photo credit link

The photo is the CD cover for Pearl Jam’s 1996′ No Code. 

When I saw the daily prompt was “Inhabit” my first thought was the cut on this CD called, “Habit”.  You might say wait the word is INhabit, so what’s the connection.  The way PJ uses habit here is similar to inhabit, so here we go.  First, I’ll show you the song, then give you the lyrics, then make commentary.

Pearl Jam, singing “Habit” live

Lyrics

See it happen to a couple of friends

See it happen and the message it sends

Taking off for what’s an obvious fall

Just to see what all the fuss is about

It’s not your way…not your way…

It’s not your way…yeah…

Another habit sentence him up with you

Another habit says he’s long overdue

Another habit like an unwanted friend

I’m so happy with my righteous self…

It’s not your way…not your way…

It’s not your way…

Never thought you’d habit… (3x)

I never thought you, never thought you…

Never thought you’d habit… (3x)

I never thought you, never, never thought you…

Never thought you’d habit… (6x)

Speaking as a child of the nineties…

Never thought you’d habit… (3x)

I never thought you, never thought you…

Never thought you’d habit… (3x)

I never thought you, never, never thought you…

Never…never me…never you…never me…

–lyrics by Eddie Vedder

Let me first start by saying No Code is a CD where virtually every song is a hit.  Like a rollercoaster with no dead space, it’s a winner and a joy to listen to.  I remember the first time hearing the first line of the chorus, of “Habit”:  “I never thought you’d habit.”  It’s a line pregnant with meaning.  Multiple meanings, depending on where you’re coming from.  One perspective is that a friend or loved one finds out their significant other (SO) is a junkie.  It suggests they thought their SO was above reaching for the syringe, powder, pill, bottle.  For a moment upon this first hearing, a physical lurching in my stomach occurred, almost as if just learning it about one of my SOs.  That, my friends, is a powerful ability to have for songwriter.  First time hearing it was back in ’96.

Today, as I went searching for the lyrics and reading them over again, I am not the same person today as back then.  Over two decades have gone by.  Today I see the meaning as, while still about a SO, more towards becoming a creature of habit, trapped in the same routines instead of living spontaneously.

Further, the words almost seem to suggest a person not only living a life of habits but being bound by those habits; perhaps even trodding into the realm of obsessive compulsivity about them.

Now, where do habit and inhabit converge?  Eddie uses habit as inhabit.  The person does not only have habits, they have stepped in to such a degree that they inhabit a realm where there is no other outside of them.

Thank you for the one-word prompt.  I’ve thought a lot about a lot of PJ’s songs, and it’s been awhile since thinking about this one. 

Inhabit — The Daily Post

Update:  Eddie at Ohana festival on 9/9/17, playing, you guessed it:

Habit — Ohana Fest — 9/9/17