Nearly three decades ago, on January 8, 1991, 16-year-old Jeremy Wade Delle walked into school with a .357-caliber Magnum gun and shot himself in front of his 10th-grade English class. Just a few months later, Pearl Jam released their hit single “Jeremy,” a song about the tragic end of a boy’s battle with depression loosely based on Delle’s story.
Many albums tell a story, but Pearl Jam’s Ten tells several. Ten was released on August 27 of 1992 and is now recognized as one of the best debut albums of all time. The grunge essential tells stories of fear, anger, and emptiness while leaving the listener with a sense of hope and comfort. Through unrestrained lyrics and empathetic storytelling, Ten is an album teenagers can connect to. It’s a voice for those that feel they have none. Though the grunge movement died out sometime in the early 2000s, Ten remains a piece of musical history that teens today should listen to.
Mental illness is explored throughout the variety of songs. The opener “Once” sets the tone for the album with Eddie Vedder’s strident vocals and heavy drums. The anger spreads with “Deep” in which, through the imagery in the lyrics, we feel as though we are watching a man sink deeper and deeper into pain and suffering, yet never being able to escape. Beginning with a rich guitar solo from Mike McCready and a blood-curdling scream from Vedder, the song is set to be one of the most intense on the album. As mental illness in teens rises, it’s likely that people feel trapped or that they can’t escape from their own emotions. According to a YMCA study, 70% of teens who have suffered the stigma around mental illness feel less likely to talk about their experiences. They’re afraid to be judged. Pearl Jam offers music that recognizes these struggles are real and need to be addressed before eventually drowning in our own suffering.
Ten doesn’t fall short on the way relationships affect teens either. “Black” is one of Pearl Jam’s most famous, yet gut-wrenching songs. With every word that Vedder sings, he re-lives the pain of his first heartbreak. Bitter at his lost love, Vedder sings that “all the pictures have all been washed in black” as all of the memories of this relationship are ruined. Young relationships are often unsupported by adults as they see them as immature or unimportant, but they can have a huge effect on the lives of teens. Pearl Jam emphasizes that these relationships are extremely important and aren’t completely irrelevant. “Porch” also explores one of Vedder’s failed relationships and materializes the anger one feels after being dumped without communication. With the rise of social media, this song has become extremely relevant. “Porch,” asks the question, why did you not say more? Now we see it as, Was I really not worth more than a text?
Though being an album that explores teen struggles, Ten also acts as a voice of hope for listeners. In “Even Flow”, Vedder repeats the phrase “someday yet, he’ll begin his life again,” to show that although the subject is at their lowest, they will strive once again. Similar to “Even Flow,” “Alive” can be interpreted as persevering through a tough time. Vedder euphoniously sings the phrase “I’m still alive” as the soulful bass notes and harmonious guitar and drums flow through the listener’s ears. Hearing these lyrics, one recognizes that they will overcome whatever struggles they might be going through. You’re still alive, you deserve to be, and you’re not alone.
Hidden between the lines of Pearl Jam’s lyrics are our own personal stories. Ten is a place where our feelings aren’t ignored, they’re embraced. Ten is the voice of love that we need right now. As Vedder once said, “The sorrow grows bigger when the sorrow’s denied.”