Who You Are (song)

Infobox Single |
Name = Who You Are


Artist = Pearl Jam
from Album = No Code
B-side = "Habit"
Released = July 30, 1996
Format = CD single, Cassette, Vinyl
Recorded = July 12, 1995 – May 1996
Genre = Alternative rock
Length = 3:50
Label = Epic
Producer = Brendan O'Brien, Pearl Jam
Writer = Stone Gossard, Jack Irons, Eddie Vedder
Chart position =
Last single = "Merkin Ball" (1995)
This single = "Who You Are" (1996)
Next single = "Hail, Hail" (1996)Extra tracklisting
Album = No Code
Type = studio
prev_track = "Hail, Hail"
prev_no = Track 2
this_track = "Who You Are"
track_no = Track 3
next_track = "In My Tree"
next_no = Track 4Audiosample
Upper caption = Audio sample
Audio file = Who_You_Are.ogg"Who You Are" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on July 30, 1996 as the first single from the band's fourth studio album, "No Code" (1996). The single topped the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart. It peaked at number 31 on the "Billboard" Hot 100.

The song was included on Pearl Jam's greatest hits album, "". On Pearl Jam's greatest hits album, "Who You Are" has a slight lyric change. Instead of "circumstance, clapping hands," [http://pearljam.com/songs/song.php?song=WhoYouAre "Pearl Jam Songs: "Who You Are""] . pearljam.com.] it's "avalanche, falling fast."

Note that the song's name is "Who You Are" and "not" "Who Are You", a frequent mistake in labeling the album's songs.

Origin and recording

The song features lyrics written by frontman Eddie Vedder and music co-written by drummer Jack Irons and guitarist Stone Gossard. Regarding the song, Vedder said, "We realized that we had an opportunity to experiment."Marks, Craig. [http://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/spin0297.shtml "The Road Less Traveled"] . "Spin". February 1997.] Vedder played an electric sitar on the song, giving it an Eastern-influenced sound. The polyrhythmic drum pattern for the song was inspired by a Max Roach drum solo that Irons heard at a drum shop when he was eight years old.

Release and reception

Vedder has admitted that the choice of the song as the first single for "No Code" was a "conscious decision" intended to keep the size of the band's audience down. "Who You Are" was the most successful song from "No Code" on the American rock charts. The song peaked at number 31 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, number five on the "Billboard" Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and number one on the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Outside of the United States, the single was released in Australia, Austria, Canada, England, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Thailand. In Canada, the song reached the top ten on the Canadian Singles Chart. "Who You Are" reached the UK Top 20 and peaked at number five on the Australian Singles Chart. "Who You Are" charted at number 47 in the Netherlands, reached the top 30 in Sweden, and was a top ten success in Finland and Norway. It was a moderate top 20 success in Ireland and New Zealand.

David Fricke of "Rolling Stone" said that the song has an "Indo-Bo Diddley glow" and called it a "buoyant electric variation on Vedder's recent collaborations with Pakistani vocal god Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan." [Fricke, David. [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/pearljam/albums/album/320420/review/5945924/no_code "Pearl Jam: "No Code"] . "Rolling Stone". September 5, 1996.] Christopher John Farley of "Time" also identified an influence of Vedder's collaboration with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, stating, "The spiritualized, bass-heavy "Who You Are" is a solid number, but it clearly owes a lot to Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, with whom Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder worked on the sound track to the film "Dead Man Walking"." [Farley, Christopher John. [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,985075,00.html "Identity Crisis"] . "Time". September 2, 1996.] Vedder denied that his collaboration with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan had any influence on the song.

The song is featured on the soundtrack for the 1998 film "Chicago Cab".

Live performances

The song was premiered live at the band's September 14, 1996 concert in Seattle, Washington. After Jack Irons left the band the song was not performed for ten years. The song finally made a return appearance at the band's June 11, 2008 concert in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Track listing

;Compact Disc Single (US, England, Japan, Australia, Austria, Canada, Mexico, and South Africa), 7" Vinyl Single (US, Europe, and The Netherlands), and Cassette Single (US, Australia, The Netherlands, and Thailand)
#"Who You Are" (Stone Gossard, Jack Irons, Eddie Vedder) – 3:51
#"Habit" (Vedder) – 3:36

Chart positions

References

External links

* [http://www.pearljam.com/songs/song.php?song=WhoYouAre Lyrics]