Today is legendary Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder’s 54th birthday. With the loss of so many iconic 90’s rock frontmen, we are so fortunate to still have him with us. A few years ago, Alternative Nation compiled a list of Vedder’s 50 greatest lyrics in not particular order to celebrate his 50th birthday. Here is the list that really shows the power of his words, happy birthday Ed!
1. I know I was born and I know that I’ll die, the inbetween is mine
Pearl Jam – “I Am Mine”
2. Truants move on, cannot stay long. Some die just to live
Pearl Jam – “Immortality”
3. I’m a lucky man to count on both hands the one I love
Pearl Jam – “Just Breathe”
4. While you were sitting home alone at age 13, your real daddy was dying, sorry you didn’t see him, but I’m glad we talked
Pearl Jam – “Alive”
5. Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Pearl Jam – “Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town”
6. I am lost I’m no guide, but I’m by your side
Pearl Jam – “Leash”
7. I’m already cut up and half dead, I’ll end up alone like I began
Pearl Jam – “Corduroy”
8. I know someday you’ll have a beautiful life, I know you’ll be a star in somebody else’s sky
Pearl Jam – “Black”
9. Lost nine friends we’ll never know, two years ago today
Pearl Jam – “Love Boat Captain”
10. Speaking as a child of the nineties
Pearl Jam – “Habit”
11. Are you woman enough to be my man? Bandaged hand in hand
Pearl Jam – “Hail Hail”
12. I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good
Pearl Jam – “Wishlist”
13. So sing just like him, fuckers, it won’t offend him, just me, because he’s dead
Pearl Jam – “4/20/02”
14. All the bills go by, and initiatives are taken up, by the middle, there ain’t gonna be any middle any more
Pearl Jam – “Porch”
15. Daddy didn’t give affection, no, and the boy was something that mommy wouldn’t wear
Pearl Jam – “Jeremy”
16. Escape is never, the safest path
Pearl Jam – “Dissident”
17. But first he was stripped and then he was stabbed, by faceless men, well, fuckers, he still stands
Pearl Jam – “Given to Fly”
18. All that’s sacred comes from youth
Pearl Jam – “Not For You”
19. I’ll never suck satan’s dick
Pearl Jam – “Satan’s Bed”
20. Under my breath, I swear by sin
Pearl Jam – “Last Exit”
21. I study your face, and the fear goes away
Pearl Jam – “Sirens”
22. And I listen for the voice inside my head, nothin’, I’ll do this one myself
Pearl Jam – “State of Love and Trust”
23. I was bitten, must have been the devil, he was just paying me a little visit, reminding me of his presence
Pearl Jam – “Red Mosquito”
24. Are you getting something out of this all encompassing trip?
Pearl Jam – “Present Tense”
25. Back pages and days alone that could have been spent, together, but we were miles apart, every inch between us becomes light years now
Pearl Jam – “Light Years”
26. She lies and says she’s in love with him, can’t find a better man
Pearl Jam – “Better Man”
27. The swallowed seeds of arrogance, breeding in the thoughts of ten thousand fools that fight irreverence
Pearl Jam – “Insignificance”
28. I swallow my words to keep from lying
Pearl Jam – “In Hiding”
29. I’m at peace with my lust, I can kill ’cause in God I trust
Pearl Jam – “Do The Evolution”
30. Belief in the game controls that keeps us in a box of fear
Pearl Jam – “Faithfull”
31. Slide up next to me, I’m just a human being
Pearl Jam – “The End”
32. Don’t see some men as half empty, see them half full of shit
Pearl Jam – “1/2 Full”
33. I got scratches, all over my arms, one for each day, since I fell apart
Pearl Jam – “Footsteps”
34. Wind in my hair I feel part of everywhere, underneath my being is a road that disappeared
Eddie Vedder – “Guaranteed”
35. For every tool they lend us a loss of independence
Pearl Jam – “Grievance”
36. Gonna rise up, burning black holes in dark memories
Eddie Vedder – “Rise”
37. Freezin’, rests his head on a pillow made of concrete, again
Pearl Jam – “Even Flow”
38. She scratches a letter/into a wall made of stone
Pearl Jam – “Why Go”
39. Oh dear dad, can you see me now, I am myself, like you somehow
Pearl Jam – “Release”
40. If I keep holding out, will the light shine through? Under this broken roof, it’s only rain that I feel, I’ve been wishing out the days, come back
Pearl Jam – “Come Back”
41. He won the lottery when he was born, took his mothers white breast to his tongue
Pearl Jam – “W.M.A.”
42. Self-realized and metaphysically redeemed, may not live another life, may not solve a mystery
Pearl Jam – “Mind Your Manners”
43. Look for love in evidence, that you’re worth keeping
Pearl Jam – “Unthought Known”
44. I’m so high the sky I scrape
Pearl Jam – “In My Tree”
45. All of five horizons revolved around her soul as the earth to the sun
Pearl Jam – “Black”
46. I guess it was the beatings made me wise
Pearl Jam – “Rearviewmirror”
47. And sometimes is seen a strange spot in the sky/A human being that was given to fly
Pearl Jam – “Given to Fly”
48. Who’s got the brain of JFK?
Pearl Jam – “Brain of J”
49. The TV, she talks to me, breaking news and building walls, selling us, what I don’t need, didn’t know soap made you taller
Pearl Jam – “Ghost”
50. I wonder ’bout his insides, it’s like his thoughts are too big for his size
Pearl Jam – “Off He Goes”
