Pearl Jam - Light Years

 

Origin and recording

"Light Years" features lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music co-written by Vedder and guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard. The song was re-worked from its original demo version, known to bootleggers, as Puzzles & Games, as the band felt the original version was too similar to the song "Given to Fly".[1] Vedder on the song:

With "Light Years", Mike McCready had written some music. We were excited about it for a while, but when we got down to recording it, it was too nice, too right there—it was a little too close to "Given to Fly". We changed the tempos, and then one night Mike and I, after working on it all day and getting frustrated, just flipped it backwards, and in about 35 minutes it became "Light Years", with words and everything. It still has a fairly contagious chorus and melody, but it's just sideways enough to make me happy.[1]

McCready on the song:

It was originally kind of a different vibe to that song and it kind of sounded like a song I had written before so me and Eddie kind of sat down and jammed on it one day and just two guitars and out of playing for about an hour it turned into what it is now. And it's kind of a cool, I think, melodic song and lyrically it's pretty beautiful and I have my interpretation about what the song is about and I think everybody should get what they want to get out of it.[2]

Bassist Jeff Ament on the song:

It sounded nothing like what it sounds like now. Mike had a couple of riffs, and Ed really sat down and tried to write to it. He initially had some problems, and one day he came in on his own and had some lyrics that were really heartfelt. He ended up completely rearranging the song. It got played a million different tempos and a million different angles on the drums. That was a hard song; probably more so on Matt's end just because it took so long.[3]
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Lyrics

At the Pinkpop Festival in 2000, Vedder dedicated "Light Years" to Diane Muus from Sony Music, a friend of the band who died at the age of 33 in 1997.[4] He said there are "times you have got friends that don't fuck up at all and are great people. And then you just lose them for some reason. They are off the planet and you never had a chance to say goodbye. I only mention this because there was a person we used to know here and that was Diane and ah, we never got a chance to say goodbye. This is goodbye. And if you've got good friends, love them while they're here."[5]

Lyrics:

I've used hammers made out of wood
I have played games with pieces and rules..
I've deciphered tricks at the bar...
But now you're gone,... I haven't figured out why...
I've come up with riddles... and jokes about war...
I've figured out numbers and what they're for...
I've understood feelings.. and I've understood words...
But how could you be taken away?...

And wherever you've gone...and wherever we might go...
It don't seem fair...today just disappeared...
Your light's reflected now,... reflected from afar...
We were but stones,... your light made us stars

With heavy breath,... awakened regrets...
Back pages and days alone that could have been spent,
Together... but we were... miles apar...t
Every inch between us becomes light years now...
No need to be void,... or save up on life...
You got to spend it all.....

And wherever you've gone... and wherever we might go...
It don't seem fair...you seemed to like it here...
Your light's reflected now,... reflected from afar
We were but stones,... your light made us stars

And wherever you've gone... and wherever we might go...
It don't seem fair...today just disappeared...
Your light's reflected now,... reflected from afar...
We were but stones,... your light made us stars