Severed Hand (song)
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| “Severed Hand” | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Pearl Jam | |||||
| Album | Pearl Jam | ||||
| Released | May 2, 2006 | ||||
| Recorded | November 2004–February 2006 at Studio X, Seattle, Washington | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock | ||||
| Length | 4:30 | ||||
| Label | J Records | ||||
| Writer | Eddie Vedder | ||||
| Producer | Adam Kasper, Pearl Jam | ||||
| Pearl Jam track listing | |||||
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"Severed Hand" is a song by Pearl Jam. It appears as the fourth track on the band's 2006 self-titled eighth studio album.
Contents |
[edit] Origin and recording
It was written by lead singer Eddie Vedder on the same night that he wrote the song "I Am Mine".[1]
Eddie Vedder on the song:
I started writing that one in a hotel room in Virginia the same night I wrote [the Riot Act track] "I Am Mine". It was before we played our first American show after Roskilde. I was just kind of holed up in a room and it was lightning outside. I had it around for years and didn't know where it was supposed to go next. I think we even tried doing a bit of it for Riot Act but probably didn't spend more than an hour or two on it. It had been sitting in port for awhile. I just wanted to get [the] thing out on the water. We finally got it going and then it turned into a fucking speedboat.[1]
[edit] Composition
The main riff bears a striking resemblance to "Porch" from the band's debut album Ten, and the chorus is reminiscent of "Insignificance", from the band's album Binaural. The intro seems to stem largely out of an improv song from the band's performance in Boston, Massachusetts on August 30, 2000.
[edit] Reception
In E! Online's review of the album the song was described as one that comes "close to recreating the hard rock thrills of the band's billion-selling debut, Ten."[2] Brian D. Schiller of Slant Magazine proclaimed it as one of "the band's best pure rock cuts since 'Spin the Black Circle'"[3] The song was an album track pick at Allmusic, along with "Life Wasted", "World Wide Suicide", and "Inside Job".[4]
[edit] Lyrical meaning
It has been said by Vedder that the song is about purchasing and consuming LSD, which can be seen in such lyrics as "You'll see dragons after three or four!" During the band's aftershow webcast for the Late Show with David Letterman, Vedder introduced the song by stating, "This song is about psychotropics."
In an interview, guitarist Stone Gossard commented on Vedder's lyrics for the song:
That song is pretty intense in terms of the perspective of someone who says, '[Fuck] it. I'm going to go lose my mind. That's how I want to live right now.' It's a little bit anthemic. It's not necessarily embracing it, but everyone can relate to that feeling of, '[Fuck] it. I'm going to go get drunk.' That's an intense perspective to have. It's cool that it's balanced out on the rest of the record with some real characters.[1]
[edit] Live performances
The song was premiered live on Saturday Night Live in April 2006. The song was premiered live in concert at the band's April 20, 2006 concert in London, England.[5] Live performances of "Severed Hand" can be found on the Live at the Gorge 05/06 box set. A performance of the song is also included on the DVD Immagine In Cornice.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Cohen, Jonathan. "The 'Pearls' Of Pearl Jam". Billboard.com. April 14, 2006.
- ^ "Pearl Jam: Pearl Jam". E! Online. 2006.
- ^ Schiller, Brian D. Pearl Jam: Pearl Jam. Slant Magazine. 2006.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Pearl Jam Review". All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-05-29.
- ^ "Pearl Jam Songs: "Severed Hand"". pearljam.com.
[edit] External links
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