Oh, fun one today thanks to Melanie Cee’s suggested prompts for Song Lyric Sunday. Prompt words are Show, Entertainment and Circus. First to pop in my head were Mr. Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan and The Ballad of Mott the Hoople by, well, Mott the Hoople. But I opted for something a bit more modern and decided to go with Pearl Jams’ Sirens, which contains the word “circus”. Be still my heart…Eddie Vedder.
Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Seattle. The band consists of original members, Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard (both formerly of Mother Love Bone, another great band that sadly ended before its time due to the death of one of its members), Eddie Vedder, and Mike McCready. The current drummer of the band is Matt Cameron. In 1991, Pearl Jam released Ten, its first recordings, which stayed on the top of the charts for about 5 years.
Sirens from Pearl Jam’s Lightening Bolt recording was released in September, 2013. The lyrics speak to mortality and what the future holds for our next generations, according to Eddie Vedder in his Billboard interview in October 2013.
This song affects me personally – what song doesn’t. For many years I lived in fear of death, and we all know that death is inevitable. It is very hard to function knowing death is right over your shoulder. But we can choose not to fear it and instead be thankful for that which we have now.
Hear the sirens, hear the sirens
Hear the sirens, hear the circus so profound
I hear the sirens more and more in this here town
Let me catch my breath to breathe then reach across the bend
Just to know we’re safe, I am a grateful man
This light is pit, alive and I can see you clear
I could take your hand, and feel your breath
For feel that someday this will be over
I pull you close, so much to lose
Knowing that, nothing lasts forever
I didn’t care, before you were here
A distant laughter, with the ever after
But, all things change, let this remain
Hear the sirens covering distance in the night
The sound, echoing closer, will they come for me, next time?
For every choice, mistake I made, is not my plan
To send you in the arms of another man
And if you choose to stay, I’ll wait, I’ll understand
It’s a fragile thing, this life we lead
If I think too much, I can’t get over
When by the grace, by which we live
Our lives with death over our shoulders
Want you to know, that should I go
I always loved you, held you high above too
I studied your face, the fear goes away
It’s a fragile thing, this life we lead
If I think too much, I can’t get over
When by the grace, by which we live
Our lives with death over our shoulders
Want you to know, that should I go
I always loved you, held you high above too
I studied your face, the fear goes away
The fear goes away, the fear goes away
Humor is Mandatory 
This is a beautiful song SadiRose and I should probably listen to more of Pearl Jam’s music. Thanks for sharing this today. I like the message in this song that with love in your life, the fear will go away.
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