The 59-year-old Evanston, Illinois-born songwriter and performer Eddie Vedder has enjoyed a long career as one of the preeminent frontmen in music history. A standout with the Seatlle-born grunge group Pearl Jam and as a solo artist, Vedder has inspired millions to speak out and sing loud.
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And as part of his position in Pearl Jam, Vedder has helped the band pen some of its most iconic songs—some of which he’s done all on his own. Here below, we will dive into four such songs that Vedder wrote solo. Indeed, these are four songs you likely didn’t know Eddie Vedder wrote solo for Pearl Jam.
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1. “Better Man”
Written by Eddie Vedder
One of Pearl Jam’s (and Vedder’s) most famous songs, this track was released on the 1994 LP, Vitalogy. Not even released as a single, the song still climbed up the Billboard Album Rocks Tracks and hit No. 1, staying there for eight weeks. Released later on the band’s 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror, the song is all about a difficult relationship and the song’s protagonist, at least in Vedder’s mind, needing a better partner for her spirit and situation. Vedder sings,
Waitin’, watchin’ the clock
It’s four o’clock, it’s got to stop
Tell him, “Take no more”
She practices her speech
As he opens the door, she rolls over
Pretends to sleep as he looks her over
She lies and says she’s in love with him
Can’t find a better man
She dreams in color, she dreams in red
Can’t find a better man
Can’t find a better man
Can’t find a better man
2. “Off He Goes”
Written by Eddie Vedder
This song was released from the band’s 1996 album, No Code. The track, which hit No. 31 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, was later included on the band’s greatest hits album, rearviewmirror. A somber, acoustic-driven number, Vedder sings mellow and reflectively. It’s something of an autobiographical song about someone who comes and goes out of other people’s lives—and Vedder is that in-and-out guy (thanks, largely, to his fame and responsibilities). On the track, he sings,
Know a man
His face seems pulled and tense
Like he’s riding on a motorbike
In the strongest winds
So I approach with tact
Suggest the he should relax
But he’s always moving much too fast
3. “Porch”
Written by Eddie Vedder
The eighth song on the band’s 1991 debut album, Ten, this hard-hitting propelling song is about doing much in the world, about getting off one’s porch and entering the fray of the real world. On the wild, ranging song, Vedder sings in an almost stream-of-consciousness flow,
All the bills go by, and
Initiatives are taken up
By the middle, there ain’t gonna be any middle any more
And the cross I’m bearing home
Ain’t indicative of my place, left the porch
Left the porch, oh oh oh
Hear my name, take a good look
This could be the day
Hold my hand, walk beside me
I just need to say
4. “Future Days”
Written by Eddie Vedder
The concluding song on Pearl Jam’s 2013 album, Lightning Bolt, this piano- and acoustic-driven track is a melancholy one. It was written in the wake of Vedder losing his friend Dennis Flemion, a founding member of the band, the Frogs, and one-time member of Smashing Pumpkins. Flemion accidentally died from drowning in 2012. Sings Vedder in the forlorn offering,
If I ever were to lose you
I’d surely lose myself
Everything I have found dear
I’ve not found by myself
Try and sometimes you’ll succeed
To make this man of me
All my stolen missing parts
I’ve no need for anymore
I believe
And I believe ’cause I can see
Our future days
Days of you and me
Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
