A man lies in his bed in a room with no door.
He waits hoping for a presence, something, anything, to enter.
After spending half his life searching he still felt as blank as the ceiling at which he's staring.
He's alive but feels absolutely nothing. So is he?
When he was six he believed that the moon overhead followed him, by nine he had deciphered the illusion trading magic for fact.
No tradebacks.
So this is what it's like to be an adult.
If he only knew now what he knew then...

I'm open, (x2)
Come in. (x4)

I'm open, (x2)
Yeah... Woo...
Come in. (x4)

Lying sideways atop crumpled sheets and no covers he decides to dream.
Dream up a new self for himself.



Lyrics submitted by Trent

Track duration: 02:53


I'm Open song meanings
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21 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:to me its saying that when your a little kid you almost feel like the universe revolves around you and that your fate will magically fall into place. Then like what jeema said at the age of 9 you realize that noone is going to save you from your fears and you gotta figure things out on your own.

    When he was six he believed that the moon overhead followed him, by nine he had deciphered the illusion trading magic for fact.
    Flag nocode87on October 06, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think, in this song, perhaps the subject is having a dreamlike sort of epiphany - an epiphany that no one is coming to save him from his fears, etc. All of us are ultimately alone in a room with no door, with no one to depend on but ourselves to find a way out. I think that's basically what Eddie's trying to say. Very depressing, although I guess the last lines give a glimmer of hope...
    Flag Jeemaon July 06, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:lets get back to talking about the song please!

    this song really reminds me to just relax sometimes and just let my imagination and soul take over.

    its so uplifting to see in the song that the persona eventually decides to dream, and re-claim his soul once more.

    ...i kinda get the feeling that Eddie may have perhaps been referring to himself in this song, actually.
    Flag JoNNieS Kon January 28, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Pearl Jam albums
    1) VS.
    2) VITALOGY
    3) NO CODE
    4) LOST DOGS
    5) RIOT ACT
    6) TEN
    7) S/T
    8) YIELD
    9) BINAURAL

    VERSUS singles don't really stand out, but the album works well as a cohesive whole listen. VITALOGY really annoyed me at first, but I grew to love it, and there are tracks that stand out.

    NO CODE is full of tracks that stand out, but there are some turkeys. Given a different track order, it could have been better. "Present Tense" should have been the closer. The final three songs tank the end of the record. The light, open nature of "Mankind" and "Around the Bend" make not a good sandwich with the contrast of "I'm Open" sandwiched between them.

    "Mankind" is a fun song, but filler, and for the life of me "Around the Bend" is difficult for me to appreciate. It's a downright turkey in an album full of amazing moments.

    How much better would NO CODE have been if the "I Got ID" and "Long Road" replaced the last three tracks?

    TEN is great but I'm waiting for them to remix and re-release it with some bonus songs, as I know the band wants to do. It's the album that got me into the band back in 1992, but there's a lot of reverb in the mix that makes the album sound too slick.

    YIELD has some great compositions (with NO CODE, the band really started to let Gossard and Ament contribute more, and they're both great songwriters).

    BINAURAL just took too long to come out, and the end product was disappointing for myself. I didn't buy RIOT ACT until it much later than its release date, mostly because I didn't think the band could achieve the zeitgeist of the first four records after hearing what BINAURAL had to offer. The fact it opens sounding like a Who record and even includes a blatant nod/rip-off to Pete Townsend's "Blue, Red & Grey" ("Soon Forget") just annoyed the hell out of me. Why not just cover that song... for the love of god. I've grown to appreciate the album, it has amazing moments, but one album has to be at the bottom of the list...
    Flag Sneedyon September 02, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:T-Crash is right, I think there is an apparent link between the songs on NO CODE, and "I'm Open" matches up with "Red Mosquito", after listening to the album in random/shuffle mode you should be able to pick out a couple more...

    It would have been great as has been suggested to hide this song, but instead of tacking onto the end of the album, I would have taken deliberate measures to hide it; by sliding it into negative-time before the first song on the CD, and then had the album open with "Red Mosquito". The only way people would hear it would be by rewinding from the first note of "Red Mosquito".

    On the LP, I would simply have hidden this song in a double groove over Red Mosquito. I love double-groove tracks, and this song would have gotten more exposure if it were hidden. Its context surely implies hiding.
    Flag Sneedyon September 02, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Great song, very creative,.........About the "dreaming" point" During low light at the end eddie sings "The dream I see" and during I got ID (I got Shit) he says "So ill just lie alone and wait for the dream" and yes there r many more.

    And i would also like to know if theres a connection to this song and red Mosquito
    Flag ThumbingMyWayon July 21, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:one of the best pearl jam songs for me. i love eddies voice so much on this song and to me its basically openig up to who you are hiding from in yourself.
    Flag i love JFon June 15, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:my list
    1.vitalogy
    2.no code
    3.ten
    4.binaural
    5.avacado
    6.yield
    7.vs
    8.riot act
    Flag richie8092on May 13, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Viatology is the best album in my opinion it's energetic, original and the band seems to be working together really well. Anyway, can't say I like the poetry bet the middles great, was this one written by Jack Irons?
    Flag Daniel_87on May 13, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:No code isnt their best album but i havnt herd all of yeild, riot act or binural, but vs. in my opinion is the best, because the only song that isnt 5 stars is really just dissident.
    Flag longliveconradon April 14, 2006   Link

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