not really related to anything happening here (which is interesting but I have nothing to add to) mray, tyler, or anyone else. Please send me a PM if you are interested in writing up a song of the moment

You describe it so perfectly. I love the echo on this song more than any other. Romantic love is an almost otherworldly thing, and the echo perfectly projects this feeling.

Porch

There is a breathless, frantic intensity to porch. Two scenes play out in my mind, and I’m not sure which one I like more. One has a person running through their apartment in a bit of a daze, by themselves and coping with the end of a relationship. The other sees a person storming out of a house, trailed by the song’s narrator, begging for the person to stay as they throw their car into reverse and head off into the distance. In both situations the key to the image is movement—because if the person stopped they will collapse.
Either way it begs the question, what happened here?

And that’s how the song starts—the riff only plays for a second before Eddie belts out “what the fuck is this world running to?” There isn’t a whole lot of profanity on this record, so it has extra emphasis here, and I like that he says running to instead of coming to. There is a sense of deliberation in the later—as if the world is playing out some inexorable trend, whereas here there is a crashing immediacy to the question. And whatever happened seems shocking—there is no message, no warning or time to prepare. It reminds me of a moment in college when my girlfriend at the time told me seemingly out of the blue that she wanted to break up. We had had some problems but I was hopelessly in love and figured and had really pushed all this to the side because I didn’t want to think about it, and when that suddenly came out (I think I asked her what was wrong because she seemed upset and that just burst out) there was a pause (it felt like an eternity even though I know it only lasted a few seconds0 and then the world suddenly seemed to speed up, with me racing to keep up with it. Some of the little moments Eddie captures in the song are great too, like the you didn’t leave a message lyric—the request for something tangible to hold onto as a relationship reaches a violent end

I’ve always thought porch was about a woman pleading with a man to stay, but it works with either gender. The ‘would you hit me?' lyric works either way here, with the singer hoping that perhaps some kind of physical act will offer some kind of outlet for the problems that are dragging the relationship down. In either case it is a request borne of desperation, and has particularly sinister overtones if the voice of the song is supposed to be a woman

So what is driving the collapse of the relationship? The second verse makes me thing that the issue is pregnancy. It is hard to tell if this is something I’m reading back into the song due to the pro choice message Eddie scrawls on his arm during the unplugged, plus all the comments made at early shows about choice. If the singer is a woman I imagine her discovering she was pregnant and the guy just absolutely freaking out, tearing out of there rather than staying to confront this new reality—the woman offers to abort the child for him (perhaps he thinks she won’t—“and the cross I’m bearing home ain’t indicative of my place) but he won’t stay still long enough to listen. But maybe there is something slightly more mundane going on—perhaps this is a woman declaring an end to an abusive relationship, demanding change from the partner. The way Eddie positively seethes when he sings “there ain’t gonna be any middle anymore” makes it clear that regardless of what is going on a line is being drawn, that she wants an end to the daily mindfield of complications that is fast ruining their shared lives.

Porch is about weathering a storm, and the title is key to that. A porch brings to mind warm and cozy images of home, of tranquility and safety—and porch is about the destruction of that safety. The first half of the song sets up the collapse, the back half deals with it from inside. The music has a galloping energy to it—it sounds like running, as if the person is trying so hard to stay ahead of the events that threaten to overwhelm them. The chorus is both a declaration of need and independence. The singer fears being alone and wants so powerfully for the person leaving to stay (she’s running to catch up with him) and there is certainly a sharp edge of desperation to the final minute of the song (which I think is only matched by the end of Alive in terms of its power in their entire catalogue)—she is pleading for things to go back the way they were, but at the same time she is also forcing herself to come to grips with it (you can hear her arguing with herself under the music in the bridge). The cries are not only cries of despair, but strength, fortifying her for the struggles that she will have to face alone. This isn’t the breakdown at the end of Black where the comfort and release comes from the fact that you aren’t alone in your pain. In Black there isn’t strength as much as there is solidarity in pain. There is something empowering about the finish of porch—from the closing of the bridge to the end of the song there is the incredible rolling drums, the great bass line, the absolutely empowering riff (so much fantastic music that is buried in the mix—next time you listen to porch try and block eddie out at the end and just listen to the music from about 2:04 to the end), and Eddie’s primal screams—ragged but determined. It is an emancipatory moment in the midst of a destructive whirlwind, an act of creation as everything else around you falls apart. Porch finishes with the righteousness of a last stand against seemingly overwhelming odds, with nothing to offer but yourself and the determination that it will be enough, because it has to be.

“Here I stand, I can do no other, God Help me”—Martin Luther

This is the song that made me want to check out all that Pearl Jam had to offer.

I loved their S/T album, but I never really got around to listening to anything else by them for quite a while. Then I heard my daughter playing a live version of this song. It made me need to listen to their other albums, and I just really began to love them.

It is beyond my abilities to explain what is so compelling about his song. The music, the vocals, the jam, everything about it. Luckily, stip has already done this.

The only comment that I have is that this is one song that feels, to me, like it comes from the man's perspective.

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?

He is frenzied because his girlfriend is leaving him, and very abruptly. He won't even be allowed the chance to hear her voice one more time. He uses the word, "learned," which makes me think that he not only wants to hear her voice, he wants to try to interpret her feelings through it. Something happened, and she won't even allow him the opportunity to stand by her side (daily minefield, this could be my time by your... ), or to take out her anger upon him (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

I think that this verse clarifies that it is an issue greater than the two of them, the government is involved (all the bills go by, and initiatives are taken up by the middle), and he has become embroiled in this issue against his will (and the cross i'm bearing home / ain't indicative of my place). He's left the comfort of home (left the porch).

I think that most would interpret this song as being about the abortion issue, and Eddie has provided lots of reasons to do so.

I've heard so many live versions of this song, but these words sung at the end:

Hear my name
Take a good look
This could be the day
Hold my hand
Lie beside me
I just need to say
What can I take?
I just want to be
I know that i would not ever touch you
Hold you
Feel you
Ever hold
Never again

never lose their effect on me.

Stip - Another great write up. You've earned your beers this weekend. I'd buy you a box of beer if I saw ya.

I always think that this songs meanings have been skewed since MTV Unpluuged session. Ten had a lot of songs, Porch included, where they had magical opening lines that just suck you in. "What the fuck is this world running to" is awesome.

Best version of this song I've seen or heard was Ed solo at the first benefit Mike put on about 4 years ago. Ed and his acoustic guitar, more powerful than any electric version I've yet to hear.

One thing I love about the Ten lyrics is the way they seem to speak directly to you. I think some of the later lyrics speak more at you as Ed's taking a bigger picture point of view more often now. On Ten he shared his life with us, now he more often than not shares his views with us. I prefer the more personal Ed.

About OCEANS, I always felt this song was dramatically different than the rest of the album, almost to the point of skipping it. on vinyl or cassette, it makes much more sense. i don't think CD's were the primary form for music to be released, when Ten came out. I might be wrong, but i remember 90-91 being the time when CD's began their ascendency.

that aside, the images in this songs stick with me, in regards to conceptualizing love, with the ocean being not just distance and space, but also other things, like arguments and what not. emotional oceans, per se.

also think this song underscores the relationship between Ed and Jeff, and makes me think of RHCP's Kiedis/Flea. I like when Jeff's got songs he's written on bass.

uh, otherwise, not much to say. sweet little song, and i love it live in the early shows when Ed could get to the high notes, solely because it sounds so beautiful....

This kind of blew my mind.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... +jam+porch

I've never thought of this as a solo acoustic tune.

this is the best write-up you've done stip


the majority of the song now makes sense to me.


so many of the lyrics in it, I used to have no clue how to interpret.



GREAT write-up. I wish I could PeaPod you a case of your favorite beer, wine, or champagne.

I probably won't get to Garden today cuz of work, so sorry about that. If I don't it'll be up tomorrow

The way ed delivers that "ain't gonna be any middle anymore" line is probably the best vocal delivery in their entire catalogue.

Garden

Garden is a quiet moment for meditation, taking stock of what has come before. There is a strong contrast between the clarity of the main guitar melody and the moody atmosphere that surrounds it, at attempt to make sense of a seemingly senseless world, an effort to pierce the veil that obscures what he hopes is reality, a truer world than the one he lives in (in a lot of ways Garden is a very Platonic song)

The dissatisfaction that is driving the singer is a mixture of the personal and something much larger—the ways in which the sensory overload of the lives that we live interfere in with out ability to create meaningful personal relationships, our ability to create and sustain the attachments that create real value, rather than the illusions that we force ourselves to accept.

In that respect Garden is about resisting temptation, learning to look past the bright lights, the sales pitch, the shiny object. Truth and meaning (and love) is found when you try to look past it, to peer into the shadowy depths that do not offer any easy way out, but do offer the possibility (only the possibility) of something more meaningful.

Eddie does a pretty nice job applying this theme to our relationship with society and our relationship to each other (which is filtered through the superficiality of our external world). We can’t separate the two –the type of personal connections we have will be forever bound up with the contexts we situate them in. An impermanent world of smoke and mirrors will never allow us to grasp something tangible. Privileging love will require letting go of the familiar comfort that we are accustomed to, and this is not an easy choice to make, since the temptations to go back are so strong. Opening ourselves up to something more meaningful requires a surrender of sorts, a threatening vulnerability. Love requires the death of old attachments and the walls that we’ve built around ourselves so that we can be reborn into something new

As such, underneath the questioning and uncertainty of the verses we find the tone of the chorus and the outro, a complicated mix of determination and fear. He is willing to reject what he has to reject, to make himself vulnerable. He has to if he wants to live (a life without love, without humanity, is not a life worth living) but the necessity of his surrender does not make it any less painful, and the song ends with that painful rejection of what he knows and the possibility (always a possibility, never a guarantee) of rebirth.

Thanks for that interpretation, stip. I've never looked at GARDEN in that way before.

For me this song is about death and the acceptance of the inevitability of it.
I think of a "Garden of Stone" as a cemetary.

After all is done
We're still alone
I won't be taken
Yet I'll go

We don't have any choice in this matter, but we all know that someday death takes us all. And we will face it alone. We might as well make ourselves right with the world before that day comes. Because we don't know when that day will be.

I think that one works too, but I have a hard time making sense of some of the lyrics with the traditional death interpretation.

Truth be told, I'm not a huge fan of garden. the song I like least on Ten (I love the version they reworked for 06 though--I enjoy the stronger contrasts)

If I were doing this as an SOTM, I would give the Ten version of GARDEN 2 stars. I also like the new version better, but I still don't think that it's a great stand-alone song.

Nice updates stip, I haven't had the time to read these in a while

yeah it hovers between 2.5 and 3 stars for me. However, I think it would do better placed elsewhere on the record, but I'll talk about that when I do deep (which may not be tomorrow--writes ups are tough on mondays and wednesdays while I'm teaching)

deep will be up tomorrow, and release on friday

Deep

Before I really dive into deep I wanted to something about its placement on the record. For the most part I think Ten is a well tracked record, but I’ve never been quite comfortable with the location of deep and garden. Deep belongs earlier, amongst the stories like Once, Even Flow, Why Go, Black, and Jeremy, where there is no way out, and no resolution beyond anger and shared outrage and grief. Like oceans and porch, garden begins to offer the promise of a way out, and the segue from Garden into Release is much stronger (thematically and musically) than Deep into Release. I’m not sure how I’d retrack the album, but I’d definitely switch garden and deep at a minimum.


Deep is one of the more violent songs on Ten, and the opening, explosive music reflects that. It has always reminded me of falling, someone caught in a free-fall, painfully crashing through barriers that fail to stop them, or even slow them down. The rise and fall of Eddie’s voice does a nice job moving the song along. Whereas the music gives each little vignette an appropriately sinister tone he starts each verse calmly, even casually, which makes the panic in each chorus hit more powerfully.

The verses themselves are quick mini-portraits (as is every song on ten) of a life falling apart. The first has a person contemplating suicide. He feels small, insignificant, and decides to put the question off, settling for the slow suicide of drug abuse instead. In the second story the subject is similarly feeling trapped not only by the fact that the larger world offers him no sources of meaning and stability, but also by the lack of understanding on behalf of the rest of society. Like the first character, he’s an outcast, although where the first person was lost in a cold, uncaring crowd the second person feels trapped in a smaller world of faked intimacy and community. In both cases the isolation is especially bitter since they both find themselves surrounded by people (a city with all its possibilities, and a small town where people are supposed to know and care about one another).

The final story is easily the most moving and chilling of the three—the story of a young, fairly innocent girl in the process of being raped—possibly by a stranger, possibly by a boyfriend pressuring her into sex. Either way, what should be the most intimate and joyous act that two people can engage in becomes violent and distant. Rather than intimacy what connects her to the man above her is her objectification. She isn’t a human being, but a means to an end, to someone else’s gratification. The violation is both physical and mental, a taking of her body and a taking of her humanity. Eddie gives extra weight to this verse the way he snarls the “she just ain’t nothing lyric”, as most of the other verses don’t have any of the lyrics getting extra emphasis until the chorus

In all three cases the person is too far along to find a way out. The constant falling, the constant feeling of insignificance, the destruction of humanity has left them trapped and alone, and not sure where to turn to next. Like most of Ten, the catharsis in Ten comes from Eddie’s voice, sharing his outrage that we allow people to feel this alone and this violated (existentially or physically). There is no resolution. It’s a dark song, although angry enough to not be altogether hopeless. As long as there is anger the spark of resistance is still there, which means that there is always the possibility of a way out, even if we are in too deep to see it.

The best version of Deep is the live recording (I can't remeber what disc) when at the end of the song Eddie screams: "No you won't, No you won't!"

That is a chilling end to the final verse.

Powerfull song.

i did an intepretation of deep for a sociology of social problems class a few years ago.


I really love this song. so dark and angry. the music is great.