Friday, January 26, 2007

I Wish

In early 1998, Pearl Jam released an album called, "Yield," and it was a must-purchase for me. Not because I'm the biggest Pearl Jam fan on the planet; I like 'em OK enough, but they probably wouldn't even crack my top 30 favorite groups. I bought their debut album, "Ten," back in 1991, but who didn't? They were all the rage back then, and that's a really good album.

"Yield" has one of those songs that you hear once on the radio and immediately point your car in the direction of a music store. And that song is "Wishlist." It's got Eddie Vedder's familiar voice, nearly monotone throughout, and sometimes close to a mumble.

But the lyrics are really "think-outside-the-box" ideas, and they make you want to sit down and write your own abstract wishlist. Perhaps I'll do that in a future blog entry, but for now I was led to this entry tonight because I had the song going through my headphones at work today about a dozen times in a row. (and another three or four as I sit here writing this.)

If you don't own the song, or don't know the song, it's worth the 99 cents. And if you download it and don't agree, let me know. I'll send you a refund.

Here's Eddie's wishlist (at least in 1998 it was. maybe it's changed.):

I wish I was a neutron bomb, for once I could go off
I wish I was a sacrifice, but somehow still lived on
I wish I was a sentimental ornament you hung on
Your Christmas tree, I wish I was the star that went on top
I wish I was the evidence, I wish I was the grounds
For 50 million hands upraised and open toward the sky

I wish I was a sailor with someone who waited for me
I wish I was as fortunate, as fortunate as me
I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good
I wish I was the full moon shining off a Camaro's hood

I wish I was an alien at home behind the sun
I wish I was the souvenir you kept your house key on
I wish I was the pedal brake that you depended on
I wish I was the verb 'to trust' and never let you down

I wish I was a radio song, the one that you turned up
I wish...
I wish...

It's very fitting that the song fades away so quickly at the end that you really have to turn the volume up pretty high to catch that last line about the radio song that you turn up.

So which of those wishes on Eddie's list jumps out as a favorite of yours? I like most of the ideas, but I've got one that I'd choose above the rest.

And...what would be on your wishlist if you made one?


"How I wish that somewhere there existed
an island for those who are wise
and of good will."
—Albert Einstein

4 comments:

  1. Yes, definitely worth the .99. I bought the 8+ minute version.

    Gave me something to distract me from the sufferfest of a run I did this afternoon.

    I have some more verses...thinking...thinking...

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  2. I wish I was the net that appears when you leap
    I wish I was your shadow sharing space in the sun
    I wish I was the reason , not shaken by silence
    I wish I was the smile on your face when you see me
    Chosen from memories, remembering still
    I wish I could see magic leaving glitter on a pillow
    Moonlight dancing in a pool on a warm summer night
    I wish I was a mirror reflecting all that is beautiful
    I wish I was the truth allowing us to be set free
    I wish I was time, controlling the universe, unfolding
    I wish...

    (Eddie Vetter I am not)
    Just write, just write, just write...

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  3. Good job, Erin! :O)

    I need to get together a wishlist someday, too. They're not easy, are they?

    I really like the shadow one, and the fact that you added another moonlight wish. (for the record, my favorite wish of Eddie's was the full moon shining off a Camaro's hood.)

    And I love the idea of "seeing" magic. Very cool.

    If you keep adding to it, we'll get Greg to write some music for it and before you know it, you'll be even MORE famous than Eddie Vedder!

    (six words to live by at the bottom, by the way.)

    Oh. I was gonna ask...does the 8-minute version have more lyrics in it, or just more music fillers in between verses? I never even knew there was an 8-minute version. (future purchase, to be sure.)

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  4. There are several versions available - live, home-made videos... on that wonderful website known as Youtube.

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