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 Post subject: SOTM: Long Road
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:08 am 
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Long Road

And I wished for so long, cannot stay
All the precious moments, cannot stay
It's not like wings have fallen, cannot stay
But still something's missing, I cannot say yeah

Holding hands are daughters and sons
And their faiths are falling down down down down
I have wished for so long
How I wish for you today

Will I walk the long road (the long road)
Cannot stay (the long road)
There's no need to say goodbye (say goodbye)
All the friends and family
All the memories going round round round

I have wished for so long
How I wish for you today
And the wind keeps roarin'
And the sky keeps turning grey
And the sun is setting
The sun will rise another day

Ahhhhhhh....

I have wished for so long
How I wish for you today
I have wished for so long
How I wish for you today

Will I walk the long road
(We all walk the long road)
Will I walk the long road
(We all walk the long road)

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
Light Years
Alive
Brain of J
Thumbing My Way
Hard to Imagine
Tremor Christ
Rival
Animal
Lukin
You Are
betterman
Given to Fly
Once
Low Light
Parting Ways
Off He Goes
Go
get right
World Wide Suicide
Angel
MFC

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Last edited by dirtyfrank0705 on Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: SOTM: Long Road
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:10 am 
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Image

4 stars.

Long Road is a song about loss and memory of the departed. Most of us know that it was written in honor of one of Ed’s teachers in high school who had recently passed on, per the “For Clayton” scribbling on the back of the Merkinball single. But the song is widely open to personal interpretation; it doesn’t necessarily have to be about the literal death of a loved one, or even a death in the figurative sense. Long Road is about loss and how one deals with it, or, more importantly, how one finds hope in it.

The beauty of the lyrics relies on wonderful imagery and a chorus all can relate to. “I have wished for so long, how I wish for you today” is simple enough but really cuts to the heart of longing for someone.. Who is the narrator wishing for, and why does he wish for them today? Ed’s best lyrics are the ones written from a perspective that is never fully realized, for we can individually adapt them to our own lives and take them for what we wish. This is how great songwriters work, and Ed is one of the few who can pull it off without pulling punches or relying on pop music clichés.

Ah, the imagery:

“Holding hands are daughters and sons
And their faiths are falling down, down, down”

“And the wind keeps roarin'
and the sky keeps turning grey
and the sun is setting
the sun will rise another day”

Let’s begin with the first. Daughters and sons holding hands, trying to keep each other strong. This is pretty powerful stuff. Instead of making it melodramatic, the narrator simply sings about what he observes. He does not focus on the sadness of the situation, but instead opts to comment on his point of view, and, next, how he interprets the feelings of the daughters and sons. There is a familial connection between the two that sprouts from a problematic situation, and despite the melancholy, they connect on an emotional level because of their blood-ties. It may very well be the death of a loved one, or, again, it may not be.

The second main visual point is purely symbolic. The grey sky and setting sun are obvious metaphors for loss, but, yet again, the narrator is hopeful. “The sun will rise another day” He will meet the departed in another sky or another time; it’s not so much a sense of loss that it is a sense of separation. This is reiterated in the chorus: “I have wished for so long, how I wish for you today.” The narrator will see this person again, but he doesn’t know when or how. His hope is the song’s salvation as well as his own.

One of the most chilling parts of the song is the very end, in which the young narrator (Ed) asks if he’ll walk the long road, only to have a callback from the otherwise vocally absent Neil Young answering that we all walk the long road. The dichotomy of their voices, and how we can tell their age difference by their pitch and timbre, is a perfect vocal coda to a song about such meditative issues the song approaches.

My lone critique of the song is the lead-up to the final chorus. Ed’s guttural wail should be further up in the mix. This is the narrator’s emotional catharsis, and we should be more privy to it than we are. What he chooses to not express in words, he expresses here, and the listener deserves to hear that baring of his soul. It’s not a huge issue, but something that would improve an already wonderful song.

Long Road is a gorgeous composition. From the simplicity and timing of the opening chords to Neil Young’s organ to the vocal performance, you really can’t find a better ballad from Pearl Jam. Though the band was in a state of flux when it was released, and it’s not a full-band recording, Long Road is a heavyweight among all the other songs in the entire Pearl Jam canon. As great as a song that I Got Shit is, it is matched by its b-side pound for pound, creating a perfect little single.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:10 am 
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there will never ever ever ever be a better version than the one on TB2k

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maybe we can hum along...


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:14 am 
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Peeps wrote:
there will never ever ever ever be a better version than the one on TB2k


the one in SD with Ed's speech about his teacher was pretty good, don't know if I would put it on that level, or if I'm a fair judge. Good pick for SOTM though Frank, great song.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:36 am 
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Peeps wrote:
there will never ever ever ever be a better version than the one on The Tribute to Heroes DVD


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:41 am 
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that one is unique. as was va beach in 2000. still, perhaps the most important show they ever played, other than obviously the very first

washmykev wrote:
Peeps wrote:
there will never ever ever ever be a better version than the one on The Tribute to Heroes DVD

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:47 am 
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I love the Porto Alegre version!!

I fuckin cry everytime i hear it :x

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There's just no mercy in your eyes
There ain't no time to set things right
And I'm afraid I've lost the fight
I'm just a painful reminder
Another day you leave behind


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:50 am 
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4 stars? are you fuckin kidding with me?

Its 5 and some more!

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There's just no mercy in your eyes
There ain't no time to set things right
And I'm afraid I've lost the fight
I'm just a painful reminder
Another day you leave behind


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 Post subject: Re: SOTM: Long Road
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:02 am 
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dirtyfrank0705 wrote:
Image

4 stars.

Long Road is a song about loss and memory of the departed. Most of us know that it was written in honor of one of Ed’s teachers in high school who had recently passed on, per the “For Clayton” scribbling on the back of the Merkinball single. But the song is widely open to personal interpretation; it doesn’t necessarily have to be about the literal death of a loved one, or even a death in the figurative sense. Long Road is about loss and how one deals with it, or, more importantly, how one finds hope in it.

The beauty of the lyrics relies on wonderful imagery and a chorus all can relate to. “I have wished for so long, how I wish for you today” is simple enough but really cuts to the heart of longing for someone.. Who is the narrator wishing for, and why does he wish for them today? Ed’s best lyrics are the ones written from a perspective that is never fully realized, for we can individually adapt them to our own lives and take them for what we wish. This is how great songwriters work, and Ed is one of the few who can pull it off without pulling punches or relying on pop music clichés.

Ah, the imagery:

“Holding hands are daughters and sons
And their faiths are falling down, down, down”

“And the wind keeps roarin'
and the sky keeps turning grey
and the sun is setting
the sun will rise another day”

Let’s begin with the first. Daughters and sons holding hands, trying to keep each other strong. This is pretty powerful stuff. Instead of making it melodramatic, the narrator simply sings about what he observes. He does not focus on the sadness of the situation, but instead opts to comment on his point of view, and, next, how he interprets the feelings of the daughters and sons. There is a familial connection between the two that sprouts from a problematic situation, and despite the melancholy, they connect on an emotional level because of their blood-ties. It may very well be the death of a loved one, or, again, it may not be.

The second main visual point is purely symbolic. The grey sky and setting sun are obvious metaphors for loss, but, yet again, the narrator is hopeful. “The sun will rise another day” He will meet the departed in another sky or another time; it’s not so much a sense of loss that it is a sense of separation. This is reiterated in the chorus: “I have wished for so long, how I wish for you today.” The narrator will see this person again, but he doesn’t know when or how. His hope is the song’s salvation as well as his own.

One of the most chilling parts of the song is the very end, in which the young narrator (Ed) asks if he’ll walk the long road, only to have a callback from the otherwise vocally absent Neil Young answering that we all walk the long road. The dichotomy of their voices, and how we can tell their age difference by their pitch and timbre, is a perfect vocal coda to a song about such meditative issues the song approaches.

My lone critique of the song is the lead-up to the final chorus. Ed’s guttural wail should be further up in the mix. This is the narrator’s emotional catharsis, and we should be more privy to it than we are. What he chooses to not express in words, he expresses here, and the listener deserves to hear that baring of his soul. It’s not a huge issue, but something that would improve an already wonderful song.

Long Road is a gorgeous composition. From the simplicity and timing of the opening chords to Neil Young’s organ to the vocal performance, you really can’t find a better ballad from Pearl Jam. Though the band was in a state of flux when it was released, and it’s not a full-band recording, Long Road is a heavyweight among all the other songs in the entire Pearl Jam canon. As great as a song that I Got Shit is, it is matched by its b-side pound for pound, creating a perfect little single.


I love you.

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Last show: 7/10/06 The Forum, Los Angeles


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:13 am 
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lol stealing stips fire....but its awesome...nice write up man...id giVE it five stars its a beautiful fucking song....great great song


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:19 am 
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I've been waiting so long for this one to be a SOTM - it's one of my absolute favorite songs. I agree with everything Frank said and it would be impossible for me to say it any better.

The only difference is I would give it five stars instead of four.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:35 am 
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that touring band version is fucking great though...good dvd..i like it more than the madison square garden one


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 12:59 pm 
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washmykev wrote:
Peeps wrote:
there will never ever ever ever be a better version than the one on TB2k

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 1:18 pm 
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Best opener, not by a large margin though. Cincy this year convinced me for good.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 1:35 pm 
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Peeps wrote:
there will never ever ever ever be a better version than the one on TB2k


There has already been two:

Uniondale 03
Kitchener 05

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 1:38 pm 
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Wow, right on the heels of the LSOTM Hail Hail comes my favorite opener. Although I loved the encore placement of the song in San Diego this year. If you haven't heard that version, go GET IT!

As sad as this song really is it contains one of the most optimistic lyrics ever:

The sun will rise another day.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 1:41 pm 
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3 stars, pretty good.
pj have better songs, but for a no code era song, faily good.

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 Post subject: Re: SOTM: Long Road
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 2:30 pm 
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dirtyfrank0705 wrote:

My lone critique of the song is the lead-up to the final chorus. Ed’s guttural wail should be further up in the mix. This is the narrator’s emotional catharsis, and we should be more privy to it than we are. What he chooses to not express in words, he expresses here, and the listener deserves to hear that baring of his soul. It’s not a huge issue, but something that would improve an already wonderful song.


Great write up Frank. This song works because of its simplicity and you got that exactly right. There is no melodrama here. It's a song about loss but you never here the words love, loss, death, or even something along the lines of I miss you, even though that's what the song is about. You just get the wish, which manages to contain all of the above without spelling it out.

The daughters and sons image is my favorite. It always conjures up a windy, rainy funeral. I picture it without umbrellas. The people are too lost in their own thoughts to notice the rain.

I'm not sure i agree with your critique. The catharsis in long road is quiet and meditiative (like man of the hour). If the cry was louder in the mix it might take us out of that moment.

I think my favorite live verson of this song is the 9-11 tribute to heroes version. Even thought it usually sounds lovely, I'm not a huge fan of hearing this one live. That might be because of its place in the set. There is too much nervous energy for the first song of a show, and I don't think its the right mood to really do the song justice. I'd rather see if open the first encore. Follow it up with man of the hour or thumbing my way or another song about loss.

Four stars.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 2:41 pm 
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giventofly_88 wrote:
lol stealing stips fire....but its awesome...nice write up man...id giVE it five stars its a beautiful fucking song....great great song


Frank is filling in while I'm away. It looks like it is in good hands.

And I've said this in other SOTMs, but if there is ever a song you want to write the lead post for just pm me.

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"Better the occasional faults of a Government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a Government frozen in the ice of its own indifference."--FDR

The perfect gift for certain occasions


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 2:42 pm 
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stip wrote:
giventofly_88 wrote:
lol stealing stips fire....but its awesome...nice write up man...id giVE it five stars its a beautiful fucking song....great great song


Frank is filling in while I'm away. It looks like it is in good hands.

i dont see why he isnt a mod

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