Present Tense


Do you see the way that tree bends?
Does it inspire?
Leaning out to catch the sun's rays
A lesson to be applied
Are you getting something out of this all encompassing trip?

You can spend your time alone redigesting past regrets
Or you can come to terms and realize
You're the only one who can forgive yourself
Makes much more sense to live in the present tense

Have you ideas on how this life ends?
Checked your hands and studied the lines
Have you the belief that the road ahead ascends off into the light?
Seems that needlessly it's getting harder
To find an approach and a way to live
Are we getting something out of this all-encompassing trip?

You can spend your time alone redigesting past regrets
Or you can come to terms and realize
You're the only one who cannot forgive yourself
Makes much more sense to live in the present tense


Previous Songs of the Moment
In My Tree
Red Mosquito
Porch
I Got Id
Release
Do The Evolution
Breath
Corduroy
Elderly Woman...
Leash
Hail Hail
Grievance
Love Boat Captain
Even Flow
Black Red Yellow
In Hiding
Can't Keep
Indifference
Insignificance
Whipping
Black
Smile
Push Me Pull Me
Rats
God's Dice
All or None
Yellow Ledbetter
Last Exit
Who You Are
Rearview Mirror
Hold On

Present Tense and Red Mosquito are my favorite tracks off of No Code, and further proof that Mike writes the best music in their catalogue.

I’ve noted elsewhere that there is a little too much intimacy on No Code. The songs are too personal. You can be a fly on the wall during Eddie’s ruminations, but you are not invited to participate. Present Tense is one of the real notable exceptions. It feels intimate, but it’s open at the same time—a combination that is found in their best work and what makes them such an amazing band. In Present Tense Eddie invites us to work through these questions with us. In that way I’ve always seen it as something of a companion piece to Indifference.

Where I’m not totally sold is with the lyrics. I love the sentiment, I love the music, and I think this is Eddie’s strongest vocal performance on No Code. But there has always been something lacking in the lyrics to me. I can’t quite put my finger on it. It lacks the great turn of phrase that you find in a song like Immortality or Indifference. Maybe part of the problem is I’ve always enjoyed his water imagery more than his use of trees (it’s the wave that knocks him down, not the tree he’s in, that I picture when I listen to given to fly).

The lyrics I posted above are slightly different from TSIS. I’ve always thought that instead of repeating “you’re the only one who can’t/cannot forgive yourself” he alternates between can and cannot. It’s a subtle distinction, but a really powerful one. We are the ones who shackle ourselves and in the end we’re the only ones who can free ourselves. It reminds of the line in REM’s World Leader Pretend “I raised the wall, and I will be the one to knock it down.”

I wish they’d play this clean when they do it live.

Probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite PJ song. You can often see me looking like an idiot while singing this at the top of my lungs in traffic.

absolutely beautiful. one of my favorite pj songs.

did Angus cream his pants yet?

I don't think he's awake yet. This one was for you guys, since you had to sit through a Vs. song and one not good enough to even make Ten.

acutally when i think about it, the way you describe present tense reminds me oh how pete townsend described 'see me, feel me' from tommy, in an interview. it was a way for the who to interact with the audience and make them part of the music, or at least in theory. iv always been heavily influenced by no code personally, its a sort of life journey, much like quadrophenia that a young person takes into maturity, from chaos and confusion to a more grounded and healthy state of mind and living. i think its a good album to listen to as a good motivator. as far as it being too personal. i dunno i think thats pretty much what the first 4 albums were about. at the very least it creates a sort of linearity to the catolauge.

Present Tense...God what a great song

Definitely one of my fav songs off of NC. The melody is absolutely gorgeous, the opening riff is classic PJ and can stick in your head for days, the song structure is great (I love how the gentle verses gel seamlessly with the chynky guitar riff in the chorus), and the love the dynamics of this song and how the music builds to a roaring crescendo before flowing perfectly into a beautiful ending. On top of that, It features some of the most beautiful and heartfelt lyrics Eddie has ever written, as well as a terrific vocal performance where you can tell he puts his heart into the song.

The only thing I don't like in this song is Jack's drumming. It's too stiff and can drag the song a bit (especially in the ending). I love Matt's drumming on live versions of this song, though; it's much smoother and it flows a lot better, turning the song into the anthemic live powerhouse it deserves to be.

I'm a little embarassed to say this, but I have the chorus to this on my forearm. That, and the stickman. It looks really awesome, but I rushed to get it when I was 18, and I would've probably got it different looking back.

so much potential, but never quite blows me away. great song though.

I rated this song a 5.

I can't think of another PJ song that I find myself singing to myself more often.


Except for Even Flow, that is.

An easy five.

Do you see the way that tree bends?
Does it inspire?
Leaning out to catch the sun's rays
A lesson to be applied
Are you getting something out of this all encompassing trip?

One of Eddie's strongest opening gambits, methinks, almost as good as I Am Mine.

Bringing it in on the back of such a beautiful Mike melody works brilliantly, particularly live when Eddie tells the crowd he and Mike are going to serenade them.

I don't think the chorus line is quite as strong as the rest of the song, lyrically, but it works musically and fits with the theme of the song as a whole, so I can't take any points off for that.

Also love when the bass comes rolling in, it's beautiful, not to mention Stone's arpeggio towards the end.

One of the rare Pearl Jam songs where everyone does something simple and beautiful, plaintive and it just works.

Great song. Awesome lyrics. I still remember listening to it on my cd walkman, taking the dog for a walk and really listening to the lyrics from a live concert (2000 Ireland I believe) and thinking to myself WOW , why hadn't i noticed this song before

Excellent, excellent song. So much so that, whenever they even make the slightest mistake live, it really pisses me off as it's the type of song that has to be performed absolutely perfectly.

It'll be interesting to see if anyone actually dislikes this one

5 stars

EDIT: Also, love how the guitar sounds on the studio version. Sounds almost basslike in the chorus. Makes me wish I had No Code on vinyl though...

Thanks stip,
I'll write more later.

This was my favorite song for years and it still is among my favorites. I agree with pretty much everything that's been said in this thread.

The music has incredible sensuous qualities. When i listen to it and close my eyes i'm in a different place - no drugs needed. It instantly makes me meditative and probably has healing powers too.

Songs like this make PJ so special to me. The way they all do something simple but together they accomplish more than a symphony orchestra!

I like the tree imagery in Eddie's lyrics, and as stuzzo wrote, this opening is indeed strong. But also this part is easily among his best:

Have you ideas on how this life ends?
Checked your hands and studied the lines
Have you the belief that the road ahead ascends off into the light?
Seems that needlessly it's getting harder
To find an approach and a way to live
Are we getting something out of this all-encompassing trip?

And while these lines may seem dark, i've always felt that this song (and No Code) clearly marks the end of an era - the end of PJ's "grunge" period - and the beginning of an explicitly life-affirmative and positive attitude that, despite of all the frustration about politics, has continued and grown stronger over the years.

I realize that my use of the word grunge in this context may seem strange to some of you and you may disagree altogether. I'd like to hear your opinions and exchange some thoughts on that subject.

Anyway, back to Present Tense - funny, i never realized until today it was Mike who wrote the music!? Thanks for pointing that out. Makes me even more proud to be Mike's Maniac!

Another thing that makes this song special is its structure. The subtle changes as the grand finale is approaching...and then BANG!

This never really seems to work live though And there we have another unique thing about this song: It just might be the only PJ song that actually doesn't sound better live. However, i'd love PJ to prove me wrong on this one!

5 - It doesn't get much better than that.

Who voted 1 Star--Bottom of the Pearl Jam barrel in this and are they serious?

I absolutely love this song. It's probably in my top 5 of favorite pearl jam songs.

I like the way it starts out talking about "you" and then ends up talking about "we" getting something out of the all encompassing trip, which is a great lyric in itself too.

I like the fact that it gives the listener a challenge. You can do this, or you do that ... which makes more sense?

When the lyrics say "who can forgive yourself" and "who cannot forgive yourself" it seems contradictory. But in different situations both are true, but that shouldn't stop you from overcoming what's standing in your way of living in the moment.

Great, great song. Nice to see others like it so much too.

Probably not, or they would have posted here.