Breakerfall
There's a girl on a ledge, who's got nowhere to turn
Because all the love that she had was just wood that she burned
Now her life is on fire, it's no one's concern
She can blame the world...prey til dawn
But only love...can breakerfall
Breakerfall
Yeah only love can breakerfall...fall

It's like she's lost her invitation to the party on earth
And she's standing outside hating everyone here
Yeah she's her own disease, crying to her doll
But only love...can breakerfall
Breakerfall
Only love can breakerfall
Yeah...

Fall, breakerfall, love oh oh..
Can breakerfall
Ooh yeah only love can breakerfall...
Love, can breakerfall, fall...
Love, ooh can breakerfall..
Only love can break her

I think you could make an argument that Breakerfall is the most forgotten song in Pearl Jam’s primary catalogue, as it is immediately followed by two weak songs, and is overshadowed by the other opening album tracks. And while Breakerfall is far from the best thing the band has ever produced, I do think it has been unjustly forgotten.

The frantic build to the start is a wonderful way to start the record. There is so much energy here, the main riff is pretty cool, and there are a number of good guitar fills and some strong solos. Matt and jeff do a strong job propelling the song along, even if there work is muted by the Binaural murk (I love Matt’s rolling drums in the bridge especially). And Eddie sounds animated and full of passion and conviction. While there isn’t anything truly memorable here, it is a very solid musical package, and there is a freshness to it. So what’s the problem?

I think some of it is the placement of the song on the record, as I said above. We’d forget Last exit if it was followed by gods dice and evacuation. However, the larger issue is the lyrics. Part of the issue is that there are not really any truly great lines in here. But I think the bigger problem is something that another poster (punkdavid I think) hit on in another thread. Pearl Jam’s catalogue is populated by sympathetic characters who have been wounded in some way and are looking for redemption in love. But there is no sympathy here. The main character is the source of her own pain and loneliness, and not because there are larger external issues she can’t cope with, but simply because she sounds like a brat. There’s no empathy here, and so you don’t particularly care what happens to the person. Eddie’s vocals don’t’ take you anywhere as a result, and the song ends up sliding off you, instead of colliding with you and forcing you inside it. Breakerfall never quite never makes it past its slick surface and ends up disposable, which is a shame since musically it’s really a strong number, with good performances all around. It’s doubly a shame since there is also a concept here worth exploring in more detail. The way in which we can be our own worst enemy and close ourselves off to the world around us and the love it gives is a rich well they’ve tapped but have hardly exhausted

3 Stars. Would be 4 with better lyrics

As with most songs from Binaural and Riot Act, it bores me on record but is pretty awesome live. I give it 3 stars.

I take issue with this "followed by two weak songs" thing. I love "God's Dice" and "Evacuation" to pieces and actually prefer them over the boneheadedness of the band's early output, or Avocado.

That said, "Breakerfall" is a nice little Who-ish rocker, but is nothing spectacular. 3 stars.

4 stars. Underrated song IMO.

If my band had ever covered a PJ song, this would have been the one.

Of course we couldn't have covered Even Flow...there's no way for a cover to do that masterpiece justice.

When Binaural came out, the opening three songs really disappointed me. While Breakerfall and Gods' Dice have grown on me, Breakerfall has probably grown on me the most. I attribute it to the live performance, most notably (for me) on the showbox DVD). Having it follow 5 slow songs really accents its power and from then on, I learned to like the song a lot. I also like to play it on the guitar.

Some of the reasons I may have not liked originally, is that it was so different than what I expected. For whatever reason, the fact that the opening three "rockers" were around 3 minutes or less bothered me. I wanted more jam, more outstanding guitar soloing. I didn't appreciate that the fills were kinda in the background of the music. Plus, the title is a little strange. It's not really a word. It's a nickname for the phrase "break her fall". I didn't really like that.

However, in time I learned to like the song. As Stip noted, the passion, the rockness, the riff. All great things. Plus the story isn't so bad either.

3.5 stars -> 4 stars

I really like this song. May be a bit too Who-ish but that's not really much of a fault.

I like the lyrics. I like the fact that she's not a sympathetic character. I'm sure we all know pwople who are their own worst enemies. Who actively push away those whod help them, then whine about being alone. We know them, we love them, we just sometimes have a problem liking them or sympathizing withtheir predicaments.

My only real issue with the song, and it's a very small issue, is that the lyrical content (bleak) doesn't really fit the music. The music probably deserved a more upbeat lyric or or lyric that at least hold out some hope for the character.

good point. Perhaps that's the issue I have with the song

4 stars. it was killer in the 2000 tour.

I talk about you in my thread, in a recent post

I like this song and I'd have to agree that I would probably like it more if it weren't on what I consider to be the weakest half of a record Pearl Jam has ever produced.

I love the "I Can See For Miles" theft for the intro and the rest of the song musically is excellent. It's everything I want in an opener. This was definitely one of my favorite songs when Binaural first came out.

The lyrics do hold it back from being a really good song. The chorus is nice and is fitting with Ed's general outlook but the verses are flat. Maybe it's like Stip said, that no empathy is created, but for me it's that the song is missing a lyrical bridge or a third verse that would offer some hope for this girl. As it is, we just know she's a sad sack and that love could save her. ... And? Is she going to find love and be saved, or is she going to step off the ledge? The music's relentless drive and positivity would suggest it cannot be the latter, but there's nothing in the lyrics and nothing in the later songs that would indicate she came out OK. It makes the song really lyrically uneven.

However, I have always been strangely fond of the line, "It's like she's lost her invitation to the party on Earth and she's standing outside hating everyone here." It both aptly sums up a very definite state of existence for some people and has the odd appeal of a phrase that doesn't seem ready-made to sing, but works quite nicely in the song anyway.

The other things that hold the song back (for me) are the general lackluster-ness of Binaural, and its disappearance. All by itself, Breakerfall could potentially stand with the Last Exits and Onces of the catalog. Neither of those songs are, to me, stellar songs on their own, but both benefit by being the starting point for an album that enriches the song. Breakerfall on the other hand is followed by two upbeat songs I can barely stand and then a dark, uneven record overall.

But the song did rock in 2000 ... and hence the other problem. It was around but not common in 2003 but has only been played 7 times from 04-07. That's a shame.

3 stars.

Weakest opening song from any of their albums, completely unattractive central character, unengaging music.

2 stars, only because there's many worse songs in the catalogue. OK, not many, but I don't give a lot of 5 stars, and I don't give a lot of 1's either.

I love this song. Live, it packed an in-your-face-wallop. It's head and shoulders above ONCE and LAST EXIT as a song in terms of sophistication. The timing changes from 3 in the intro to 5 in the body of the song to 4 at the bridge and what's done with them in just a little over two minutes is fun and frantic. The guitar riff is one of Eddie's very best and the bass riff is spine-tingling live. The bridge is killer.

But the song itself if totally shapeless on the record. The lyrics don't bother me. This song should be fierce, but the muddy sound robs the vocal of the power that it had live, and the riff is barely distinguishable on record. The drum-based bridge still sounds good, but the bass riff and the guitar solo at the outro are almost lost. Either I'm going deaf, or this song was mixed by someone who was deaf. Also, power chords are supposed to sound powerful. Apparently, someone at the PJ mixing facility wasn't sure about that. Maybe the same person who felt that SAD and FATAL should be excluded from Binaural.

The lyrics don't bother me. They aren't clever or sophisticated, but they are angry, as is the song. Sometimes fury can be a cathartic thing. Unfortunately, the limp studio version doesn't translate this very well. 2 stars.

C_B was complaining the other day about matt cameron's drums with pearl jam, and thinking aobut breakerfall, the production on S/T, and a few other instances make me wonder if they just haven't worked with a producer since O'Brien who knows how to mic and/or mix matt well, since there is a lot of cool stuff he's doing in breakerfall but you have to really pay attention to hear it (marker is another example)

I've never much paid mind to the lyrics of this song, so I've always judged it on its music- which I agree with others that it's underrated. I've loved this song from my first listen, and felt at the time that most everything after it on Binaural was dissappointing. Perhaps that's why I can't usually make it through Binaural even today.

I've only heard it once live, in Thunder Bay a couple years ago. I remember that show in large part because Breakerfall came out of nowhere at that point in the set (sandwiched between Jeremy and the main set closing Porch), and just totally blew my mind in that 2 1/2 minutes. It's one of only a handful of song-specific memories I have of the shows I've been at.

Breakerfall is an example where Matt's fills are too fast and smooth for my tastes. I know some on here love how fast and smooth he is but it's just not my cup of tea.

3.5 stars
not crazy about the album version, but pretty good live

are you a fan of his non pearl jam work, or are you just not that into him regardless?

I'm not a big enough fan of Soundgarden to have ever noticed the drums either good or bad. That alone probably tells me every thing I need to know. It's not that I don't like Matt, he's pretty fantastic live, it's more his style drumming I'm not a huge fan of. My favorite drummers have a less subtle and funky type of personality on drums; John Bonham, Keith Moon, early Tommy Lee. I can't think of a single song with Matt where it has an easily identifiable drum beat (a la Rock n Roll, When The Levee Breaks). I just think Matt's style of drumming (busy, weird time signatures, zero funk) is a better fit for a primarily one guitar band like Soundgarden. Sometimes there's a lot of busyness going on insongs where there are already 3 or more guitars and keyboards fighting for sonic space. My only criticism of Matt is he is clueless when it comes to slow songs, think Thin Air, Come Back.

But after seeing Matt a few times I have to say the guy has great energy and ability. I'm just not a huge fan of his style, especially in how it shapes his contribution to songs. Much like I think Neil Peart would be a less than ideal musical fit for the band.