Pearl Jam – Tremor Christ

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  Lyric Correction:I think some of the lyrics are wrong, this is as I remember it in the booklet but I might be wrong:
  
  "Wounded is the organ he left all...bloodied on the shore..." should be "Wounded is the open knee left, oh... bloodied on the shore..."
  
  "Gorgeous was his savior, sees her..." should be "Gorgeous was his savior, Caesar..."
  
  "Daily taste the salt of her tears, but...a chance blamed fate..." should be "I barely taste the salt of her tears, but I just blame fate..."
  
  "He whispers pleasing words..." is " He whispers faith and words..."
  
  "Triumphant are the angels if they can...a get there first..." (I don't know why someone put an A in there"
  
  This is just what I hear/remember.
  
  

  Flag jacksongreeron November 24, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:I comment on the same songs a lot but I just love this song so much. Now I almost think of an old-man-and-the-sea Hemmingway type character, a sailor or fisherman who makes his living from the sea, who maybe meets a girl on shore but has to leave her to return to the sea. At the end, when he "puts his faith and love in tremor christ..." perhaps "Tremor Christ" is mother ocean herself? Eddie is a surfer and canoe paddler... if you fish or SCUBA or sail you know the alure of the ocean, and how it seems almost supernatural in its pull towards those who know it well... like the character in this song, who, despite ties with his "savior" on land, feels he must return.
  
  Puts his faith in love and tremor christ...

  Flag Tig45on November 23, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:Any PJ bootleg junkies out there, check out the Orpheum '94 version, AKA included on the Vs/Vitalogy reissue. Tremor Christ and the Vitalogy songs from that show were still in demo form, Tremor Christ and Immortality, the latter especially, have much different lyrics, and Tremor Christ is much harder and groovier.

  Flag Tig45on October 04, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:Sounds like it's about a gulf of mistrust created by lies/secrets/deception.
  
  "Little secrets, tremors...turned to quake..."
  
  It's the little secrets that eventually pile up and break up lovers, friends and family.

  Flag captainspion August 27, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:This song is about how a relationship can end from a thousand little lies. And at the end, how the man turns to leave, and realizes what he's leaving behind, and turns back to try to make amends. Perhaps a precursor to Nothingman? I wonder. But I like to think this song has a happier ending. It's like a romantic sea story. I love the ocean references. And the guitar licks at the beginning remind me of a choppy ocean. If you have ever been on a boat going into choppy seas, you see the similarity. This song amazes me... everything about it... the music, the vocals, the lyrics... awesome.

  Flag Tig45on January 07, 2011   Link

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  Song Meaning:This song is stricly about drug addiction. "The smallest oceans still get big big waves" That's saying as he's recovering he's still using and the smallest amount of drugs creates huge problems. Little secrets tremors turned to quake is him hiding his drug use.
  
  It could also be looked at as hig growing up with a stepfather he despised. Therefore the end of the song. "I'll decide, take the dive, take my time, not my life, wait for signs, believe in lies, to get by, it's divine.

  Flag boiler55126on December 22, 2010   Link

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  Song Meaning:I probably think Benplace was the most accurate... All songs can have different meanings to others but having been in the very strong grasp of addiction in my not to distant past this song was very direct in what it said to me...
  
  verse 1
  He is describing addiction whether it be drugs or alchol. The addiction has beaten him down but a beautiful saviour tried to help, only to be turned away. She cries and all he can do is weakly blame fate.
  
  Chorus
  Addiction in the begining can be hiden easily, as the roots of addiction take hold the effects can become more and more outward. Addiction can start and seem very harmless, nothing more than this little pill (or 1 drink, or 1 line, or etc.), as time goes by it can grab you and make some big waves in your life.
  
  Verse 2
  This is devil of adiction lying to ourselves. And at some point we've given in, we want help but have no stregth left to help ourselves. We await an angel to save us.
  
  Bridge
  
  We decide to go ahead and do it once more. Even though we would rather be dead. We won't kill ourselves just yet. This temporary numbing will get us by while we continue to lie to ourselves awaiting a sign. There comes a point when just getting by is truly devine. Yes i know exactly what it's like
  
  Verse 3
  The addict finaly compelety gives in and 'drops the line' putting his faith in love and the drug. His Tremor Christ

  Flag Spikedogon November 17, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:don't really even care what it's about. all i know is it's beautiful. i love this song.

  Flag TheMoonTellsMEaSecreton July 26, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:I think this song is pointing out the lies and false-hopes of organized religion.
  
  "Winded is the sailor...drifting by the storm...
  Wounded is the organ he left all...bloodied on the shore..."
  
  This might be saying that the "sailor" in this song is getting tired of following the lies that he was told according to his religion, and that he's already given up a lot for it and left it behind "on the shore".
  
  
  "Gorgeous was his savior, sees her...drowning in his wake...
  Daily taste the salt of her tears, but...a chance blamed fate..."
  
  He was told that his savior was great, and he "tastes the salt of her tears" (feels that he owes his savior, and is discouraged when he starts to lose his faith, and despite the idea of his savior "drowning", or fading, he feels that he must still believe in his savior as restitution).
  
  "Little secrets, tremors...turned to quake...
  The smallest oceans still get...big, big waves..."
  
  I think this might be saying that little happenings get blown out of proportion and spread around quickly, such as his religion. "Smallest oceans still get big, big waves": even small occurrences can get exaggerated and have big effects.
  
  "Ransom paid the Devil...He whispers pleasing words...
  Triumphant are the angels if they can...a get there first..."
  
  The "devil" (or what he thinks is the devil) is trying to make him lose his faith, but the angels (his religion) will prevail if their ideas can come back to him first.
  
  "Little secrets tremors...turned to quake...
  The smallest oceans still get...big, big waves..."
  
  "I'll decide...take the dive...
  Take my time...not my life...
  Wait for signs...believe in lies...
  To get by...it's divine...whoa...
  Oh, you know what it's like..."
  
  He's going to make a decision, whether or not he believes in his religion or not, and he will wait for those "holy signs" and "believe in lies" until he fully believes in his faith again.
  
  "Turns the bow back towards him...drops the line...
  Puts his faith and love in Tremor Christ..."
  
  He goes away from his deep thinking, drops the line (his anchor -- anchors make boats stay still, so he won't be progressing due to his decision), and again starts to believe in his religion, his Tremor Christ (the religion was one of those "small oceans" that got started from something small, then blown way out of proportion and spread. The storm mentioned at the beginning of the song is basically his deep thinking, and he was sailing along it, but got tired and decided to choose whether or not he would continue, or unknowingly fall victim to the lies he was told and stop sailing, and drop anchor.
  
  
  Might not be right, but if you think about it, it does make sense, and Eddie's made a few other songs that point out different negatives of religion.

  Flag PairOFishon May 20, 2010   Link

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  My Interpretation:An argument from nothing turned vicious. Those little things he never knew conflicted with the little things he grew to accept as the way things "oughtta be". Betrayal from the love he cared for, his sad angel, found him renouncing love forever, walking in the street without looking (what does it matter). He was in his cloud, voices coming in to say it's all a lie, there's nothing but chains in love, she was a burden and now you're free. But he did love her. Something in his memory remained unbeaten and true, something from his youth, when things could be pure. You didn't need any reasons to be happy. You just needed faith. And that's why times were so happy. Ah, to reclaim that happiness again. But how?
  
  Let it go.
  Just believe.

  Flag FatRaton November 09, 2009   Link

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