Jeremy
Pearl Jam
Ten, ©1991
Lyrics by Eddie Vedder
About alienation, loneliness, rebellion,
suicide and violence, this song was inspired by the tragic story of Jeremy Wade
Delle. "On
Discussing Jeremy Vedder has
explained, "...I saw a small paragraph in the paper about a kid named, his
first name was Jeremy and he took, he shot himself in the front of his English
class...I wrote, I mean I literally wrote the song that night, I think...I
wonder why that happened? I wonder why he did it..." Vedder goes on to
reveal another source of inspiration for this song, "I actually knew
somebody in junior high school, in San Diego, California, that did the same
thing, just about, didn't take his life but ended up shooting up an
oceanography room....So it's a bit about this kid named Jeremy and it's also a
bit about a kid named Brian that I knew and I don't know...I think of Jeremy
when I sing it."
In a 1993 Rockline Interview Vedder responded
to suggestions that the song and video for Jeremy might promote youth violence,
"Some kid did this. I didn't make that up and that's a fact. It came from
a small paragraph in a paper which means you kill yourself and you make a big
old sacrifice and try to get your revenge. That all you're gonna end up with is
a paragraph in a newspaper...The world goes on and you're gone. The best
revenge is to live on and prove yourself. Be stronger then those people. And
then you can come back..."
Marky Mark’s 1991 song Wildside
which samples from Lou Reeds 1972 classic, Walk on the Wild Side, exposes the
dangers and deadly consequences of youth risk behaviors including drug use and
gun violence. “…A body was found in the alley but never claimed Full of bullet holes but
none to blame Ron became another victim of homicide because he chose to walk on
the wildside…” Another
section of the lyrics are inspired by actual events, the infamous 1990
While Marky Mark’s song
may sample musically from Walk on the Wild Side, the lyrics of
these songs express contrasting views of rebellion, sexuality and “life
in the fast lane”. Lou Reed’s
song serves as a tribute to the excessive, unconventional, and outrageous
lifestyle of the friends of Andy Warhol who frequented his infamous club the factory during the 1960’s.
"Holly came from
Another song that deals with the issues of
emotional health, identity, and youth violence is the Boomtown Rat's song, I
Don't like Mondays. While touring the United States in 1979 singer and
songwriter Bob Geldof heard a news report about 16 year-old Brenda Spencer who
shot at students outside an elementary school, killing two adults and injuring
several children. Shaken by this act of senseless violence Geldof wrote the
lyrics, "...And school's out early and soon we'll be learning And the
lesson today is how to die..."
Sadly, the title for the song is taken
directly from a statement made by Brenda Spencer shortly after the
shooting. Asked why she had done this, Spencer cooly replied, "I
Don't Like Mondays".
An even older song dealing
with death and violence is Bob Dylan’s Knockin’ on Heaven’s
Door which was written for the 1973 soundtrack of Sam Peckinpah’s
film, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Bob Dylan actually has a role in
this controversial film which is considered by some to be one of the greatest
modern Westerns ever made. This haunting song expresses the internal conflict
and sense of despair experienced by a gunfighter turned sheriff who has grown
weary of death and killing but reluctantly agrees to hunt down his former
friend. “…Mama, put my guns in the ground I can't shoot them anymore.
That long black cloud is comin' down I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's
door…”
Over the years this song has
been covered and popularized by many artists and has been adopted as an anthem
for anti-war and anti-violence causes and organizations. “With the consent of Bob
Dylan, Dunblane musician Ted Christopher wrote a new verse for Knockin' on Heaven's Door in memory of
the Dunblane schoolchildren and teacher killed in the Dunblane massacre. The
recording of the revised version of the song, which included brothers and
sisters of the victims singing chorus and Mark Knopfler on guitar, was released
on December 9, 1996 in the UK, and reached number 1. The proceeds went to
charities for children.”
Source(s):
Pearl Jam Interview: Echoes of
Exposure with David Sadoff December, 1991
Black, Johnny. "The Greatest Songs Ever! Jeremy" Blender, September 2002.
Wikipedia - “Knockin’
on Heaven’s Door”
Music
and Lyric Resources:
five horizons:
a pearl jam fanzine
The
Sky I Scrape: A Pearl Jam Fansite
Boomtown
Rats Official Web Site
Ted
Christopher Official Web Site
Referenced
and Related Works:
Edwin Arlington Robinson's, "Richard Corey"
Dylan Thomas's, "Do Not Go Gentle"
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's, "A Psalm of
Life"
T.S. Eliot's, "The Hollow Men"
1990 Boston Murder – NY Times Articles
Wildside / Walk on the Wildside
Student's visual interpretation of "I Don't Like
Mondays"
Student's visual interpretation of "I Don't Like
Mondays"
Student's visual interpretation of "Jeremy"
Jeremy Wade Delle (external
page)
The Boomtown Rats -
"I Don't Like Mondays" (external page)
Slang City’s Walk on
the Wild Side (external page )
The Andy Warhol Museum ( external page )
The Dunblane Massacre ( external page )
YouTube –
“Jeremy” ( external page
)
YouTube -
“Wildside” ( external
page )
YouTube
– “Walk On the Wild Side”
( external page )
YouTube – “I
Don’t Like Mondays” (
external page )
YouTube –
“Knockin On Heaven’s Door” ( external page )