Pearl Jam

Released: September 26, 2000

Songwriter: Eddie Vedder

Producer: John Burton Brett Eliason

[Verse 1]
The waiting drove me mad
You're finally here and I'm a mess
I take your entrance back
Can't let you roam inside my head

[Chorus]
I don't want to take what you can give
I would rather starve than eat your bread
I would rather run but I can't walk
Guess I'll lie alone just like before

[Verse 2]
I'll take the varmint's path
Oh, and I must refuse your test
Push me and I will resist
This behavior's not unique

[Chorus]
I don't want to hear from those who know
They can buy but can't put on my clothes
I don't want to limp for them to walk
Never would have known of me before

[Chorus]
I don't want to be held in your debt
I'll pay it off in blood let I be wed
I'm already cut up and half dead
I'll end up alone like I began, hey, hey

[Bridge]
Everything has chains
Absolutely nothing's changed
Take my hand, not my picture
Spilled my tincture

[Chorus]
I don't want to take what you can give
I would rather starve than eat your bread
All the things that others want for me
Can't buy what I want because it's free
Can't buy what I want because it's free

[Verse 3]
Why ain't it supposed to be just fun?
To live and die let it be done
I figure I'll be damned
All alone like I began

Founded in 1990 in Seattle, Pearl Jam is one of the most successful bands out of the grunge movement, if not of the whole alternative rock scene from the early 90s. The group started with Stone Gossard (guitar) and Jeff Ament (bass), veterans of the proto-grunge scene, recording a demo along with local guitarist Mike McCready. Once the tape passed along, it attracted a San Diego-based singer, Eddie Vedder. Along with drummer Dave Krusen, they signed with Epic Records and released Ten in 1991, which by the following year was becoming one of the most successful debut albums ever.

Growing uncomfortable with success, the following albums went for a more anguished and experimental sound, and the band’s notorious activism had its most prominent case once they boycotted Ticketmaster, accusing them of price-gouging fans. In the meantime, various drummers passed through the band, with percussion only settling once Soundgarden’s Matt Cameron joined them in the tour for 1998’s Yield.

With 10 studio albums and various live recordings (including “Official Bootlegs” of basically every concert the band performed since 2000), Pearl Jam has sold nearly 32 million records in the U.S. and an estimated 60 million worldwide.

more tracks from the album

6/16/00 - Spodek - Katowice, Poland (Live)

From the album

6/16/00 - Spodek - Katowice, Poland (Live) (2000)

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6/16/00 - Spodek - Katowice, Poland (Live)