Got Some


Every night with the lights out where you gone? What's wrong?
Every time you can try but can't turn on, a rock song

I got some if you need it, I got some if you need it
I got some if you need it, I got some if you need it

Get it now, get it on, before its gone, let's everybody carry on, carry on
Get it now, set it off, before its gone, let's everybody carry on, carry on

Precipitation, which side are you on? Are you on the rise, are you falling down?
Let me know, c'mon let's go yeah

I got some if you need it, I got some if you need it
I got some if you need it, I got some if you need it

Get it now, get it on, before its gone, let's everybody carry on, carry on
Turn it up, set it off, before its gone, let's everybody get it on, get it on

This situation, which side are you on? Are you getting out? Are you dropping bombs?
Have you heard of diplomatic resolve? Yeah

Precipitation, which side are you on? Are you on the rise, are you falling down?
Let me know, c'mon let's go Yeah

I got some if you need it
I got some, oh, oh

Get it now, get enough, before its gone, let's everybody carry on, carry on
Turn it up, set it off, before its gone, let's everybody get it on, get it on

This situation, which side are you on? Are you getting out? Are you dropping bombs?
Have you heard of diplomatic resolve? Yeah

Precipitation, which side are you on? Are you drying up, are you a big drop?
Are you a puddle full of detrimental?

Got some, got some
Carry on, carry on
I got some if you need it, I got some if you need it
Carry on, let's go



Someone (CHUD?) described Got Some as an anti-guitar guitar song, and I can’t come up with a better description. Musically Got Some seems definedby the notes that Mike and Stone are not playing. They move the song along, but the song gets its character by the amazing drum and bass work, which do a magnificent job filling the spaces and gaps left by the guitar. And it’s to Matt and Jeff’s credit that there isn’t necessarily anything over the top here. Certain songs like WMA or In My Tree foreground the percussion and bass, and are seem to be self-consciously written as showcases. The work that’s going on here is a lot more subtle, and in its own way more mature and more interesting. It also makes the sharp sustained guitar notes that punctuate the song at the beginning and especially the outro all the more compelling. Mike isn’t playing much at the end, but it sounds awesome and you just wish it would go on longer. The end result is one of the most propulsive songs in their catalogue, a wall of sound moving at breakneck speeds. If Insignificance was 4 times faster it would be Got Some. As is, the rolling drums and the siren guitar at the start is one of the most explosive and dynamic starts to any PJ song, and the immediate contrast with the open, empty spaces of the first verse is striking.

Vocally Eddie does what he needs to do here, which is largely get out of the way. It’s pretty rare that the music actually overwhelms Eddie, but it does here, and it’s probably better for the song as a whole. Eddie decided not to strain himself on this one (we actually have 4 very different vocal takes on how to do a fast song on the first 4 songs on Backspacer, although GSMF, Fixer, and Johnny Guitar have that rippling growl that categorizes so much of Eddie’s recent fast stuff, which I think sounds fantastic ) and while it’s obvious that his voice has lost a lot of its power when he’s playing it straight, it’s also clear that the band knows how to compensate, either by upping the volume and the intensity or supplementing his performance (the ahhhhs harmonizing under the main vocal line), which give the song that deep, rich fullness at the low end to contrast with the wails that punctuate the rest of the song. Likewise, the increasingly frantic pace of the vocal melody also compensates for the comparative weakness of the performance. As I’ve said elsewhere, Backspacer shows that the band can now compensate with craft what they used to accomplish with power.

Lyrically this is pretty weak. It’s a short song, and its sung and played with so much conviction that it doesn’t end up mattering. The ‘got some if you need it’ mantra works for the song, but the surrounding verses are too vague to be meaningful, (what exactly are we getting? What is the situation?), nonsensical (that drop lyric) and the few promising lines (are you getting out, are you dropping bombs) don’t go anywhere. As with Gonna See My Friend (or even the Fixer to an extent) the song hungers for an actual subject—some specificity. If this is just supposed to be a ‘fire you up’ kind of song it at least could use some striking individual lyrics (which I think The Fixer has), but they’re pretty much absent here. Eddie can write lovely abstract lyrics without a concrete narrative (look at Immortality) but they should still be in the service of a clear theme, and that’s lacking.

With better lyrics this is one of the best rockers they’ve ever done. Even without it’s a great song. 4 Stars (sometimes 4.5)

5 stars, great song. although i almost spit my coffee out when i read stip say the fixer has better lyrics. the message of the song and music go perfectly together, get the fuck up and get something done. u need something to motivate you? put on a loud rock song. i love it.

I will agree that the lyrics have no real meaning, but this is one of those songs where that doesn't bother me. The quality of the delivery sustains the vocal part of the song and what we do get from the lyrics is the same feeling the music provides (energy, a feeling of propulsion). I find it a little like Animal in this way. the lyrics don't mean anything, but I get it anyway. It's all in the feeling.

This is a 5 star song for me.

I love this song. It's my favorite on the album, I gave it a 5. Should have been the first single off of Backspacer.

Really like this song, think it's the best pure rocker on Backspacer. Sounds similiar to Comatose to me but stronger. Lyrically Stip may be right but the music more than carries it. That happens frequently in the faster Pearl Jam catalog (Save You, Brain of J for example). Normally it takes a few listens for me to warm up to songs paced like Got Some but I've loved it since it's Conan debut & my affection has only grown. I think it's one from Backspacer you'll see in setlists for years to come.
***** Best song of this type from Pearl Jam since Grievance.

Enjoyable song, but the Devo rip is way too blatant and inexcusable. I'm tempted to give it 2 stars because of it, but I enjoy it way too much. 3 stars.

Also I can't get my head around how a song driven by guitar arpeggios could possibly be "anti-guitar".

stip needs a lil fixin!

I voted 4 stars...but its closer to 4.5.

For me this is a better rocker than anything on Avocado and Riot Act. I liked the Conan performance, but i've come to love the studio version.

Love it! And I love the lyric you used for the thread titles. 4 stars.

This might be the eighth grader in me (I used to come up with the silliest and simplest interpretations of PJ songs). Anyway a common theme and feeling on this album is this idea of rejuvenation, a new optimism, new energy.

And even though it'd be really silly at this point in their career, it's almost like this song is about rock music being missing in the culture, gone from the radio, TV etc... but PJ's got it, if you need it. A part of me thinks that "Got some when you need it" would be a cooler lyric.

Moving on... the opening lyric is an image of someone wandering in the dark looking for their rock...and Ed's got some if you need it. Then the "Get it now..." lyric is cool because it picks up and matches the urgency of the music. It's saying music is timeless, but take in the moment now.

Also, the "Which side are you on?" line makes me think that all the rock fans that have either grown old or grown accustomed to what's popular now. So Ed's saying: Are you getting out of what you once loved? The bombs and diplomatic resolve line I do not get.

This theme goes along with "The End," which I can't help but think is Ed apologizing for the direction the band has gone recently. Crazy? Yes. Idiotic? Yes.

Just thoughts. I had more thoughts on Got Some because it's probably my favorite off of BS. It's the first PJ tune in a while where I get really psyched and fist pumping for. 5 stars.

Word for word, my thoughts exactly.
It's the Backspacer track I play the most.

I think the guitars are actually kind of invisible for much of the song, even though they're there and doing interesting things much of the time. It's an interesting trick

The nice fellow who posted the Australian / Oceanian mix - on there there is a great 'Got Some' . I like this song.

And Stip, yes I was the one who described Got Some as an anti-guitar song; and I stand by that statement.

By that I mean, they took what could (some would say should) have been a guitar song, and made the guitars secondary to the other instruments (bass/drums) in the mix. I love it.

why is it inexcusable? they've copped to it.

the fact that he enjoys it is enough of an excuse, but im guessing he's a devo fan

I love how this is a Jeff song.

I think that's a great point. The guitars are very interesting on this song, but they are definitely not the first thing I think of when I think about the song.