Pilate (song)

"Pilate"
Song

"Pilate" is a song by Pearl Jam, from the album Yield. It also appears as as a B-Side on the "Given to Fly" single. It was written by bassist Jeff Ament. "Pilate" is one of two songs on Yield that marks Ament's first time contributing lyrics to a Pearl Jam album, the other being "Low Light".

Lyrical meaning

"Pilate" was inspired by Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita. When asked about the song Jeff Ament stated:

I think "Pilate" was the question I was asking myself, and "Low Light " was the answer, the realization. Have you ever read The Master and Margarita [by Mikhail Bulgakov]? I just read that book, and at the end they talk about Pontius Pilate being all alone on a mountain with his dog. He couldn't sleep and he couldn't function. It really struck me hard, because at that point I was feeling very alone. I've always had this recurring dream about being old and just me and my dog sitting on the porch. It wasn't necessarily a sad dream or a premonition, but it did get me to thinking about why Pilate was so alone and freaked out. Then I realized he didn't get to finish his conversation with Jesus—that's why he can't function, because he didn't tie up the loose ends in his life. Later, I was playing the guitar, and I was hit so hard by this amazing, emotion. In that moment the words "low light" came out, and somehow those were the only words to explain what I was feeling. It was a kind of gratefulness at finding that place of calm and peace at my center and getting a glimpse of the person I could choose to be. It was the purest happiness that I've experienced in a long time, that particular emotion. God, I thought I was going to explode. I feel very lucky to have been able to put it down on tape that morning and work through it until it became a song.

External links

• Lyrics