Well to say its not great or is great...its a matter of taste, of course.
Those lines you seem to dont like...i found them good, and the song as a piece, it works really good in Binaural as still is a good song alone...i really like all these lines

there's a light when my baby's in my arms"
"hesitate when i feel i may do harm to her
wash it off cuz this feeling we can share"
"how to be happy and true is the quest we're taking on together"
"love can keep on moving in both directions"

specially the how to be happy....thats very very direct and good..and love can keep...another great lines for me, i get the sense of the narrator talking about falling in love and how that strong feeling can, sometimes, become hate.

I do like the intro and specially the bridge. Again, it all a matter of taste.

I really don't get any "complex tensions" or "ominousness" from this song, which is exactly why I think it should have been left off the album. If anything, I think it could have done with more "awkwardness," to play against the "straightforwardness" of the chorus. I really dislike the "ahhs" in the song and they seem to pour on the sentiment, when that's the last thing that is needed. I do like the little diversion at about the 1-minute mark and I think it hints at (at least at the beginning) some of the awkwardness I would have liked in the song. I feel it doesn't fit the album, but I guess others could see it as a respite. I just find it.... blah.

Three other things I love about "Thin Air" (I'm listening to it right now): Stone's harmony vocal over the verses, Mike's creeping slide figures over the second verse, Matt's cymbal flourishes during the final chorus. Love this song.

Do you honestly like the lyrics? Or are you just able to look past them?

Team platypus.

I think they're good. They work well for the song. I think there's more going on under the surface than you give it credit for-- the drawing of curtains, the fear of inflicting harm, the frailty of love, the looming cloud in the horizon, the fall of the Roman empire through the reference to the Byzantine period. The way I see it, it's about the desire to preserve a relationship from disintegrating, and the futility therein. The writing's on the wall. That's why I like the sense of impending doom in the music-- even the pleasant little guitar part near the start goes off-key.

That's my cursory interpretation of the lyrics, but even if I'm way off base, I like the imagery and phrasing. More than anything else, though, I love the music and arrangement, so take that for what it's worth.

I have a similar idea..and i think ed comments on this lyrics were that it was about Stone`s new relationship.
I guess the narrator is in love ( with a girl, boy maybe with his son or daughter) and knows how that deep feeling can turn into something else, he saw that happen in the past so he fears it.
Even if i was big fan of fatal when it came out, Thin air is well placed in Binaural and work really good alone too.
For Gone, i guess the first time i heard it i was surprised with the band reworking it so much, it was pretty different from eddie`s demo, and with time the song lost the impact it once had in me.
The lyrics werent really surprising to me either, the chrous is good and the feeling of the song too, but that about it.
I would never compare these two.

I always liked Thin Air.

Byzantine is reflected in our pond is one of my favorite Pearl Jam lyrics.

I am glad you find a deeper meaning in the lyrics and that they carry some weight for you. I however don't make those connections. Mostly because the overly sentimental and direct parts of some of the lyrics betray any of the dour or "ominous" elements. The "my baby" parts are particularly cringe-worthy.
Also, our connection to words play a huge part when inhabiting lyrics. I would not have made your Byzantine connection, for example, because for me, "Byzantine" refers to the complexity (as in “the Byzantine tax code,” which may just be a U.S. phrase) of whatever relationship he is talking about in the song. Either way, “Byzantine is reflect in our pond” is so ham-fisted to me that I wouldn’t bother to delve deeper into its meaning.
Again, I'm glad you enjoy the lyrics and song and they hold a deeper meaning for you.
But I don't see it. I see clumsy lyrics and pedestrian music.
I think we can “agree to disagree” on this one.

Great line...our connection to words..and i would say our place in the world and vivid experiences defines a lot of things, one of them how can we interpret lyrics for example.
Thin Air has a new meaning after being in a long term relationship for me than it had maybe when it came out.

Connection to words? That just sounds like he didn't pick up on a historical reference.

Really? You think I don't know about the Byzantine Empire. Seriously?

I...I was just being a dick.

Why did you feel it necessary to be a dick?

Being on the Internet is fun as hell.

he learned from asher, who animates what is known to you as the The Argonaut account

Asher and I enjoyed a show and a few beers in Montreal once.

Hats off to platypus in these past 2 pages. Great insightful posts on Thin Air. Love everything about that song.

thin air has my no way problem, but even worse (plus I don't know if i like how Eddie sings it. I'm just not sure). It's just a song where I like the music and get turned off by the lyrics.