Gone is a song by Pearl Jam, released through digital music stores on October 7, 2006 as the third single from the band’s eighth studio album, Pearl Jam (2006). The song reached number 40 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Gone was written by vocalist Eddie Vedder on September 30, 2005, in Room 1152 (where the band stayed that night), of the Borgata Hotel, located in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It debuted the next night in a solo performance by Vedder at the band’s October 1, 2005 concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey at the Borgata Events Center. The band recorded a demo version of the song that was released as a part of the 2005 Holiday single available to fan club members. Vedder on the song:
“We were in Atlantic City and I wanted to play a song the next night. I went to learn it and it didn’t come right away, so I started playing something else, and it was “Gone”. What’s nice about it was that it was done in an hour or so, with backgrounds. I played it the next night at the show.
Gone is about leaving everything behind and moving along. The song brings into perspective perceptions that all is not lost if one chooses to incorporate change. When the song was performed on VH1 Storytellers in 2006, Vedder introduced it as “a car song.” In an interview Vedder stated:
“The idea was that this guy was leaving Atlantic City and needing to find a new life without his past, without his possessions, and not really looking for more possessions. Because it takes place in a car, it’s probably very similar to “Rearviewmirror” in a way. But I think this car is a hybrid, because I think he’s only got one tank of gas, so I want him to go far”.
Tracklist:
- Gone
- Come Back (live) (Mike McCready, Vedder)
Recorded live on June 27, 2006 at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. - Gone (live)
Pearl Jam
Jeff Ament: bass guitar
Matt Cameron: drums, percussion, backing vocals
Stone Gossard: guitar
Mike McCready: guitar
Eddie Vedder: lead vocals, guitar
