Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2004 5:47 am Posts: 27904 Location: Philadelphia Gender: Male
Faithfull
Plaque on the wall says that no one’s slept here It’s rare to come upon a bridge that has not been around or been stepped on Whatever the notion we laced in our prayers The man upstairs is used to all of this noise I’m through with screaming
And echoes that nobody hears It goes, it goes, it goes Like echoes that nobody hears It goes, it goes, it goes like this... We're faithful We all believe, we all believe it We're faithful Oh we all believe, we all believe it We're faithful We all believe, we all believe it We're faithful We all believe, we all believe it
And echoes that nobody hears It goes, it goes it goes And echoes that nobody hears It goes, it goes it goes… We're faithful We all believe, we all believe it We're faithful We all believe, we all believe it We're faithful We all believe, we all believe it So faithful Oh we all believe, we all believe it
M.Y.T.H. is belief in a game Controls that keeps us in our box of fear We never listen, voice inside So drowned out, drowned You are, you are, you are a furry thing And everything is you Me, you, you me–it’s all related What’s a boy to do? Just be a darling, and I will be, too… Faithful to you.
Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2004 5:47 am Posts: 27904 Location: Philadelphia Gender: Male
Faithfull is a song that contains many themes: theology; beliefs; love; fidelity. It’s one of Ed’s most lyrically challenging songs, because it combines all of these themes into a 4-minute piece of work. I’ve heard full-length albums that can’t even spread themselves that far thematically.
I interpret Faithfull as a love song, and Pearl Jam’s finest. As we begin, the narrator questions his belief in a higher power, and in turn rests his comfort knowing he has a significant other here. The first ¾ is existential—the “echoes†in the chorus’ representing prayers. They fly away, unanswered (“nobody hears, they go…"). Yet there is that one person who can answer his prayers, because they are alive and can be seen, thus believed in. By the end, he’s done being contemplative and simply confesses his faith to that person, and that person alone.
We can only believe in what we see, then? This claim opposes thousands of years of religious theory, and I think that’s the point of Faithfull. We can believe in God, but we don’t really know if there is one; there is no physical proof. This song is about finding peace, and the narrator finds peace in what he knows to be true and tangible: his significant other, who he can hold in his arms. There might not be a God, but there is still light. And that light is love from another.
Truthfully, these two themes of existentialism and love have no place being in the same song. But Ed’s writing saves what could have been a train-wreck, lyrically speaking. This is what shocked me the first time I heard it; it begins as a diatribe against religion and finishes as a love song. Most songwriters would have attempted to combine the two themes by interweaving them throughout in order to keep some sort of narrative consistency. But Ed is not like most songwriters.
Faithfull will not be for everyone’s taste. But for those who can understand it, no matter what their individual understanding is, it hits you hard and really makes you contemplate “faith†and where it should lie.
_________________ It's always the fallen ones who think they're always gonna save me.
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
Great post Frank, although I disagree with one point. I think love as the answer to his existenstial crisis works perfectly. We don't know if there is a God. Our prayers may never be answered, and even if one exists there is so much baggage attatched to the idea (the outro verse) that it saps or corrupts so much of the inspiration and vitality than can be drawn from it
But we can believe in love precisely because it mixes that moment of immanence and transcendence. We find it and foster it here, and if we're lucky enough to be succesful we'll know it, we'll reap the rewards (the way it can ground us and give us meaning) and in doing so also find something so much larger than ourselves that we can be a part of and belong to.
I adore the first verse. Some first rate writing that does a wonderful job of capturing the frustration with God that marks the more interesting types of athiesm and agnosticism--the anger and hurt directed at God for not exisiting (or at least confirming that existence). The bridge line in particular is brilliant (and is reprised to great affect in Marker in the Sand 8 years later)
The echoes line is also brilliant. Great choice using that for the header Frank.
It is after the echoes line that the song loses something for me. I love the main riff (although like In Hiding, while it manages to be warm, it is missing some of the depth that makes earlier anthems like Alive, RVM, or Corduroy superior) and in general the music is really good. But the chorus seems kind of lazy. "We're faithful--we all believe, we all believe it"
would have been nice as a final line in a chorus but it needs more, and there is certianly more that could be said.
Ending on an outro verse is a neat choice, but I'm not as big a fan of this one. The m.y.t.h. feels a little affected, and the game controls...boxes of fear is a nice sentiment but feels a little clumsy. I'm also not into the furry thing, and while the final lines are touching, there is something a little juvenile about the presentation, especially when he does such a nicer job with it a few songs later at the end of Wishlist. So in general the song just goes downhill after the first verse for me.
This is a textbook 3.5 star song, with some great moments and a lot of lost opportunity. But it kicks ass live and it is closer to 4 than 3 so it gets the four.
_________________ "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
Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2005 1:27 am Posts: 4033 Location: tampa
I gave it 4 stars but this has always been a song I never really get tired of. I think the echoes part is the shit but the chorus is kinda lazy which means it isn't as good as it could have been. Still a great song and Frank said pretty much exactly what I think of the song so there's no need to repeat it. nice choice
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 2:49 am Posts: 313 Location: Sanford, FL
in_my_tree wrote:
Enjoyed reading your post Frank. I think you are right, some people will think its awesome and some will just think of it as OK. I think its top PJ.
the "you are a furry thing" line? I don't get that line...
What Eddie is saying in that line is that your 'voice inside' can be seen as a pet, something that is small/easy to ignore and feed and attend enough to just so it doesn't die or else it can be fully embraced, loved and something you can learn from. (In my opinion) 5 stars. fuckin' amazing song.
_________________ "...throw ya shitty drawers in the hamper. Come back strapped w/ a fuckin' Pamper."
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:00 pm Posts: 19826 Location: Alone in a corridor
Frank, I love you! 5 stars, easily! Love it love it love it love it! I could really not believe it when they played it at my very first PJ show in Kitchener last year. Incredible!
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:54 pm Posts: 12287 Location: Manguetown Gender: Male
Luv AT!!!! The sweetness of the end is soooo...sweet.
_________________ 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
Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:36 am Posts: 5458 Location: Left field
Love the song, love the theme. I don't care for the closing verse, though. I think it steals some of the momentum from the song. The guitar work is especially solid.
_________________ seen it all, not at all can't defend fucked up man take me a for a ride before we leave...
Rise. Life is in motion...
don't it make you smile? don't it make you smile? when the sun don't shine? (shine at all) don't it make you smile?
Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:02 am Posts: 2560 Location: Dallas/Atlanta/Savannah
Great song. always liked it, one of those pj songs that doesn't take itself too seriously, but at the same time, tackles some pretty deep philisophical grounds.
it echoes echoes echoes....
_________________ "is that a fucking pearl jam shirt?" Courtney Love
Post subject: Re: SOTM: Like echoes nobody hears...
Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 7:39 pm
Interweb Celebrity
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 12:47 am Posts: 46000 Location: Reasonville
whatever the notion we laced in our prayers the man upstairs is used to all of this fucking noise i’m through with screaming
some of my favorite lyrics from the group.
_________________ No matter how dark the storm gets overhead They say someone's watching from the calm at the edge What about us when we're down here in it? We gotta watch our backs
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