Unthought Known Lyrics from the Pearl Jam Album: Backspacer
Eddie Vedder has said the song's lyrics are about the human psyche.
PJ Lyrics for Unthought Known
All the thoughts you never see
You are always thinking
Brain is wide, the brain is deep
Oh, are you sinking?
Feel the path of every day
Which road you taking?
Breathing hard, making hay
Yeah, this is living
Look for love in evidence
That you're worth keeping
Swallowed whole in negatives
It's so sad and sickening
Feel the air up above
Oh, pool of blue sky
Fill the air up with love
All black with starlight
Feel the sky blanket you
With gems and rhinestones!
See the path cut by the moon
For you to walk on
For you to walk on...
Nothing left, nothing left
Nothing there, nothing here...
Nothing left, nothing left
Nothing there, nothing left...
Nothing left, nothing left
Nothing there, nothing here...
See the path cut by the moon
For you to walk on
See the waves on distant shores
Awaiting your arrival
Dream the dreams of other men
You'll be no one's rival
Dream the dreams of others then
You will be no one's rival
You will be no one's rival...
A distant time, a distant space
That's where we're living
A distant time, a distant place
So what ya giving?
What ya giving?
Want to reach more Backspacer Lyrics? Check out Amongst the Waves. And for a change of pace, try the lyrics meaning of U2's Love Rescue Me.
Song of the album! Just love it!
ReplyDeleteI agree completley! Deep lyrics, tons of meaning, celebration of life! Ed and the boys hit it out of the park with this one!
ReplyDeleteawesome!! PJ of old. hurry up and come to melbourne!!!
ReplyDeleteTop of the backspacer for me... stunning
ReplyDeletemade me cry first time i heard. amazing.
ReplyDelete"Dream the dreams of others then
ReplyDeleteYou will be no one's rival." - Simple, yet Brilliant!
Such a powerful, inspirational song. For me, this is the most moving Pearl Jam song since "Given to Fly." Well done guys.
ReplyDeletewhat does ed mean by "Dream the dreams of others then You will be no one's rival." Stupid question but I want to know
ReplyDeleteOh my...a great great song!! really love this one...Hope they tour round Europe again in next year!!
ReplyDeleteTo the anonymous poster on the 20th of Sept. 7:09 pm.
ReplyDelete"Dream the dreams of others then, You will be no one's rival".
I believe it is the best verse of the song talking about every person's goal to be happy. We all have things we strive for. To be happy, to protect our families, to have friends we love, to love one another all together. When we acknowledge the fact that we all essentially want the same thing, then we all become on the same team. We will have no rivals, no enemies. Which is absolutely true with the exception of those who are greedy and want everything for themselves, and will destroy others to get it.
This song in one word MAGICAL!
ReplyDeleteTop 3 songs of the album IMHO.
ReplyDelete1. Unthought Known
2. Amongst the Waves
3. Got Some
I think this is truly one of the top ten songs by PJ.
ReplyDeleteStumbled across your site, on the third time I'm playing Unknown Thoughts tonight.
Hello from New Zealand! Love you all jammers.
(Meant "love to all jammers".) My God, what an uplifting song.
ReplyDeleteGreat song, although the first song that I stroke the repeat button was "Johnny Guitar"... I absolutely loved the previous album, but this one may be their best work since "Ten"! Hope to see them again in Greece!
ReplyDeleteCheers to all and "Dream the dreams of other then [and] you will be no one's rival"!
the music at 1:44 is ASTONISHING !!
ReplyDeleteHaitam
Unthought known
ReplyDeleteGot Some
Just Breathe
Amongst the waves
The Fixer
So far.......
"Dream the dreams of others then, You will be no one's rival"...Having a rival is a good thing,makes you better man,but rival in different oppinions,not in wars or weappons...Rivals makes you to develope in a good way..That is how I see those words..but that's just me...
ReplyDeleteCome to SERBIA,PLEASE.....
great song, (haha serbia)
ReplyDeleteI've listened to this song four times and it's brought tears to my eyes every time. Love to hear Eddie singing so well.
ReplyDeleteAny list of great songs on this album should not leave off Force of Nature.
ReplyDeleteCome to Serbia,thousands of us are tired,traveling over Europe to hear you. Great album! Hope to see Jam soon
ReplyDeleteThis song is so awesome. I can't get enough of it! OMG.....Backspacer is quickly becoming one of my very fav albums. But, this song..OMG. So good.
ReplyDeleteListen to this tune with headphones and get the full power of it. Lie back and take it in. It's absolutely masterful. When Ed raises his voice to sing Feel the sky blanket you with gems and rhinestones...it's beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYou will be no one's rival!!! A M A Z I N G
:) never was a fan of pearl jam , but this song is really something, specially that part "FEEL THE SKY BLANKET..... RHINESTONES" i love it when he sings "rhinestones". man, i've listened it like 20 times till now:))
ReplyDeleteI listened to this song through headphones (about 150 times so far) and it's a religious experience! I'm not even kidding folks. It's lyrically, musically, vocally incredible. When the song crescendos and Ed belts out...FEEL THE SKY BLANKET YOU IN GEMS AND RHINESTONES, SEE THE PATH CUT BY THE MOON FOR YOU TO WALK ON..I just get chills. I think Backspacer is absolutely, hands down, EFFING BRILLIANT!! There isn't one song on there that I don't love. But this one....come on..it's simply beautiful.
ReplyDeleteUnthought known is in my opinion the best song they have and one of the best songs of all time.
ReplyDeleteSerioulsy, I just realized today that Pearl Jam might be my religion!
ReplyDelete....yeah, ever noticed that Eddie looks a lot like Jebus?
ReplyDeletee.g.: http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2007/news/071001/eddie_vedder.jpg
UnthoughtKnown, Just Breathe and The End are extremely powerful songs. Amazing what Ed has done lyrically on this album, I mean mindblowingly amazing with those three songs. He finds a way to express some of the most powerful and dynamic experiences that EVERY human being will or has experienced and he does it with simplicity.
ReplyDeleteSaw the opening of the tour here in Seattle. WHY WHY did I wait so long to see them? This song is still giving me chills and I've heard it over a hundred effing times. LOVE this PJ!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat song from a great album. Pearl Jam is back!
ReplyDeleteThis song speaks to me like no other PJ song ever has. It makes me feel that there is something out there for me to reach for in my life right now. There is a path cut by the moon for me to walk on. Just for me, if I just choose to take it. I've been swallowed whole in negatives for too long. I can't even express the way this song takes me to a better place in my heart and mind when I listen to it. It's beautiful and brings me to tears. It's inspirational in so many ways. I LOVE PEARL JAM!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. Bring on Adelaide, Australia - 17.11.09
ReplyDeletethis is my favorite song off the new album...they actually featured it on some tv show last night, which I have mixed feelings about.
ReplyDeletewant to let you know you have the song's title wrong on your menus...it is "Unthought Known" not "Unthought Unknown"....right?
Fixed!
ReplyDeleteBest musics from "Backspacer"(in my opinion)
ReplyDelete1-Unthought Known
2-Gonna see my friend
3-Got Some
like this bloc! thanks.
ReplyDeleteWow! Best song of the album! Tracks 5, 6, and 7 really bring it!
ReplyDeleteOMG...awesome lyrics! The musical arrangement with the piano is so perfect. The entire song keeps building on a great crescendo for almost two minutes starting at 0:48. This song is amazing poetry and artistry and perfection!
ReplyDeleteim speechless... cant even express what i feel right now .... like all of u and what u all said ... we are all related some how with how we feel bout this master hit ....
ReplyDeleteu are probably more lukier than me .... since i live in jordan middle east and i havent been able ever to see them live ....
hope i will one day
my only wish is that i will grow old while enjoying their music and pass this legacy to my kids n grandkids .. pearl jam is defently a band for every time n place n race n all
cheeers pj fans ...
Great Song! Loved it 1st time and probably will stil after nth time.
ReplyDeleteFunny how we all read a lyric differently...
Dream the dreams of other men,... You’ll be no ones rival,...
Dream the dreams of others then,... You will be no ones rival
I interpret as if you only hold the same dream as others you are taking the safe comfortable option in life and hence accepted by the majority rule....rather than risking a life outside of the box in possible opposition.
Could just as easily be some of the other interpretations listed on here though.
Ed Vedder is a up their with the most talented musicians IMO.
Cheers from Scotland via USA
This is absolutely my favorite song on the album, and defintely in my top ten Pearl Jam songs of all time. My interpretation was the same as Anonymous from Scotland - if you have the same dreams of other men you are taking the safe way with no rivals.
ReplyDeleteWhat does "making hay" mean?
"Look for Love IN evidence that you're worth keeping"
ReplyDeleteLooking at his/her self worth.
Absolutely soul destroying tune. Makes me cry....so beautiful. Pearl jam are the only survivors of grunge and they're still writing tunes better then anyone else!
ReplyDelete"making hay" is from an idiom--make hay while the sun shines. (Before it starts to rain or snow for the season.)
ReplyDeleteIn short, it means don't waste time.
Best song on the new record!
"Dream the dreams of other men"...my interpretation is that if you can see life through another man's eyes...his dreams and aspirations, then you will understand what motivates him and his actions. You will then have a deeper understanding of him and be able to coexist, help him with his dreams and live in harmony.
ReplyDeleteListening to this song makes me cry and think about how beautiful my wife is and how lucky I am to have her in my life. Eddie: Thank you for writing the perfect lyrics.
ReplyDeleteSuch a powerful, spiritually uplifting song...truly one the best songs of the year..and I probably would have never come across it except for hearning it a couple months ago on Flash Forward.
ReplyDeleteHey thanks for the comments everyone - its clear so many fans are responding to this music in a heart felt way. That's the thing about eddie's lyrics - what he writes, he means. People respond to that.
ReplyDeletebeautiful song i ever heard.. <3
ReplyDeleteGreat Great song I love it. I have listened to it over and over again. And I thought that there was probably a deep meaning to the song.
ReplyDeleteDream a dream of distant shores waiting for your arival - dream it it will come to you
We live and create in our subconcious -
"you are always thinking... brain is wired brain is deep... oh are you sinking?" - meditate stay focused on your minds thoughts.... are you sinking?.... "swallowed whole in negatives so sad and sickening".
You get what you give in this life.... "So... what you giving?".
And I do agree with the thougth that "You will be no ones rival", dream the dreams of others then you will be accepting. We live in a world of abbundance, different dreams, understand and dream there dreams wish them the best... you will be no ones rival!!
Would love to hear more thoughts.
I just left the last post..... weird.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at the following, if you're interested in the song - I really think that this is par of what Eddie is saying, without saying it.....
TVshack.net - you can watch the following documentary for free - What the bleep do we know?
Take a look at: www.theshiftmovie.com
Please let me know what you think... keep an open mind.... :)
NOVEMBER 24, 2009 8:49 PM. couldn't agree more. that's what I felt too...and how he sings the gems and rhinestones lyric = goosebumps
ReplyDeleteIts a cool song, quite beautiful and I have a special interest in it as I am the author of the book on the "unthought known". It is called "The Shadow of the Object: Psychoanalysis of the unthought known" and it is by Christopher Bollas. And...psychoanalysis is cool too.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat I think of the lyrics "Dream the dreams of other men, you'll be no ones rival" - Look at life from different perspectives, put your feet in other peoples shoes and feel for them. Treat others as you would have them treat you.
ReplyDeleteLove love love this song
My favorite band ever, love every cd
I get to see them a week from today in Kansas City!!!!!!!!! hope I don't poop my pants too much when I see them
Oh my god!!! Soooooooo good!
ReplyDelete"Dream the dreams of other men, you'll be no one's rival" means that if one is brave enough to dream as high as others have done (nb think how much humanity has accomplished-this song is about hope so don't focus on the disgraces and failures of humanity-think Shakespeare and Beethoven, not Hitler or even the petty frivolities that are so much a part of daily life), the simple act of aspiring makes one nonpareil to those that choose not to dream or, if dreaming, not to try
ReplyDelete"Dream the Dreams of other men, you'll be no one's rival" Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:
ReplyDelete"If men could only know each other, they would never either idolize or hate."
-Elbert Hubbard
If you enjoy the song "Unthought Known" you should check out "The Shadow of the Object". Christopher Bollas is a brilliant psychoanalytic author and has clearly been impactful in Eddie's thinking about the psyche.
ReplyDelete"...And it may well be that music is somewhere between the unthought known and thought proper."
AWESOME... I'm still crying.
ReplyDeleteI thought "dream the dreams of other men, you'll be no ones rival" meant if you just go with the social influence of other men, you'll be no ones rival. So it easy to share everyone's dreams, but to dream your own dreams take's courage.
ReplyDeleteThis song made me realize that my way of looking at things is wrong. Just hit me today! Look for love in evidence that your worth keeping... swallowed whole in negatives so sad and sickening. WOW. I get it now. I will look for good and quit looking for negative. Thank you Eddie!! See you in Amersterdam in 8 days!!
ReplyDeleteI love this song and i love pearl jam...they are the best band ever!!!(:
DeleteAh, one of those songs which touched my heart deeply. I was in Amsterdam, 25th june 2012. And Eddie sung this song! Acoustic version, on his own, even more passionate and stronger then on the album. It was such a wonderful evening. The whole audience was so happy, amazing, magical!
ReplyDelete