Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
Jeremy
At home Drawing pictures Of mountain tops With him on top Lemon yellow sun Arms raised in a V The dead lay in pools of maroon below
Daddy didn't give attention To the fact that mommy didn't care King Jeremy the wicked Ruled his world
Jeremy spoke in class today Jeremy spoke in class today
Clearly I remember Pickin' on the boy Seemed a harmless little fuck Oh, but we unleashed a lion Gnashed his teeth And bit the recess lady's breast How could I forget He hit me with a surprise left My jaw left hurtin Oh, dropped wide open Just like the day Like the day I heard
Daddy didn't give affection And the boy was something mommy wouldn't wear King Jeremy the wicked Ruled his world
Jeremy spoke in class today Jeremy spoke in class today Jeremy spoke in class today
Try to forget this... Try to erase this... From the blackboard
Jeremy spoke in class today Jeremy spoke in class today
_________________ "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: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
I love Jeremy, and while it isn’t my favorite Pearl Jam song by a long shot, it is an excellent song that does not deserve a fraction of the shit that it gets.
Musically it’s got one of the more famous beginnings in rock music history, with a slow, brooding build that sounds like it’s leading somewhere important (and it is). Once the verses start the music gets a little buried in the mix though. It carries the song along, but this is clearly going to be Eddie’s show, and he doesn’t disappoint. Jeremy is one of Eddie’s stronger vocal outings, with a deep, rich performance that gives the lyrics extra power and depth
Lyrically Jeremy is slightly uneven. The first verse is terrific, with some wonderfully evocative lyrics, with pictures of a bloody apocalypse forshadowing what is going to come. The prechorus gives Jeremy the sympathy that he need to make the song poigniant. And the vagueness of the King Jeremy the wicked line is well done—wtihout punctuation it could mean a number of different things
King Jeremy the Wicked ruled his world—Here Jeremy is the villain, a bad kid in charge of his own little violent fantasy
King Jeremy, the wicked ruled his world—a much sadder line—here Jeremy lacks power and control—he’s just a kid at the mercy of abusive forces he cannot control
I’ve always loved the simplicity of Jeremy spoke in class today. It leaves what was said vague (until the video, at any rate), but the urgency surrounding the delivery of the lyric (more from the music) tells you that you know what was said was important, and the final Try to forget this…lyrics make it clear that whatever was said was something shocking, and something permanent, something that no one will be able to escape for a long time.
The second verse is the weak link here. It’s supposed to demonstrate that Jeremy is a troubled, confused kid starting fights and trouble (from the standpoint of an observer, not from the standpoint of Jeremy) but it just isn’t that compelling. I would have rather seen more from Jeremy’s perspective
The outro lasts a little too long, but it is powerful enough that I don’t mind too much. Like the end of black (deep too), it is just wordless howls and worlds falling apart, music for someone whose life is shattering around them with them unable to do anything to stop it as it bleeds into the ominous final notes.
This is one of those songs that has held up live on the strength of audience participation—being able to sing the woah’s with a room full of 15,000 people (congrats on your tour by the way Europe) is always a powerful experience and Jeremy is always a concert highlight for me
The video does destroy some of the ambiguity of the song. I don’t remember what I thought about the song before the video came out, but I think I may have thought it was about Jeremy killing his classmates rather than himself (it works better as suicide—it’s a sadder song that way). Fortunately the story part of the video is so well done that I don’t care (although the shots of the band jumping around are so f’ing stupid)
Anyway, 4 stars from me.
_________________ "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: Sun Dec 05, 2004 5:47 am Posts: 27904 Location: Philadelphia Gender: Male
Stip, your write-up was 10 times better than the song. I especially like your interpretation of the "King Jeremy the wicked" line concerning punctuation. I never thought of it that way, but then again, I don't really care enough about the song to.
I give it 2 stars, the second star only coming because some of Ed's lyrics here are really intriguing.
I fucking detest the video.
_________________ It's always the fallen ones who think they're always gonna save me.
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 11:36 pm Posts: 25824 Location: south jersey
this song doesnt do much for me anymore, but ill give it 5 stars b/c i recognize its greatness in pj history. also, the video is part of the reason im a fan.
the slowed down version and the back in the day versions are the best. i love when he used to scream "daddy didnt give affection, and the boy was something that mommy wouldnt wear""
_________________ Feel the path of every day,... Which road you taking?,...
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 4:02 am Posts: 44183 Location: New York Gender: Male
dirtyfrank0705 wrote:
Stip, your write-up was 10 times better than the song. I especially like your interpretation of the "King Jeremy the wicked" line concerning punctuation. I never thought of it that way, but then again, I don't really care enough about the song to.
I give it 2 stars, the second star only coming because some of Ed's lyrics here are really intriguing.
I fucking detest the video.
would you like the video if the band wasn't in it?
_________________ "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: Sun Dec 05, 2004 5:47 am Posts: 27904 Location: Philadelphia Gender: Male
stip wrote:
dirtyfrank0705 wrote:
Stip, your write-up was 10 times better than the song. I especially like your interpretation of the "King Jeremy the wicked" line concerning punctuation. I never thought of it that way, but then again, I don't really care enough about the song to.
I give it 2 stars, the second star only coming because some of Ed's lyrics here are really intriguing.
I fucking detest the video.
would you like the video if the band wasn't in it?
No. I think I've said this before--the video ruined how I interpreted the song.
_________________ It's always the fallen ones who think they're always gonna save me.
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 6:30 am Posts: 2118 Location: Dublin, Ireland
Classic Song 5 stars
The narrative of the song did not need the story telling video in my opinion. It spoon feeds the viewer everthing in the song, whereas the same as Stip i beleived it was more about a kick back against the students in the class for attention rather than self harm
Joined: Sat Jul 29, 2006 7:04 pm Posts: 1875 Location: Atlanta, SE of Disorder Gender: Male
*****
Classic no doubt. If anything this song suffered from being too popular for its own good.
This was the song that turned me down the Pearl Jam path. I was big into Guns N'Roses at the time and was indifferent towards both Even Flow and Alive at first. But I liked Jeremy as it started getting airplay. Loved the guitars and the vocals. I remember hearing someone say about Ten "there's not a bad song there" and this Eddie Vedder guy was starting to get a lot of attention. I bought the cassette and haven't looked back.
It still holds up as a great rock song. It can be hit or miss in concert; it's easy to pick out a half-hearted version. But when the band is clicking and Ed's voice has held up the song is a piledriver of the show. The audience usually gets into it too, with the "arms raised in a V" and the "ooh-ooh"s.
_________________ From under my lone palm i can look out on the day
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:54 pm Posts: 12287 Location: Manguetown Gender: Male
the studio version is a 3 or 4...but live it is 5 for sure! Just to see Jeff grabbing the 12-string bass give me chills.
_________________ 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: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:54 pm Posts: 12287 Location: Manguetown Gender: Male
conoalias wrote:
Human Bass wrote:
the studio version is a 3 or 4...but live it is 5 for sure! Just to see Jeff grabbing the 12-string bass give me chills.
i don't think i've ever seen you NOT mentioning a bass (player) when you post in PJ chat/live or OB.
So read my posts again
And cmon, the most remarkable instrumental lines of this song made by the bass, both the openning and ending.
_________________ 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: Mon Jan 16, 2006 8:48 pm Posts: 4552 Location: Ohio Gender: Male
4 Stars because even though it was overplayed and even though a lot of people think they sold out with this song, it was really good. I liked the video. and it was the second Pearl Jam song I ever heard.
_________________ Back from the dead.Fuckin' zombies maaan.
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