hey guys, i want to give some love to this song. it contains some of the saddest lyrics i have ever heard . does anyone know which of the guys wrote this song. also the benaroya version is awesome. i love the way ed's voice echoes.

ed wrote the lyrics and jeff wrote the music i believe. i really like this song too but i kinda have to be in the mood for it or it's not as good

Hinny's good books:
1. lunkin

One of my favourites from Binaural.

Incredible song, one of the best they've written.

great great great song...but I think it could have been better.

I've said it before, but I find it amazing that Ed could write such a deeply personal song about a subject that he cannot possibly know personally, the drudgery of the daily commute and the suppression of one's dreams.

In my top 5 PJ songs.

--PunkDavid

It's in my top five as well. In fact, if anyone was at the Toledo or Grand Rapids show and saw a guy holding a "Sleight of hand" sign, it was me I didn't see anyone else holding a sign up for that one.

Add me to that list. It's top 10 for me.

great song

I love Sleight Of Hand. It's one song that my brother doesn't like, which I've never understood. Oh well... I love it.

SOH is absolutely one of Pearl Jam's greatest songs. Just another reason why Binaural is their best album. And while I realize that many people think it's a sad song, I strongly feel that it's very optimistic.


P.S. Anyone remember back when TSIS was called "Sleight of Hand"? Those were the days...

I couldn't listen to this song for the longest time(like 3 years or so...). It just sounded...I don't know...like the the words and music didn't match up.

Then Pearl Jam did the HOB webcast. I think I went *ugh* when i saw it on the setlist.

I was kinda half watching, half cleaning my apartment during the show, but listening all the while. Sleight of Hand came up and, i don't know how else to say this, but it just sorta 'clicked'. Haha, it's kinda funny/stupid, but all of a sudden it was like everything made sense to me. I couldn't listen to this song enough. It was beautiful, but it was also scary. This song was me. I went rifling through my '00 boots looking for every version i could find and *ACK!* i only had, like, 2 (Boston and Katowice).

It's a pretty rare live song and i never even considered that i might ever be lucky enough to experience it in-person, but when they played it at the second Detroit show last year....man, i coulda cried!

I swear it sent half the people in the venue to the bathrooms, but it didn't bother me one bit; these people just didn't "get it", and it was their loss, even if they never realize it. Hell, i consider myself a pretty rabid fan, and it took me 3 years...does the casual fan have a chance?

Anyways...SoH is easily locked in my top 3, along with I Got Shit and Faithful.

SOH finally clicked for me this year while watchin it on a VCD i have....
I was fast fowarding kinda and hit the middle of the chorus on sleight and started to listen and loved it.....

Very happy to get this one in Asheville. acoustic as well.....
very awesome

one of pj's best songs. it's defintely in my top 5 too.

One of my favorites as well. The best time to listen to this song is when you're on your way to work or during some other mundane routine.

Wow look at the mad love for SoH! Awesome.

I didn't like the song at first either. When I took a trip to Boston in 2000 for the shows there, I was flying down I-90 in New York and the song started to click for me. Then, a few days later they played it at Great Woods and it was like a slap in the face, a ton of bricks, a kick in the balls. It just hit me. Now, it hits me every single time. Beautiful.

I was thinking that maybe he could have experienced some of it during his time before Pearl Jam. But he was so young back then, too young to knew what it's like, I guess.

I believe that the greatest artists have that gift - they have the great ability to put themeselves in somone else's shoes. To change their perspective and to actually *feel* what it's like seeing the world from this other place.

A great gift and a great song.

oh yeah. sleight of hand is one of my favs. so powerful.

"he waves goodbye, to himself. i'll see you on the other side"

This song finally just clicked with me a copy of weeks ago. It's funny how its one of those tunes where something literally needs to be switched on in your head to get. But I'm glad it did. So good. So very good.