Do you wanna hear something sick?
We are but victims of desire
I'm gonna shake this thing
I wanna shake this pain before I retire

I’m gonna see my friend,.. I'm gonna see my friend
Make it go away
I’m sick of everything,.. gonna see my friend
Make it go away

Buona Sera, won’t be long before we
All walk off the wire
I’m gonna see my friend,.. I'm gonna see my friend
for what I require
Buona sera, cut my quick
Don’t’ want my flame to get no higher.

I'm gonna see my friend,.. I'm gonna see my friend,.. Make it go away
I'm sick of everything,.. I'm gonna see my friend,.. Make it go away
I'm gonna see my friend,.. I'm gonna see my friend,.. Make it go away

Wanna leave it all
Wanna give it up
Wanna see it, gone once & for all
Wanna feel withdrawal
Want an overhaul
Wanna be there, hard as a statue
Black as a tattoo, never to wash away

Gonna take me an astral plane
I'm gonna tunnel through denial
I’m gonna shake this thing
I wanna shake this pain 'for I retire

I'm gonna see my friend,.. I'm gonna see my friend,.. Make it go away
I'm sick of everything,.. I'm gonna see my friend,.. Make it go away
I'm gonna see my friend,.. I'm gonna see my friend,.. Make it go away



Pearl Jam usually makes excellent choices when it comes to opening up their records, and in addition to the songs almost always being strong, they always encapsulate the tone of the record. Gonna See My Friend, is a joyous, celebratory start to a fairly joyous, celebratory record, with great riffs, a winning vocal melody, fantastic drumming, and a high octane vocal performance that doesn’t have the sharp edges and heavy burdens of S/T.

Musically it is very similar to Breakerfall, as both songs have a reckless, messy feel to them, but whereas Breakerfall is simultaneously open and claustrophobic (like being trapped n a great big space with the walls slowly starting to close in) GSMF is open and expansive, the music propulsive and bright, the vocal performance bursting with energy. Eddie is very good at delivering vocals that feel like they just have to get out—that if they don’t something’s going to burst inside (which is why his screams rarely feel affected), but for once it’s positive, something to be nurtured, if you can use such a calculating word for something so primal.

The lyrics don’t necessarily convey this sense of optimism, at least not at first. It’s a song about escape, about needing to get away, about seeking oblivion, as if the only way we can escape ourselves and our desires is through self-negation (the language of retiring, making things go away, snuffing candles) but unlike past songs that visit these themes, this time the singer has an escape, someplace worth going to, something to help him escape. What that thing is vaguely defined, but it’s a source of strength and permanence—a rock to ground himself on in a sea of uncertainty (a theme he’ll return to in Force of Nature). He alluded in interviews that this may be a song about music, but it’s easy enough to see this as escape in drugs or some kind of other reality altering experience (the astral plane lyric reinforces this, and it makes the withdrawl lyric pretty clever, since it inverts the way we'd normally use it), but at the same time there’s no reason that music as a shared experience can’t also play that role (that’s the experience of a PJ show, for instance).

My gloss on these lyrics is positive, but there isn’t necessarily anything in the lyrics themselves to indicate that this song has to be interpreted that way. I arrived here based on the general feeling of uplift on the rest of the record, and the music. I don’t have the vocabulary to describe precisely what’s going on, but the guitar accents (Mike’s parts?) are so bright and playful it’s hard to find any pain in this song. The heart of the song, the excellent bridge, is so loose and sloppy, Eddie’s vocals so matter of factly hopeful while it’s cataloguing the things that he wants, so certain of success that the parts of the song that would normally incline me to a minor key interpretation (the grinding body of the song, Eddie’s ragged vocals, although those are cut by the lower register parts) come across more like a beleaguered, but still joyful, expression of satisfaction and triumph—like crossing the finish line in a marathon. You’ve been through hell, but you’ve come out alive, and you’re so grateful (in an aggressive sort of way) for the strength that got you through it. The final “I’m Gonna See My Friend’ screams are the catharsis of the victor.

The outro, which returns to the bright chords of the intro, and even Eddie’s playful woot in there, just serve as the exclamation point. It’s a song that makes you want to move, makes you want to feel like you’re in motion, not because you need to escape, but because you want to celebrate the fact that you got out.

In terms of the sound and style this is arguably the most grungey song pearl jam has ever written, and so it’s interesting that in terms of the subject matter, the message of the song, it stands in such stark contrast to the usual substance of that genre.

4 Stars. They do these types of songs so well.

Good write up, as always, stip.

I like it, especially as an opener to this album. 4 stars for me too.

4 stars

one of my favorite tracks off Backspacer

the song is about escaping from drugs, not escaping to them. i thought it was interesting the first 3 songs on this album had drug references.

i think its a great opener and i agree about it being very "grungey". ive seen ed talk about the humor he's found in "grunge" lyrics and i love the ironic twist he puts on it saying he's gonna see his friend to help him stop doing drugs.

I've warmed to it but still don't think it soulda been the album opener, yet had it been anywhere else it'd be filler so maybe its placement is important for its survival. Can't see them playing it much but it's a good tune. Sets the tone for the first half anyways.

what are you interpreting as a drug reference in The Fixer? The "put a little high on it" line? I dont really think that's a drug reference, to me it's more of a Beatles Hello, Goodbye type thing, high being the opposite of low.

I went for 4 stars, but would have probably gone for 5 a few months back.

I think it's awesome. The verses are amazing, possibly my favourite verses of a PJ song...Ed's melody bounces all over the place, and the rhythm section is so tight. The way the bridge segues into the 'Astral plane' line could also be my favourite part of Backspacer.

4. i's likes it.

this was a 5 for me a few months ago too. This one and unthought known went down a bit (unthought known moreso) while got some and just breathe both went up (just breathe by a lot). But at the same time I can't pout my finger on why I'm less into GSMF these days

3 stars

the only thing that bugs me is the intro. a little silly sounding for me. the rest is awesome though.

I totally see this and The End as being about cigarettes. I kinda figured he wrote two songs from different perspectives about his addiction...one about wanting to defeat the destructive tendencies, one about what happens if you fail...figuring he'd then get stuck singing them from time to time and have that little reminder thrown back at him.

I like that.

I like this song quite a bit, but it is still probably my least favorite on this album. Love the way it just bursts out at you and the first two lines are clever. After that, the lyrics are kinda average. I get the point, but there's a bit too much repetition of the title phrase for my taste.

Ed does some nice things with the vocals on this song, but for too much of it (the verses in particular and the first few runs through the chorus) I just feel like he's shouting, not singing. He gets better as he varies it up toward the end. That's really the primary thing that knocks this down.

3.5 stars really, but I knocked it down to 3 on the poll.

Love this track. It's a great punch in the face to start an album. 4 stars.

I didn't care that much for the self titled album, but when Eddie hit that baritone on the chorus for the first time on "Gonna See My Friend", I smiled and thought "my favorite band is finally back". Great track.

This!

However, it did take me until the chorus to become a believer. When the track opens, you get the feeling that it's not going to be anything more than a fast surf song in the spirit of "Big Wave" or "Gremmie Outta Control". Both of those are fun tracks for what they are, but I don't like that the album opens with that sound.

Gremmie and Big Wave are not to be compared.

I'm just saying, that riff is a little too slick.