From The Forum in Inglewood, CA 7/13/1998
I forgot to write a description for this song*. I can’t exactly remember when or how I heard Even Flow, though it may have been an Apple Music find. Regardless of how I found it, the song was stuck in my head for at least 5 days. All I can perfectly remember is that I loved the kick just over a minute into the song. The part where you feel the need to dance. To dance like the butterflies that Vedder speaks of.
There are days when I really enjoy reading songs’ lyrics, like poetry, interpreting their meanings**, wondering what the songwriter was thinking in the moment they wrote that song. Then there are days when I prefer to listen obliviously, and without interruption from anyone else’s perception or judgement. However, when I post a song for the week, I like to double check for the “gist” of the song. You know, just in case. I won’t say whose little sister brought it to her incognizant big sister’s attention that maybe said big sister shouldn’t be singing a certain Lady Gaga song aloud loudly, but count it as a lesson learned. With that, I looked up the lyrics for this song. Clearly, I didn’t listen closely enough, because I truly had no idea that the song was about homelessness, but after stumbling upon the analysis I was spurred to share the interpretation of Vedder’s butterflies. They are symbols, of “Experiencing optimism in the face of difficulty”. Well said, they are.
* Random observation, but last year I confided in an acquaintance that I was thrilled to see the Soundgarden drummer, Matt Cameron, perform live with Pearl Jam. My acquaintance pointed out that Cameron is a great drummer and that Cameron’s affinity for speeding up songs brought an interesting twist to Pearl Jam. I never thought much about it until I heard the Even Flow album version cast against the bootleg version that I shared above. Day and night.
**(oftentimes with help, hello Genius Lyrics)