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"Thumbing My Way" 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, ...
. 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 ...
, "Thumbing My Way" is the seventh track on the band's seventh studio album, ''
Riot Act
The Riot Act (1 Geo. 1. St. 2. c. 5), sometimes called the Riot Act 1714 or the Riot Act 1715, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which authorised local authorities to declare any group of 12 or more people to be unlawfully assembled ...
'' (2002).
Origin and recording
"Thumbing My Way" was 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 ...
. Drummer
Matt Cameron
Matthew David Cameron (born November 28, 1962) is an American musician who is the drummer for the rock band Pearl Jam. He first gained fame as the drummer for Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he joined in 1986, appearing on each of the ...
revealed to Vedder that he considers it the nicest
chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...
Vedder has come up with. Vedder on the song:
"Thumbing My Way" was written real quick. There's something about writing real quickly that keeps the music in a nice pure state. You don't think of it as homework. You think, "Wow, that was a good half hour spent." There is a tangible joy about creating something that wasn't there before.
Bassist
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, ...
on the song:
We were out in the room playing the song and learning it. In the process, roducer Adam Kasper">Adam_Kasper.html" ;"title="roducer Adam Kasper">roducer Adam Kasperwent and re-miked everything very covertly. So all of the sudden when we were ready to play it, it was up and he captured it. Nailed it. That to me was really critical and kind of how the record sounds. A lot of times, there's that cool thing when you don't quite know the song and everybody is really concentrating. It lasts for four or five takes and then it's gone. After that, it's all cerebral.[Cohen, Jonathan. . ''Billboard (magazine)">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 ...]
''. November 2002.
Guitarist Stone Gossard about the song:
That's a real live performance with lots of room ambience. It's us trying to keep up with the chord changes! There are some nice drums and bass. The sentiment of the song is amazing.
Lyrics
The lyrics for "Thumbing My Way" are about a person in turmoil.
[Kaufman, Gil]
"Pearl Jam: Readin' The Riot Act"
VH1.com. November 7, 2002. In an interview, Vedder stated that the song is not about himself. He elaborated by saying, "I'm pretty good at removing myself from most of the songs. One thing about writing songs is, they don't always have to be about you. When they are always about someone, I lose interest after a while."
The song includes several references to
hitchhiking
Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free.
Signaling ...
. At the band's February 14, 2003 concert in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, Australia at the
Sydney Entertainment Centre
Sydney Entertainment Centre, later known as Qantas Credit Union Arena, was a multi-purpose arena located in Haymarket, Sydney, Australia. It opened in May 1983, to replace Sydney Stadium, which had been demolished in 1970 to make way for the ...
, Vedder said, "This song's about hitchhiking your way through a broken heart."
Reception
In its review of ''Riot Act'', ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' stated that "Thumbing My Way" "resembles an acoustic '
Love Will Tear Us Apart
"Love Will Tear Us Apart" is a song by English rock music, rock band Joy Division, released on 27 June 1980 as a non-album single. Its lyrics were inspired by lead singer Ian Curtis' marital problems and struggles with epilepsy. The single was r ...
'" and called it one of the album's "best moments." Brett Hickman of ''
Stylus
A stylus is a writing utensil or tool for scribing or marking into softer materials. Different styluses were used to write in cuneiform by pressing into wet clay, and to scribe or carve into a wax tablet. Very hard styluses are also used to En ...
'' said, "Never a band to make their quieter forays really work, the band deliver their best one with "Thumbing My Way". Through its muted organ, acoustic guitars, brushed drums and Vedder's semi-coherent line readings, the band matches intent with mood perfectly."
Music video
The
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for "Thumbing My Way" was directed by James Frost.
[Mills, Fred]
"Yield Not"
''Seattle Weekly
The ''Seattle Weekly'' is an alternative biweekly distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as ''The Weekly.'' Its first issue was published on March 31, 1976, and it becam ...
''. November 6, 2002. The video was filmed at
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
's Chop Suey club in September 2002.
The video consists of a filmed live performance of the band rather than a conceptual video. It was one of five videos shot at the club to promote ''Riot Act'' (including "
I Am Mine
"I Am Mine" is a song by American rock band Pearl Jam. Written by vocalist Eddie Vedder, "I Am Mine" was released on October 8, 2002, as the first single from the band's seventh studio album, ''Riot Act'' (2002). The song peaked at number six on ...
", "
Save You", "
Love Boat Captain
"Love Boat Captain" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music co-written by Vedder and keyboardist Boom Gaspar, "Love Boat Captain" was released on February 24, 2003, as a single f ...
", and "
1/2 Full"). Up to that point the band had not made any music videos since 1998's "
Do the Evolution". The video was released in late 2002.
Live performances
"Thumbing My Way" was first performed live by Vedder during a solo performance at the
Wiltern Theatre
The Pellissier Building and adjoining Wiltern Theatre is a 12-story, Art Deco landmark at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. The entire complex is commonly referred to as the Wiltern Center. Clad i ...
in Los Angeles on February 26, 2002.
[Pearl Jam: 2002 Concert Chronology](_blank)
fivehorizons.com. The first performance of the song with the full band took place at the band's December 6, 2002 concert in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
at The Showbox.
"Pearl Jam Songs: "Thumbing My Way""
. pearljam.com. Live performances of "Thumbing My Way" can be found on various official bootlegs and the live album '' Live at Benaroya Hall''. Performances of the song are also included on the DVDs ''Live at the Showbox
''Live at the Showbox'' is the third DVD release by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, and the first DVD of a complete show. It was released on May 7, 2003.
Overview
It was recorded on December 6, 2002 at The Showbox in the band's hom ...
'' and ''Live at the Garden
''Live at the Garden'' is the fourth DVD release by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, recorded on July 8, 2003 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was released on November 11, 2003.
Overview
The DVD documents Pearl Jam on i ...
''.
References
External links
Lyrics at pearljam.com
{{Authority control
2002 songs
Pearl Jam songs
Folk rock songs
Songs written by Eddie Vedder
Song recordings produced by Matt Cameron
Song recordings produced by Eddie Vedder
Song recordings produced by Stone Gossard
Song recordings produced by Mike McCready
Song recordings produced by Jeff Ament
Song recordings produced by Adam Kasper