"Immortality" is a song by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

, released on June 6, 1995, as the third single from the band's third studio album, ''

Vitalogy ''Vitalogy'' is the third studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 22, 1994, on Epic Records. Pearl Jam wrote and recorded ''Vitalogy'' while touring behind its previous album '' Vs.'' (1993). The album's sound is m ...

'' (1994). Although credited to all members of Pearl Jam, it was primarily written by vocalist

Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and one of three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. He was previously a gues ...

. The song peaked at number 10 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

chart. The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, '' rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003)''.

Lyrics

The lyrical interpretation of "Immortality" can be disputed, as many feel it may be about

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

frontman

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – ) was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana (band), Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establis ...

's death, although vocalist

has denied this. He stated:

No, that was written when we were on tour in Atlanta. It's not about Kurt. Nothing on the album was written directly about Kurt, and I don't feel like talking about him, because it ight be seenas exploitation. But I think there might be some things in the lyrics that you could read into and maybe will answer some questions or help you understand the pressures on someone who is on a parallel train...

In a later interview, Vedder talked about how he thought of Cobain and himself as "parallel trains." He said, "You look at it objectively and you think, 'What could be so fucking hard about being in a band?' But if you're coming from a place that's real, it's much harder."

Release and reception

"Immortality" peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboard''

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" fo ...

chart and number 31 on the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart. In Canada, the song reached number 62 on the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' 100 Hit Tracks chart and later charted on the ''RPM'' Alternative Top 30 chart, where it reached number 10. "Immortality" also reached the top 30 in New Zealand.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's review of the "Immortality" single stated that "Immortality" is "the best ballad from the otherwise spotty ''Vitalogy''."

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called it a "sullen

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

-style march" in which Eddie Vedder "ruminates over suicide as an end to pain." David Browne of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' said that "the sulking, lashing "Immortality" appears to be a Big Statement song about death, yet you'd never know that from its obtuse lyrics."

Live performances

"Immortality" was first performed live at the band's April 11, 1994, concert in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

at the

Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (later ...

. The lyrics that appeared in the first live version of the song were altered before release. Live performances of "Immortality" can be found on various official bootlegs and the live album '' Live at Benaroya Hall''. The alternate version played in Boston in 1994 featured first-person lyrics, as opposed to the third person lyrics on the studio take, ending in what could be thought of as a reference to the

song, Hey Hey My My, where Vedder sang the lyrics "Hey hey, this is my last day... my my, know how hard I try/Hey hey, I wouldn't love to stay, my my, I wish I could get high". For years, this version was only available through bootlegs, but a large portion of an April 12, 1994, concert from the Orpheum in Boston, including Immortality, was included on a bonus disc of the Vs./Vitalogy re-issue.

Track listing

All songs were written by

Dave Abbruzzese David James Abbruzzese (; born May 17, 1968) is an American musician who was the drummer for the American rock band Pearl Jam from 1991 to 1994. He replaced drummer Matt Chamberlain in 1991, shortly before the release of the band's debut album, ' ...

Jeff Ament Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician best known as the bassist of rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Ament wrote or co-wrote many of Pearl Jam's hits, ...

Stone Gossard Stone Carpenter Gossard (born July 20, 1966) is an American musician and songwriter who serves as the rhythm guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the ...

Mike McCready Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician known for being a founding member and lead guitarist of Pearl Jam. McCready was also a member of the side project bands Flight to Mars, Temple of the Dog, Mad Season (band), Ma ...

, and

. # "Immortality" – 5:18 # " Rearviewmirror" performed by

The Frogs ''The Frogs'' (; , often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus in Athens, in 405 BC and received first place. The pla ...

– 5:18

Charts

References

External links

*
Lyrics at pearljam.com
{{Authority control 1990s ballads 1994 songs 1995 singles Cultural depictions of Kurt Cobain Epic Records singles Pearl Jam songs Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer) Song recordings produced by Dave Abbruzzese Song recordings produced by Eddie Vedder Song recordings produced by Jeff Ament Song recordings produced by Mike McCready Song recordings produced by Stone Gossard Songs about musicians Songs about suicide Songs written by Eddie Vedder