Monday, March 19, 2012

Jeremy

The song Jeremy by Pearl Jam just came on my iPod. I've heard it a thousand times. It's a somewhat disturbing song and I always wondered what it was really talking about. It's fairly obvious from the lyrics and video that it's about a young boy who's in a dysfunctional family (who isn't??) and has trouble at school as well, and ultimately commits suicide. Sadly it's based on a true story.

Today I decided to look it up and found this article: Jeremy. This helped me really understand the song, but the following paragraph gave me some insight into the motivation and message behind it:
“It came from a small paragraph in a paper,” Eddie Vedder stated, on the topic of the successful video. He added some perspective, too, “which means you kill yourself and you make a big old sacrifice and try to get your revenge. That all you’re gonna end up with is a paragraph in a newspaper. Sixty-three degrees and cloudy in a suburban neighborhood. That’s the beginning of the video and [it's] the same thing in the end, it does nothing… nothing changes. The world goes on and you’re gone. The best revenge is to live on and prove yourself. Be stronger than those people. And then you can come back.” 
Wow. Who woulda thought such a powerful message would be put out by Pearl Jam. I just wish they had been more vocal about the message of the song at the time (it came out in 1992). Maybe they did and I just missed it since I wasn't really into that kind of music at the time.

Below are the video and lyrics. Disclaimer: This song and video, as mentioned above, are somewhat disturbing and it contains some profanity.


Jeremy - Pearl Jam
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 forget this)
Try to erase this... (try to erase this)
From the blackboard

Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today