”I Am Mine” by Pearl Jam

It should have been a day of celebration and music, but it ended in mayhem. More than 50,000 people stood in front of the Roskilde stage on June 30, 2000, waiting for Pearl Jam to perform. Shortly into the band’s set, chaos erupted near the front of the stage. As the crowd pressed against one another to get closer to the band, the people standing at the front were slowly being crushed against the barrier. Some fell to the floor, only to get trampled by dozens of people who had no choice but to stand on top of their fragile bodies.

Nine people died near the front of the stage that day, having suffocated under the weight of the bodies surrounding them. It was a moment that Pearl Jam’s members say they have never fully recovered from, and that brings negative memories to this day. In fact, the band stopped performing altogether for months, still reeling from the deaths of their fans.

Before their first live show since the incident, singer Eddie Vedder penned the lyrics to a new song, “I Am Mine,” in a hotel room. The song reflects his point of view as he recovered from Roskilde, and they serve as a larger existential musing on what is important in life.

Vedder opens the song with:

“The selfish, they’re all standing in line
Faithing and hoping to buy themselves time
Me, I figure as each breath goes by
I only own my mind”

He laments the lack of empathy that many at the festival had for those around them, but as the song goes on, he pulls away from blame, focusing instead on the feeling of loss:

“And the feeling, it gets left behind
All the innocence lost at one time
Significant, behind the eyes
There’s no need to hide
We’re safe tonight…”

Although the band never knew those who died at their show personally, the guilt surrounding their deaths is similar to the guilt that many feel when they lose someone. Since this incident, the band has dedicated multiple charity events in the fans’ names. In this way, they try to create a purpose, highlighting these lives as important and meaningful beyond their senseless deaths.

Read the lyrics for “I Am Mine” here, or watch the video below: