Monday, March 31, 2008

it's ok, we love you anyway..



(this is sort of a continuation from my post yesterday)
during their US 2000 tour, pearl jam started playing it's okay, a song by a band named dead moon, as a tag at the end of daughter. the first time they played it was during their tour opener in viginia beach (i wore my tape of that show out listening to this song over and over), and there's a version of it from nyc on their 2000 tour dvd. the lyrics of the song that eddie sings are beautiful, and i remember that during the tour, people were saying that he was singing it as a way to tell himself that it was okay to keep going.

it's okay you don't have to run and hide away
it's okay, we've seen better days
it's okay, we love you anyway
this is my chance, this is my life
and my hope in an alley way
this is my chance, this is my voice
there may be no tomorrow.
this is my plea, this is my need
and my time to stand free
this is my time, this is my way
in a world that's never safe


one of the great things about pearl jam is eddie vedder's ability to get an audience to participate in a concert. i'm not sure how to explain it exactly - it's more than him getting us to sing along; he gets us to be emotionally invested (i don't think that's too strong a phrase) in the music. i have spent the past hour rewatching my 2000 tour dvd, and when i get to this song, there is something about seeing thousands of people singing "it's okay" at the top of their lungs that is just amazing.

i saw 4 shows during the 2000 tour and did not hear this song. fast forward to 2006, and they were again playing it's ok sometimes as a tag on daughter. i finally heard it live at the 2nd gorge show in july that year. when i first heard the notes of it at the end of daughter, i just closed my eyes and smiled. you have to picture this day - it was literally 116 degrees even after the sun had set. before he started singing, eddie said something about how the world is burning, they're bombing "the shit out of each other" in the mideast, and when you go to bed at night, you try to tell yourself that it's going to be okay. "but it's getting harder and harder to say that, so will you help remind me?" he changed the lyrics to this is our chance, this is our lives, this is our planet we're standing on. use your choice, use your voice, you can save our tomorrows... let's see it through in a world demanding of you

you know, i think that at its best, music is a cathartic experience. and that's what this song is to me - a chance to tell yourself, that no matter what is going on, it will be okay. you will get through this.

so, here is it's okay from new york in 2000. like i said above, i think that one of my favorite things about this song is the crowd reaction. seeing all those people clap their hands and sing along at the top of their lungs has to be one of the most beautiful things. i guess chasing moments like those is why i go to concerts in the first place.

1 comment:

Kristine Rosenborg said...

That looks AMAZING. I love the energy of the crowd. Wonderful song writing. Brilliant.