So tonight I got stoned for the first time in like, 4 days. For the vast majority of my life going that long without weed was normal for me. Yet it feels like a long ass time to go without now, especially since I happen to be pretty stressed at the moment. I think I might have a bit of a problem but any ways, doing this helped me get in the mood to make this post. So let’s talk about Pearl Jam.

I’ll be honest, for me personally Pearl Jam is a good band but honestly not my favorite. I have a couple of their albums and I don’t listen to them particularly often. I’m more of a Soundgarden guy when it comes to grunge. However, I certainly don’t complain when Pearl Jam’s songs show up when I hit shuffle. As it happens tonight was a night where the song I named this post after showed up and I was reminded how great of a song it is.

Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town. Much like a light novel title it is weirdly long and summarizes the song’s premise effectively. According to my very in depth research of this song (I checked the Wikipedia page) Eddie Vedder created this song in about 20 minutes. I think reading this shows how talented the man is. Such amazing lyrics just came to him that quickly and he figured out the chords, how to sing it, and all of that shit in that time frame too. One thing I appreciate about Eddie Vedder’s lyrics is how well he’s able to sing about other people’s perspective in such a powerful way. These can be painful stories like the ones found in “Jeremy” or “Daughter.” In this case the subject matter is nowhere near as dark, but it is bittersweet nevertheless.

An elderly woman in a small town is not the kind of thing you see too much art based on in general. Not in music, not in tv, not in movies, not in anything else I can think of besides commercials targeting products directed at them. There are many reasons for this, some of which are fairer and more reasonable than others. Regardless, I tend to like it when media shines a light on the kind of people that you won’t see too often on the screen but can find plenty of in life. I am not an elderly woman from a small town, and it is exceedingly unlikely that I will ever be one. I would have to stop being a cis dude and actively decide to live in a small town when I personally prefer living in urban areas. I believe the chance of me changing my mind on either of those points is exceedingly low, and the chance for both to happen at the same time to be even lower. Being transgender in a small town sounds scary to me unless it’s in like, Vermont maybe. Point is, I do not know what is like to be an elderly woman behind a counter in a small town and I never will. Thanks to this song I think I have a better understanding of what it’s like to be one though, and I think that is a wonderful thing.

I won’t talk too much about my interpretation of the song. This song’s Wikipedia page has an Eddie Vedder quote where he explains what it’s about and it’s a pretty satisfying explanation. It is quite sad that this woman was not able to talk to the guy that came back. Honestly just looking over the lyrics damn near every line of the song hits hard. One of the highlights for me is:

I changed by not changing at all, small town predicts my fate
Perhaps that’s what no one wants to see

This woman was stuck in this small town and had to build her life here without really getting the chance to know anything else. I believe she likely came to accept how her life turned out. However, seeing this man who moved on to some other place without her made those complicated feelings about how her life turned out resurface. Having her life being stuck and unchanging for so long formed her. Good shit. The lines immediately following these ones are great too.

I just want to scream… hello…
My god it’s been so long, never dreamed you’d return
But now here you are, and here I am.

The sad part of this is that she’s playing out what she wants to say in her head but does not muster up the courage to do so. I am well acquainted with the feeling of being afraid to say something I want to, so I can understand why she didn’t. You can’t really blame her; it would’ve been easier if the man recognized her. However, she fully understands why he didn’t. He likely hasn’t seen her for decades after all. It is unfortunate nevertheless. The woman this song follows may be fictional, but I am sure there are people out there that had similar experiences. And even if you have never had a similar experience the chorus provides something I think almost anyone could connect to.

Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away…

This chorus really sticks with me. It is catchy, memorable, and powerful so I suppose it is not surprising that it does. This line makes me think of all the connections I’ve had over the years that I’ve completely lost touch with. I think of the people I knew from my previous years of schooling that I completely lost touch with when I graduated and moved on to the next school. I think of the old crushes and exes I likely won’t ever see again. I also think of my late grandparents that I cannot talk to any more. Many of these people are still relatively fresh on my mind because of how recently I was around them. But many of the memories will fade, and I will likely never see many of them again. They will live out their lives wherever it takes them and neither of us will have any further impact on our respective outcomes. That is only natural. I just hope I’ll be able to say something to them if we do meet. I also hope I’ll be able to hold on to the connections I currently hold dear for as long life allows me to. I think you need only take a glance at the youtube comment section of this song to see other examples of how powerful these lines are.

I believe that about covers what I’d like to say about the song. It’s a great song, 10/10 would recommend. Tune in for next time when I talk about something completely different~