Released: May 16, 2000

Songwriter: Mike McCready Stone Gossard Tchad Blake Jeff Ament Eddie Vedder

Producer: Pearl Jam Tchad Blake

[Verse 1]
Routine was the theme
He'd wake up, wash and pour himself into uniform
Something he hadn't imagined being
As the merging traffic passed
He found himself staring down
At his own hands
Not remembering the change
Not recalling the plan
Was it?

[Chorus]
He was okay
But wondering
About wandering
Was it age?
By consequence?
Or was he moved sleight of hand?

[Verse 2]
Mondays were made to fall
Lost on a road he knew by heart
It was like a book he read in his sleep, endlessly
Sometimes he hid in his radio
Watching others pull into their homes
While he was drifting

[Chorus]
On a line
Of his own
Off the line
Off the side
By the by
As dirt turned to sand
As if moved by sleight of hand

[Verse 3]
When he reached the shore of his clip-on world
He resurfaced to the norm
Organized his few things, his coat and keys
Any new realizations would have to wait
Till he had more time
More time

[Chorus]
A time to dream
To himself
He waves goodbye
To himself
I'll see you on the other side
Another man moved by sleight of hand

Pearl Jam

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.