Saturday, October 4, 2008

Jeremy

I'm really in a mood to write tonight, so there's one last thing I want to share.
I like looking up Wikipedia every now and then and read synopses of songs whose lyrics I really like. Pearl Jam's lyrically one of my favourites, as I have mentioned before. I was looking up Pearl Jam's discography and found myself reading the inspiration for one of their really dark songs called Jeremy. Jeremy is about a depressed kid, who thinks life doesn't treat him well and that the people around him don't care. In a bid to change the situation, Jeremy walks into class one day with a Magnum revolver, puts it into his mouth and pulls the trigger in front of his teacher and classmates. This is inspired from a true story that appeared in American newspapers weeks before the song was written.
The video for the song, if I may say so, is understandably morbid and was banned from tv for the longest time because of the scene it seeks to portray. One subtlety that I had missed however, came up while I was reading the Wiki page. The reason for that subtle point as per Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder is also an indicator to the stunningly deep thought process behind the song. When the video starts, a plate shows "61 degrees, cloudy day, 3.30 in the afternoon". The same plate appears at the end of the song after Jeremy has killed himself. Something very inconsequential almost. The motive behind this move isn't. As Vedder puts it, "He tried to change things by killing himself. Nothing changed. The same 61 degrees, the same cloudy day and the same 3.30 in the afternoon. All he did was lose his life and punish himself".

Its amazing how the subtle points of some things that we miss often hold the crucial message that we need to take home. Thats the kind of thought process I'd really want to have some day.
Above all, live life, it won't always be a bitch.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

muy bueno esto que contaste sobre la canción, yo nunca reparé en ese detalle, lo había visto, pero jamás lo interpreté así. ¿Será que la vorágine de la vida nos impide permitirle un momento de profunda concentración a algo tan simple acomo una canción, que en algunos casos, puede tener un mensaje tan fuerte y profundo?

Wanderer said...

Dear Anonymous,

Thanks for your comment! I had to translate using windows live, so if you can, please try and comment in English next time!

It's quite true, that song, in fact most pearl jam songs force you to think every now and then. Makes the song that much more worthwhile I think.