This song was heavily inspired by ‘Going to California’ by Led zeppelin, although it is claimed that it was an action Pearl Jam was unaware of at the time. Just listening to it you can hear the obvious similarities. The question still remains, was it copied or not?
[Verse 1]
He could've tuned in, tuned in, but he tuned out
A bad time, nothing could save him
Alone in a corridor, waiting, locked out
He got up outta there, ran for hundreds of miles
He made it to the ocean, had a smoke in a tree
The wind rose up, set him down on his knee
A wave came crashing like a fist to the jaw
Delivered him wings, "Hey, look at me now"
Arms wide open with the sea as his floor
Oh, power, oh
[Chorus]
He's.. flying
Whole
High.. wide, oh
[Verse 2]
He floated back down 'cause he wanted to share
His key to the locks on the chains he saw everywhere
But first he was stripped and then he was stabbed
By faceless men, well, fuckers, he still stands
And he still gives his love, he just gives it away
The love he receives is the love that is saved
And sometimes is seen a strange spot in the sky
A human being that was given to fly
[Chorus]
He's.. flying
Whole
High.. wide, oh
Given to Fly was written by Mike McCready & Eddie Vedder.
Given to Fly was produced by Pearl Jam & Brendan O’Brien.
Pearl Jam released Given to Fly on Tue Feb 03 1998.
I imagined the song as a 20-page cardboard (children’s) book with a line on each page and a picture to go with it. It’s a fable, that’s all. The music almost gives you this feeling of flight, and I really love singing the part at the end, which is all about rising above anybody’s comments about what...