Why Go
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Why Go" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Song by Pearl Jam | ||
| from the album Ten | ||
| Released | August 27, 1991 | |
| Recorded | March 27 - April 26, 1991 at London Bridge Studios, Seattle, Washington | |
| Genre | Grunge | |
| Length | 3:19 | |
| Label | Epic | |
| Writer(s) | Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament | |
| Producer(s) | Pearl Jam, Rick Parashar | |
| Ten track listing | ||
| "Alive" (Track 3) |
"Why Go" (Track 4) |
"Black" (Track 5) |
"Why Go" is the fourth song off Pearl Jam's debut album Ten. The song was played live from its debut in 1990 up until 1995 where it was dropped. The song made its appearance again in 2003 twice. The first time that year in Bristow, the song missed most of the odd bars of 9/8 giving it a straighter feel. Also, the full band started the song without the Bass/Drums intro. Before the song was played, lead singer Eddie Vedder admitted "We don't know if it's going to be all right, playing this song is going to be like trying to drive a car when we're twelve."[1] The song has since returned to Pearl Jam set lists and has been played many times during the 2006 tour.[2]
[edit] Lyrical meaning
In the Ten liner notes Vedder dedicated the song to a girl named Heather. In an interview he elaborated further:
The song "Why Go"...was written about a specific girl in Chicago who is... I think her mom caught her smoking pot or something. She was about 13 years old and she was just fine. I think her mom thought she had some troubles when I think it was really maybe the parents that were having troubles and the next thing you know, this young girl was in a hospital. They kept her there for quite a long time. She was so strong that she refused to accept many of the accusations of her doing terrible things when she wasn't really doing anything and the next thing you know she was in this...she'd been hospitalized for like two years. The fact is that this is going on all over the place and this insurance thing that goes on with hospitals and insurance and these kind of counseling...prisons that they set up and it's really something that I think is really addressed subliminally in the song, but it has to be addressed on a bigger level. It happens everywhere and I just hope that someday we're able to change the fact that it is happening.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ "Pearl Jam Shows: 2003 July 1, Nissan Pavillion Stone Ridge Bristow, Virginia". pearljam.com.
- ^ "Pearl Jam Songs: "Why Go"". pearljam.com.
- ^ Vedder, Eddie. "Interview with David Sadoff." KLOL FM, Houston, Texas. December 1991.
