Nothing as It Seems is a song by Pearl Jam. It was released on April 25, 2000, as the first single from the band’s sixth studio album, Binaural (2000). The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song also appears on Pearl Jam‘s 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003).
Nothing as It Seems was written by bassist Jeff Ament. Ament plays upright bass on the song, giving it a very atmospheric feel. Guitarist Mike McCready used a Fender Pedal for the song, which provided the song with its distorted sounds that McCready described as sounding “like a plane going down.” The song was recorded using binaural recording techniques, and was produced by Tchad Blake. Ament on the song:
It was just a little ditty on a demo that I kind of played some hand drums on, and had this little song. Actually, I spent quite a bit of time with the lyrics, and I think Stone initially said, ‘Let’s try that one.’ There were little sections of the song (where) I definitely heard Mike doing his thing, so I kinda said, ‘Hey, man, you need to write a theme for these little sections.’ It’s pretty cool to see a little song that I wrote being played by everyone. I mean, I can almost kind of stand back and just watch this great band play a song…and take it to a completely different level. Mike and Ed (Vedder), they have that ability where they can really raise the level of anything that they play.
Jeff Ament‘s original demo of Nothing as It Seems is a track on disc 2 of Pearl Jam‘s soundtrack to their documentary Pearl Jam Twenty directed by Cameron Crowe.
Tracklist:
- Nothing as It Seems (single version) (Ament)
- Insignificance (alternate mix) (Vedder)
- Better Man (live) (Vedder)
- Footsteps (live) (Stone Gossard, Vedder)
Live tracks recorded at the 1999 Bridge School Benefit.
Nothing as It Seems by Pearl Jam Lyrics
It don’t feel like home
He’s a little out
All these words alone
Is nothing like your poem
Putting in and putting in
Don’t feel like methadone
A scratching voice all alone
It’s nothing like your baritone
It’s nothing as it seems
All that he needs, it’s home
And all that he sees
Is nothing he believes, it’s home
One uninviting chromosome
A blanket like the ozone
It’s nothing as it seems
All that he needs is home
And all that he sees
Is nothing he can believe
Saving it for a sunny day
Something maybe, two tone
Anything of his own
Chip off the corner stone
Who’s kidding? Rainy day
A one way ticket headstone
An occupation overthrown
A whisper through a megaphone
It’s nothing as it seems
All that he needs, it’s home
And all that he sees
Is something he can believe, it’s home
And all you can free
A little bittersweet, it’s home
It’s nothing as it seems
The little that you see, it’s home
Songwriters: Jeffrey Ament
Pearl Jam
Jeff Ament: bass guitar
Matt Cameron: drums
Stone Gossard: rhythm guitar
Mike McCready: lead guitar
Eddie Vedder: lead vocals
