Even Flow - wikipedia Even Flow `` Evenflow '' redirects here. For the parent company of Dropbox, see Dropbox ( service ). Not to be confused with Evenflo Company. `` Even Flow '' Single by Pearl Jam from the album Ten B - side `` Dirty Frank '' / `` Oceans '' ( remix ) Released April 6, 1992 ( 1992 - 04 - 06 ) Format CD single, Cassette, Vinyl Recorded March 27 -- April 26, 1991 at London Bridge Studios, Seattle, Washington ( Ten version ) January 1992 at London Bridge Studios, Seattle, Washington ( video version ) Genre Grunge, hard rock, funk rock Length 4 : 54 Label Epic Songwriter ( s ) Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard Producer ( s ) Rick Parashar, Pearl Jam Pearl Jam singles chronology `` Alive '' ( 1991 ) `` Even Flow '' ( 1992 ) `` Jeremy '' ( 1992 ) `` Alive '' ( 1991 ) `` Even Flow '' ( 1992 ) `` Jeremy '' ( 1992 ) Ten track listing `` Once '' ( Track 1 ) `` Even Flow '' ( Track 2 ) `` Alive '' ( Track 3 ) Audio sample file help Music video `` Even Flow '' on YouTube `` Even Flow '' is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by guitarist Stone Gossard, `` Even Flow '' was released in 1992 as the second single from the band 's debut album, Ten ( 1991 ). The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song was included on Pearl Jam 's 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror ( Greatest Hits 1991 -- 2003 ). A remixed version of the song was included on the 2009 Ten reissue. Contents 1 Origin and recording 2 Composition and lyrics 3 Release and reception 4 Music video 4.1 Original video 4.2 Official video 5 Live performances 6 Track listing 7 Chart positions 8 Accolades 9 References 10 External links Origin and recording `` Even Flow '' features lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by guitarist Stone Gossard. Bassist Jeff Ament said, `` I know it was a great song all along, and I felt that it was the best song that we got the worst take of on the first record. There were a hundred takes on that song, and we just never nailed it. '' Drummer Dave Krusen said, `` I was pretty green back then and ' Even Flow ' suffered from too much fluctuation. '' He added that `` it was really tough for me. I do n't know why. Not sure why we did n't use that one from the demo as well, but I know it felt better. '' Guitarist Mike McCready stated, `` We did ' Even Flow ' about 50, 70 times. I swear to God it was a nightmare. We played that thing over and over until we hated each other. I still do n't think Stone is satisfied with how it came out. '' An alternate version of the song was recorded with drummer Dave Abbruzzese in 1992 while the band was recording songs for the soundtrack for the 1992 film, Singles. This version was used for the music video, and was used in single releases in the United Kingdom. This version can also be found on Pearl Jam 's 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror ( Greatest Hits 1991 -- 2003 ). Composition and lyrics `` Even Flow '' was written in the key of D major, with Gossard performing his parts in open D tuning and McCready complementing it with a similar rhythm pattern in standard tuning. The recorded version of the song actually sounds slightly sharper than D major, with everything tuned up -- accidentally or otherwise -- around one quarter of a step. The song features a funk guitar riff by Gossard. McCready on the song : That 's me pretending to be Stevie Ray Vaughan, and a feeble attempt at that. Stone ( Gossard, Pearl Jam guitarist ) wrote the riff and song ; I think it 's a D tuning. I just followed him in a regular pattern. I tried to steal everything I know from Stevie Ray Vaughan and put it into that song. A blatant rip - off. A tribute rip - off, if you will ! The vocal line that appears in the main verse begins with a very prominent tritone interval. The stark lyrics by Vedder for `` Even Flow '' describe the experience of being a homeless man. The subject sleeps `` on a pillow made of concrete '' and panhandles passersby for spare change. In addition to being illiterate, he may also be mentally ill, as he `` looks insane '' when he smiles and struggles to keep coherent thoughts ( `` Even flow, thoughts arrive like butterflies / Oh, he do n't know, so he chases them away '' ). At Pearl Jam 's March 28, 1994 concert at the Bayfront Amphitheater in Miami, Florida, Vedder introduced the song by saying, `` I thought I 'd throw in a bit of street education while you still have an open mind... Right across the street there 's a little homeless community that lives under the bridge. You should just know that those people ai n't all crazy and sometimes it 's not their fault. This song is called ' Even Flow '. '' At the May 12, 2008 show in Toronto, Vedder stated that the song was written under the Space Needle in Seattle. Release and reception While the `` Even Flow '' single was released commercially to international markets in 1992, the commercial single was not released in the United States until June 27, 1995 and was only available as a more expensive import version beforehand. The alternate studio recording of `` Even Flow '', which was recorded in 1992 with Abbruzzese, was released as a CD single and 12 - inch white vinyl in the United Kingdom. The original version was used in single releases in the United States. The song was released as a single in 1992 with a previously unreleased funk B - side titled `` Dirty Frank '', which can also be found as an extra track on European releases of Ten and as an alternate version on the compilation album, Lost Dogs ( 2003 ). The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 21 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Outside the United States, the single was released commercially in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In Canada, the song reached the top 80 on the Canadian Singles Chart. `` Even Flow '' peaked at number 27 in the UK and number 22 on the Australian Singles Chart. It was a moderate top 20 success in New Zealand. Chris True of Allmusic called `` Even Flow '' `` the somewhat less ballady more swaggering follow up to the breakout single ' Alive '. '' True said that the song `` does n't even really have an intro -- it just starts and keeps going -- and the band seems more in the groove than on the overly earnest ' Alive '. '' True said that the song `` confirmed that Pearl Jam were more than just one hit grunge rock wonders. '' The song was placed at number 77 on a list of `` The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time '' by Rolling Stone. It was also included on VH1 's countdown of the `` 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs '' at number 30. Music video Original video Pearl Jam originally hired director Rocky Schenck to film a music video for `` Even Flow ''. On January 31, 1992, on their way to England to begin a European tour, the band members came to Los Angeles, California to film the video. The concept for the video was based on an idea by Gossard. Schenck filmed Pearl Jam in a zoo setting. He had arranged a nighttime shoot at an old, closed facility, brought in different wildlife, and set up his lights among the cages and in the trees. Along with the animal footage, the members of Pearl Jam were filmed individually and as a band, standing on the side of a cliff and air jamming. The shoot took hours, and the band was not pleased with the end result. Schenck 's shoot was considered a waste of time and money by the band ; it also damaged Abbruzzese 's wrists significantly. After shooting had finished, he was taken to the emergency room where he was advised not to put strain on his wrists. Abbruzzese would drum on the band 's European tour with a splint attached to his hands. Official video The original music video for `` Even Flow '' was ultimately replaced by a performance clip directed by Josh Taft, who had previously directed the `` Alive '' music video for the band, and who would later direct the music video for `` Oceans ''. The video consists of performance footage of the band filmed during a January 17, 1992 show at the Moore Theatre in Seattle, Washington. Taft was filming that night not in his capacity as a director, but as a friend of Gossard 's. ( At one point during the show, Vedder had even stopped the proceedings, clearly of the opinion that Taft 's presence was intrusive. `` This is not a TV studio, Josh '' he 'd yelled indignantly, in an interlude that Taft left in his final cut but that MTV clipped out of most versions it aired. `` Turn those lights out, it 's a fucking rock concert ! '' ) The video shows Vedder climbing the theatre, and then jumping down between fans at the concert and ending with Mccready throwing his guitar towards the camera. The footage used in the video is actually spliced from different songs : for instance Gossard and McCready each play two different guitars, Vedder wears a hat at some point and the theatre climb actually occurred during `` Porch ''. Taft 's presence at the Moore Theatre show, and the fact that he had filmed sufficient footage to compile into a music video, proved to be a break for the band. Otherwise with Epic ready to provide MTV with an `` Even Flow '' video and Schenck 's version already completed, Pearl Jam would have had little choice but to go with it, and the band members unanimously despised Schenck 's version when they saw the final edit. The alternate studio recording of `` Even Flow '', which was recorded in 1992 with Abbruzzese, was used for the video as the band felt it synched up well with the live footage. The video was released in April 1992. The full January 17, 1992 show would eventually be released in 2013 as an audio download, Seattle, WA 17 - January - 1992. Live performances `` Even Flow '' was first performed live at the band 's October 22, 1990 concert in Seattle, Washington at the Off Ramp Café. Pearl Jam performed the song for its appearance on MTV Unplugged in 1992. `` Even Flow '' has gone on to become the band 's most performed live song, having been played more than 800 times ( the next most played song, `` Alive '', is at more than 730 performances ). Over the years, the tempo of the song has become slightly faster in live performances. Live performances of `` Even Flow '' can be found on the `` Dissident '' single, the live album Live on Two Legs, the compilation album Wild and Wooly : The Northwest Rock Collection, various official bootlegs, the live album Live in NYC 12 / 31 / 92, the Live at the Gorge 05 / 06 box set, the live album Live at Lollapalooza 2007, and the Drop in the Park LP included in the Super Deluxe edition of the Ten reissue. Performances of the song are also included on the DVDs Touring Band 2000, Live at the Garden, Immagine in Cornice, and the MTV Unplugged DVD included in the Ten reissue. On Live at the Garden, McCready performs an improv within `` Even Flow '' that goes on for nearly five minutes. Track listing CD ( US, Australia, Austria, Brazil, and Germany ) and Cassette ( Australia ) `` Even Flow '' ( Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard ) -- 4 : 53 `` Dirty Frank '' ( Dave Abbruzzese, Jeff Ament, Gossard, Mike McCready, Vedder ) -- 5 : 32 `` Oceans '' ( remix ) ( Vedder, Gossard, Ament ) -- 2 : 46 CD ( UK ) and 12 '' Vinyl ( UK ) `` Even Flow '' ( new version ) ( Vedder, Gossard ) -- 5 : 04 `` Dirty Frank '' ( Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder ) -- 5 : 32 `` Oceans '' ( Vedder, Gossard, Ament ) -- 2 : 42 7 '' Vinyl ( UK ) and Cassette ( UK ) `` Even Flow '' ( new version ) ( Vedder, Gossard ) -- 5 : 04 `` Oceans '' ( remix ) ( Vedder, Gossard, Ament ) -- 2 : 46 7 '' Vinyl ( The Netherlands ) and Cassette ( New Zealand ) `` Even Flow '' ( Vedder, Gossard ) -- 4 : 53 `` Dirty Frank '' ( Abbruzzese, Ament, Gossard, McCready, Vedder ) -- 5 : 32 Chart positions Chart ( 1992 ) Peak position Australia ( ARIA ) 22 Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) 74 New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 20 UK Singles ( The Official Charts Company ) 27 US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 21 Chart ( 2009 ) Position US Billboard Hot Digital Songs 62 Accolades Publication Country Accolade Year Rank Rolling Stone United States `` The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time '' 2008 77 VH1 United States `` 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs '' 2008 30 References Jump up ^ Danaher, Michael ( August 4, 2014 ). `` The 50 Best Grunge Songs ''. Paste. Jump up ^ Marsh, Dave. `` Pearl Jam : Art and Economy ''. Musician. April 1998. Jump up ^ Brandolini, Chad. `` Dave Krusen : Looking Back at Pearl Jam 's Ten ''. Vater.com. Archived from the original on 2009 - 02 - 26. Retrieved 2016 - 07 - 28. Jump up ^ Quinn, Bryan. `` Q + A session with Pearl Jam ''. Daily Record. March 9, 2009. ^ Jump up to : Peiken, Matt ( December 1993 ). `` Dave Abbruzzese of Pearl Jam ''. Modern Drummer. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Pearl Jam -- Even Flow ''. YouTube. Retrieved 2008 - 10 - 11. Jump up ^ DiPerna, Alan. `` Alternate Tunings Climb the Alternative Charts ''. Musician. July 1992. Jump up ^ Gilbert, Jeff. `` Prime Cuts : Mike McCready - The Best of Pearl Jam ! '', Guitar School, May 1995. Jump up ^ Clay, Jennifer ( December 1991 ). `` Life After Love Bone ''. RIP. Retrieved 2007 - 06 - 23. Jump up ^ `` Live Song Quotes ''. PearlJam10YearsAgo.no.sapo.pt. April 7, 2002. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014. Jump up ^ True, Chris. `` Even Flow > Review ''. Allmusic. Retrieved on May 16, 2008. ^ Jump up to : `` The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time ''. Rolling Stone. June 12, 2008. Retrieved 2011 - 01 - 25. `` While most Seattle guitarists descended from Black Flag and Sabbath, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready updated the Stones ' arena blues for a darker age. Grumbling riffs, frenetic runs and evil - laugh wah - wah created what McCready later cracked was a ' tribute rip - off ' to Stevie Ray Vaughan. '' ^ Jump up to : `` 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs ''. VH1. Jump up ^ Weisbard, Eric, et al. `` Ten Past Ten ''. Spin. August 2001. ^ Jump up to : `` Pearl Jam : Timeline ''. Pearljam.com. Archived from the original on 2008 - 01 - 09. Retrieved 2007 - 06 - 27. Jump up ^ `` Pearl Jam Concert Chronology : 1992 ''. TwoFeetThick.com. Jump up ^ `` Pearl Jam music videos ''. Music Video Database. Retrieved 2008 - 02 - 22. Jump up ^ `` Seattle, WA 17 - January - 1992 ''. itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2017 - 06 - 11. ^ Jump up to : `` Even Flow ''. Pearljam.com. 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2016. Jump up ^ Bruns, Jean ( 2004 ). `` 1992 Concert Chronology part 2 ''. Five Horizons. Retrieved 2011 - 02 - 10. Jump up ^ `` Touring Band 2000 : Releases -- DVDs ''. Pearljam.com. Retrieved 10 February 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` Live At The Garden : Releases -- DVDs ''. Pearljam.com. Retrieved 2011 - 02 - 10. Jump up ^ `` Immagine In Cornice : Releases -- DVDs ''. Pearljam.com. Retrieved 2011 - 02 - 10. Jump up ^ `` Australian-charts.com -- Pearl Jam -- Even Flow ''. ARIA Top 50 Singles. Jump up ^ `` Top Singles -- Volume 56, No. 1, April 07 1992 ''. RPM. Retrieved 2008 - 03 - 07. Jump up ^ `` Charts.org.nz -- Pearl Jam -- Even Flow ''. Top 40 Singles. Jump up ^ `` EveryHit.com ''. Retrieved 2007 - 02 - 16. ^ Jump up to : `` Pearl Jam Artist Chart History ''. Billboard. Retrieved 2007 - 04 - 28. External links Lyrics at pearljam.com Review of `` Even Flow '' at Allmusic `` Even Flow '' Official music video on YouTube Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Pearl Jam Jeff Ament Matt Cameron Stone Gossard Mike McCready Eddie Vedder Additional personnel Boom Gaspar Former members Dave Abbruzzese Matt Chamberlain Jack Irons Dave Krusen Studio albums Ten Vs. Vitalogy No Code Yield Binaural Riot Act Pearl Jam Backspacer Lightning Bolt Live albums Live on Two Legs Official Bootlegs Live at Benaroya Hall Live in NYC 12 / 31 / 92 Live at Easy Street Live at the Gorge 05 / 06 Live at Lollapalooza 2007 Live on Ten Legs Pearl Jam Twenty 9.11. 2011 Toronto, Canada Let 's Play Two Compilations Lost Dogs Rearviewmirror ( Greatest Hits 1991 -- 2003 ) Pearl Jam Twenty Videos Single Video Theory Touring Band 2000 Live at the Showbox Live at the Garden Vote for Change ? 2004 Immagine in Cornice Pearl Jam Twenty Let 's Play Two Singles `` Alive '' `` Even Flow '' `` Jeremy '' `` Oceans '' `` Go '' `` Daughter '' `` Animal '' `` Dissident '' `` Spin the Black Circle '' `` Not for You '' `` Immortality '' `` I Got Id '' `` Who You Are '' `` Hail, Hail '' `` Off He Goes '' `` Given to Fly '' `` Wishlist '' `` Nothing as It Seems '' `` Light Years '' `` I Am Mine '' `` Save You '' `` Love Boat Captain '' `` Man of the Hour '' `` World Wide Suicide '' `` Life Wasted '' `` Gone '' `` The Fixer '' `` Just Breathe '' `` Amongst the Waves '' `` Crown of Thorns '' `` Mind Your Manners '' `` Sirens '' Other songs `` Once '' `` Black '' `` Porch '' `` State of Love and Trust '' `` Breath '' `` Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town '' `` Glorified G '' `` W.M.A. `` Rearviewmirror '' `` Yellow Ledbetter '' `` Tremor Christ '' `` Better Man '' `` Nothingman '' `` Corduroy '' `` I Got Id '' `` Red Mosquito '' `` In Hiding '' `` Do the Evolution '' `` Grievance '' `` Thumbing My Way '' `` You Are '' `` 1⁄2 Full '' `` Brother '' Tours Mookie Blaylock 1991 United States Tour 1991 United States Tour Ten Tour Lollapalooza 1992 1993 European and North American Tour Vs. Tour Vitalogy Tour No Code Tour Yield Tour Binaural Tour Riot Act Tour Vote for Change 2005 North American and Latin American Tour 2006 World Tour 2007 European Tour 2008 United States Tour Backspacer Tour Pearl Jam Twenty Tour 2012 Tour Lightning Bolt Tour 2015 Latin America Tour 2016 North America Tour 2018 Tour Related articles Articles Discography Band members Awards and nominations Monkeywrench Records Pearl Jam Radio Bands Green River Soundgarden Bad Radio Mother Love Bone Temple of the Dog Brad Hater Wellwater Conspiracy Hovercraft Mad Season Red Hot Chili Peppers Three Fish The Rockfords RNDM Albums Mirror Ball Bayleaf Into the Wild Tone Ukulele Songs Water on the Road Moonlander Book Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Even_Flow&oldid=820239603 '' Categories : 1992 singles Pearl Jam songs Protest songs Songs about homelessness Songs written by Eddie Vedder Songs written by Stone Gossard Song recordings produced by Eddie Vedder Song recordings produced by Stone Gossard Song recordings produced by Jeff Ament Song recordings produced by Mike McCready Song recordings produced by Dave Krusen Song recordings produced by Rick Parashar Epic Records singles 1991 songs Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from April 2016 Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from August 2013 Singlechart usages for Australia Singlechart usages for New Zealand Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Galego Հայերեն Italiano Lietuvių Македонски Nederlands Polski Português Русский Suomi Edit links This page was last edited on 13 January 2018, at 21 : 09. 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Question: what is the song even flow by pearl jam about
Answer: the experience of being a homeless man