love goes bad? You just sit there and wonder why the world is against you, why nothing ever goes right, why all the bad things seem to happen to you, why the one person you care about doesn't have the common decencey to say good bye when they leave you...I mean, what the fuck? The second verse is a little harder to get a hold of, except for the lines, "And the cross I'm bearing home / Ain't indicative of my place." To me this is a statement along the lines of, "No matter what happens to me, no matter how the world sees me...it doesn't change who I am inside." It doesn't indicate what kind of person I really am.
Then comes what I think is the best part of the song. I'll skip over the lyrics that come post-second verse and skip right to the jam. I don't know exactly what makes this jam better than the one is, say, Rearviewmirror, or Immortality, or a great Alive solo...it just always hits me. It seems to flow...more...more organically from the song than the others do. It fits better. I can get absolutely lost in it. I can remember driving on the highway in New Hampshire listening to the jam from the show I was at, and all of a sudden five minutes of my life disappeared. I don't remember driving along that six mile stretch of road. I don't remember switching lanes. All I remember is seeing Ed climbing the speaker stacks at Great Woods, and the call and response part...even though the chants were just "yeahs" and nonsensical mumblings, there was so much power behind them. And Mike's guitar work on this part always gets to my core...not his best solo all the time...but every once in a while he hits it for up to two or three minutes and the sound rolls over my entire body. Then, just as the jam seems like it'll fade off into nothingness, the band comes back with one more onslaught. This part includes one of my favorite Ed vocals ever, especially when he fades out with, "Never again...yeah...yeah..." This is definitely the emotional climax of the song...anyone who has memories of someone they cared about lying in their arms, knowing it'll never happen again...yeah, you all know what I'm talking about.
When I listen to Porch I forget Pearl Jam is just five guys with instruments. Like I said...greater than the sum of its parts.
_________________ "I wish that I believed in fate / I wish I didn't sleep so late"
"The real truth about it is: no one gets it right / The real truth about it is: we’re all supposed to try"
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:09 pm Posts: 24847 Location: this stark raving, sick, sad little world Gender: Male
The studio version of this song is good but it's even better live. Especially when Mike has a huge solo. I saw one where both Mike and Stone had solos it was great. Good song.
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 10:10 pm Posts: 2154 Location: Rio
Simple_Torture wrote:
Whenever I talk about Porch, there are two words I always put in front of it: mother and fucking. Mother fucking Porch. This is one of the fews songs on which I think Pearl Jam becomes greater than a sum of its parts. I think this song gets away from them (and it's not just because they sneak the word "indicative" into a rock song). I'll try to explain.
I think it all starts with the live intro this song gets every time. "1, 2, 3, 4..." This reels me in, hook, line, and sinker every time. The first and so far only time I ever heard this song live was Boston 1 2003, and Ed leaned into the first row to let a young fan count it out. You don't even need to wait for the first notes to get pumped up...just the counting makes me want to jump out of my chair when I'm listening to a bootleg, or I'll suddenly jump up another five miles an hour if I'm in the car. Then the first few words just cut into you: "What the fuck." The song can be interpreted in so many different ways...but like a few people who have said it before me, I think it's a love song. And it's not a good love song...well, it's an awesome song, but it's about when love goes bad. And isn't that what you want to say when love goes bad? You just sit there and wonder why the world is against you, why nothing ever goes right, why all the bad things seem to happen to you, why the one person you care about doesn't have the common decencey to say good bye when they leave you...I mean, what the fuck? The second verse is a little harder to get a hold of, except for the lines, "And the cross I'm bearing home / Ain't indicative of my place." To me this is a statement along the lines of, "No matter what happens to me, no matter how the world sees me...it doesn't change who I am inside." It doesn't indicate what kind of person I really am.
Then comes what I think is the best part of the song. I'll skip over the lyrics that come post-second verse and skip right to the jam. I don't know exactly what makes this jam better than the one is, say, Rearviewmirror, or Immortality, or a great Alive solo...it just always hits me. It seems to flow...more...more organically from the song than the others do. It fits better. I can get absolutely lost in it. I can remember driving on the highway in New Hampshire listening to the jam from the show I was at, and all of a sudden five minutes of my life disappeared. I don't remember driving along that six mile stretch of road. I don't remember switching lanes. All I remember is seeing Ed climbing the speaker stacks at Great Woods, and the call and response part...even though the chants were just "yeahs" and nonsensical mumblings, there was so much power behind them. And Mike's guitar work on this part always gets to my core...not his best solo all the time...but every once in a while he hits it for up to two or three minutes and the sound rolls over my entire body. Then, just as the jam seems like it'll fade off into nothingness, the band comes back with one more onslaught. This part includes one of my favorite Ed vocals ever, especially when he fades out with, "Never again...yeah...yeah..." This is definitely the emotional climax of the song...anyone who has memories of someone they cared about lying in their arms, knowing it'll never happen again...yeah, you all know what I'm talking about.
When I listen to Porch I forget Pearl Jam is just five guys with instruments. Like I said...greater than the sum of its parts.
amazing review! if i didn't like the song already... well, i'll listen to it having your words in mind
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 3:03 pm Posts: 26481 Location: virginia Gender: Male
unplugged was the when i first fell in love with this song, i had the album for a while before unplugged and thought the song was ok, but when i saw the band play this song i realized how great it was.
_________________ what is that a titleist..............Hole in one
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:38 pm Posts: 191 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
one of the original 3 songs that got me into pearl jam along with corduroy and state of love and trust. I went the longest time not knowing the name of this song back when I was just a casual listener!
as everyone else has, I can apply to the lyrics of the song.
"hear my name, take a good look... hold my hand, walk beside me"
great lyrics, they hit deep as a cry for attention as if the writer hopes his/her feelings mean anything to their ex.
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Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
I don't think Porch is a love song, at least not in the conventional sense.
Since Eddie went into his pro-choice writing on the arm bit when he did this unplugged I've always associated this song with abortion. I don't see it as a love song. Instead I see a girl finding out she is pregnant and the father/lover running off because he's scared of the consequences. She wants him to come back because she can't do this on her own (the daily minefield), and he's abandoned her at the time when they should be creating a family together.
In the middle verse I think she's telling him she'll get rid of the baby if she has to (maybe she's a catholic--and the cross I'm bearing home ain't indiciative of my place)--because what matters the most to her is keeping the guy. There is something unhealthy about the relationship in this song. Besides the fact that the guy ran away there is the 'would you hit me' line--implying that either it has happened before or that if he could take out his frustrations on her everything would be okay.
In that respect Porch has a lot in common with Betterman, at least for me.
I love the desperate, pleading cry at the end of the song
this could be the day
hold my hand
walk beside me
I just need to say
I could not take
just one day
when I could not ever
touch you
hold you
feel you
ever...
never again...
and even though the song closes in dispair, it is delivered so well (the vocals, the music) that it ends up being cathartic--almost triumphant. Fuck it--I can do this on my own. In that respect the whole song is about coming to grips with the situation.
Great song!
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if i didn't like the song already... well, i'll listen to it having your words in mind 
I have have grown to love it even more after getting pinkpop 92 recently and watching that super intense version.