PILATE

Talk of circles and punching out
Looking in, drawing circles down
Falling up the south marking ground
Talking out of turn, drawing circles down

Like Pilate, I have a dog
Like Pilate, I have a dog

Walks me out of town
Still, one's a crowd
Making angels in the dirt
Looking up, looking all around

Like Pilate, I have a dog
(Obeys, listens, kisses, loves)
Like Pilate, I have a dog
(Obeys, listens, kisses, loves)

Stunned by my own reflection
It's looking back, sees me too clearly
And I swore I'd never go there again
Not unlike a friend that politely drags you down
You down...you down...you down

Like Pilate, I have a dog
(Obeys, listens, kisses, loves)
Like Pilate, I have a dog
(Obeys, listens, kisses, loves)
Like Pilate, I have a dog
(Obeys, listens, kisses, loves)
Like Pilate, I have a dog

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PILATE is one of two songs on Yield, the other being LOW LIGHT, for which Jeff wrote both the words and music. I believe that these are the first two Pearl Jam songs that are Jeff only songs. Of the two, I think that LOW LIGHT is the more successful song, but PILATE has some engaging moments. Jeff’s thought process is often an obscure one; the lyrical content in his songs is clearly stream-of-consciousness. And the melodies have that quality to a certain extent as well. While Stone and Eddie melodies are very structured, Jeff’s feel as if they are flowing off the top of his head as the lyrics flow through his mind.

Musically, PILATE has a lot of charm. Jeff’s music always has a movement and energy that is engaging. The verse melody is gentle but still has a note of urgency. The insistent acoustic rhythm guitar pattern immediately draws one into the song and helps the meandering melody acquire some shape and substance. And I really like the music in the chorus. The drum-based build escalates the intensity very nicely.

Really, my biggest problem with this song is the lyrics. I love this couplet from the bridge:

Stunned by my own reflection
It's looking back, sees me too clearly.

I really don’t have any meaningful interpretation. I think that the lyrics have to do with the ways in which one’s own beliefs about oneself differ from the ways in which other people see us, or the way that we would see ourselves if we could look objectively, thus the “stunned by my own reflection” idea. And I think that this is the idea that plays into the chorus.

Like Pilate, I have a dog
(Obeys, listens, kisses, loves)
Like Pilate, I have a dog
(Obeys, listens, kisses, loves)

Pilate loved his dog, but that fact did not define the kind of person that he was. It might be interesting to speculate further about this, but I’m afraid that these lyrics and their impassioned delivery are ridiculous in the extreme to me. I find the chorus rather difficult to listen to. Despite the obvious strengths in this song, I can’t say that I like it very much. 1 star.

Decent song, but it always bores me.

2 stars.

Nice write up.

This song is a curate's egg. I've always really loved the verses... but that chorus really brings the song down. I'm going to go for 2 stars.

glad to see this written up...

really good write up to... if not a little incomplete...

Pilate and Lowlight were written by Jeff after he finished The Master and Margarita...

he said one is a question, and the other is the answer... Pilate's the question... I think you can't find better lyrics and imagery than the one about "talking how to turn drawing circles down" line... it's about rejecting faith... "drawing circles" are religions/messiahs, etc... and that couplet too at the end... such a pretty song, with a terrible chorus, aurally-- i actually like the lines, but they sound so abrasive to the verse's melody/structure

Not much of a fan of this one. Musically it is okay. I kinda like the chorus and kinda like the verses and bridge but none of them blow me away. They're all missing that really engaging moment (the same is true of lowlight)

Similar to lowlight i feel like this is a below average vocal performance from mister vedder. it is servicable, but never any moments that make you sit up and go wow

And again like lowlight lyrically I think this is a mess. There are a few decent lines but like most jeff songs I think it sounds smarter than it actually is. Unlike Ike, I'm pretty unimpressed with the circles imagery as a religious metaphor. The one exception is, as previously stated, the bridge, which is offers you a fairly provocative set of lyrics that don't really get explored further. So it is kind of a tease

So essentially, like lowliight, this is the quintessential 2 star pearl jam song.


To be fair, I've never read The Master and Margarita so I suppose it is possible this would change my impression of the song. What is it about?

poor slh. when was the last time you wrote about a song you actually like?

I love the verses, the bridge, and the production throughout these two parts (the production on this bridge and on the bridge to No Way always jump out at me and strike me as lovely). The chorus sounds lazy and inappropriate for the song. For me, it ruins it. Aside from Jeff writing the lyrics for both this and Low Light, i think of the two songs very independently. One that sounds pleasurable from start to finish, and one that has a poo chorus.

This is my least favorite song on Yield, which is my #1 or #2 favorite PJ album. Its hurt by a few factors.

1) Jeff wrote it (Other than Lowlight (which I love) Jeff stick to music and minimally at that)
2) It's wedged between some great songs...it's like GTF, Wishlist *Plop*, DTE.
3) It sticks to the book a little too awkwardly. I like how Jeff tried to paint the picture of Pilate and his dog...but the chorus is just ridiculous. In a different world it could work, but not this one.
4) I like the music, but don't love it. There's nothing memorable about it.


Even though Yield was the band's passage back to "collaboration," I find myself more pleased with Stone/Ed, Mike/Ed and some Ed songs. Matt and Jeff can stay away from writing all together imo. I like some of Matt's work on Avocado, but overall it brings the catalog down. Same for Jeff songs. Something connects for me with Lowlight, and I think it's saved by the band's interpretation of it as a whole. the sound and Ed's vocals are perfect in my book.

If I had to hand pick filler out of Yield, I'd reach for Pilate first. 2 stars

its a shame that this song is so mediocre overall because i think this part is really cool:
Stunned by my own reflection
It's looking back, sees me too clearly
And I swore I'd never go there again
Not unlike a friend that politely drags you down
You down...you down...you down

Would have been an excellent instrumental. Chorus is unbelievably irritating. I think I posted about this once before but I remember that during pre-Yield interviews Stone told reporters that the band was working on a song called "Pilate" and that he was totally loving it. That set me up for tremendous disappointment when I finally heard the track.

I love the melodies on this song, and the odd timing, enough to ignore the lyrical dubiousness. The chorus reminds me of the callout of "How do you feeeeel," by Pink Floyd...it's a totally noncatchy chorus that shows up kind of awkwardly, but it charms you if you walk into it with a willing mind a few times.

It's also the perfect KIND of song to fit between the tracks it seperates.

3 stars.

It's the only song on Yield that I genuinely dislike and skip every time.
Definitely near the bottom of the entire catalog for me.

Good song, horrible chorus.The lyrics in the bridge are pretty cool, but the rest is bad. 2 stars.

4 stars, the chorus doesn't bother me in the slightest. It's a shame this one has sat on the shelf for 8 years.

I really, really like Jeff's songs.

A song that for itself is not a big think but,as "no way",have in Yield their meaning.In fact,maybe with 'no way' are the songs that really give to Yield the meaning as the album it is.The album of healing process.I cant put the song out of yield.So maybe as a song by itself,3 stars.But as a part of Yield,5.

good floyd analogy.
the chorus could be worse - it could be trying real hard to be poetic and failing, as in You Are for instance. or it could be more grating, as in Evacuation - i admit it's a bad chorus by Eddie's standards but it doesn't annoy me at all. who needs as chorus anyway?
2.764 stars, rounded to 3.

okay, i'll be the idiot. who is pilate? the one from the bible? and he had a dog? i've never understood the chorus...

Wiki:

Pontius Pilatus was the governor of the Roman Iudaea province from 26 until 36. In modern times he is best known as the man who presided over the trial of Jesus and ordered his crucifixion.

And some googling...

Best bridge.