The song reached number 17 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Vedder about “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town”:
It’s kind of about a lady, and she’s getting on in years, and she’s stuck in this small town. Small towns fascinate me: You either struggle like hell to get out, t...
[Verse 1]
I seem to recognize your face
Haunting familiar, yet I can't seem to place it
Cannot find the candle of thought to light your name
Lifetimes are catching up with me
[Pre-Chorus]
All these changes taking place
I wish I'd seen the place
But no one's ever taken me
[Chorus]
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
[Verse 2]
I swear I recognize your breath
Memories, like fingerprints, are slowly raising
Me you wouldn't recall for I'm not my former
It's hard when you're stuck upon the shelf
[Pre-Chorus 2]
I changed by not changing at all
Small town predicts my fate
Perhaps that's what no one wants to see
[Bridge]
I just want to scream, "Hello
My god, it's been so long, never dreamed you'd return
But now here you are, and here I am"
Hearts and thoughts they fade away
[Chorus]
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade...
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town was written by Eddie Vedder.
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town was produced by Pearl Jam & Brendan O’Brien.
Pearl Jam released Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town on Tue Oct 19 1993.