Pearl Jam broke into the morning’s mental music stream (M3S, patent pending) with “Even Flow” (1992), a song about a homeless man. It’s one of the songs that was on my commuting play tape when I was stationed at Onizuka and living in the SF-SJ Bay Area.
The lyrics that started my stream aren’t at the beginning, but the first refrain.
Even flow, thoughts arrive like butterflies
Oh, he don’t know, so he chases them away
Someday yet, he’ll begin his life again
Life again, life again…
Kneelin’, looking through the paper though he doesn’t know to read, ooh yeah
Oh, prayin’, now to something that has never showed him anything
Oh, feelin’, understands the weather of the winters on its way
Oh, ceilings, few and far between all the legal halls of shame, yeah
h/t AZLyrics.com
I enjoy this live version. They’re pretty faithful to the song but the band’s energy is on full display.
Michael Seidel, writer 
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