Nothingman (1994) – Pearl Jam

2 Nothing Men in the space of two days, which has gotta mean something.
Nothingman is one of my favourite songs by Pearl Jam. It is the second song to feature here from their third album Vitalogy. Their previous entry from the record is another one of my all-time favourites: Better Man. Nothingman features lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music by bassist Jeff Ament.

Vedder on the song: Nothingman was written in an hour, and so I like listening to that ’cause it just happened and somehow captured a mood there, at least for me in the vocal. Any time I can nail down a song, a thought, in a half hour, that feels really good.  Vedder also stated, “The idea is about if you love someone and they love you, don’t f/&k up…’cause you are left with less than nothing.” Discussing his attitude toward his first wife, Vedder commented, “But I just know that without her, I’d be a kite without a string, a nothing man.“

Once divided, nothing left to subtract
Some words when spoken can’t be taken back
Walks on his own with thoughts he can’t help thinking
Future’s above, but in the past he’s slow and sinking

[Pre-Chorus]
Caught a bolt of lightning
Cursed the day he let it go

[Chorus]
Nothingman
Nothingman
Isn’t it something, nothingman

[Verse 2]
She once believed in every story he had to tell
One day she stiffened, took the other side
Empty stares from each corner of a shared prison cell
One just escapes, one’s left inside the well

Upon its CD release, Vitalogy became the second-fastest selling album in history, behind only the band’s previous release Vs., selling 877,000 copies in its first week and quickly going multi-platinum. The album received critical acclaim from critics and has been certified 5x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of at least five million copies in the United States. 

More information about the album from the Wikipedia reference below:

Tensions within the band had dramatically increased by the time they were working on Vitalogy. Producer Brendan O’Brien said: “Vitalogy was a little strained. I’m being polite—there was some imploding going on.” Bassist Jeff Ament said that “communication was at an all-time low”. Drummer Dave Abbruzzese stated that the communication problems started once guitarist Stone Gossard stopped acting as the band’s mediator. According to Gossard, Vitalogy was the first album for which lead vocalist Eddie Vedder made the final decisions. At the time, Gossard thought of quitting the band. Gossard said the band was having trouble collaborating, so most of the songs were developed out of jam sessions. He added that “80 percent of the songs were written 20 minutes before they were recorded.” During the production of Vitalogy, lead guitarist Mike McCready went into rehabilitation to receive treatment for alcohol and cocaine abuse.

References:
1. Nothingman – Wikipedia
2. Vitalogy – Wikipedia

About observationblogger

“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand