7

Does anyone know why, in the CD booklet for Pearl Jam's second album, Vs., on the lyrics page for the song "REARVIEWMIRROR", the word "united" appears to be replaced with a square-root symbol (√)?

Here is an image from pjcollectors.com:

enter image description here

The full lyric shown above is

head @ your feet
fool to your crown
fist on my plate
swallowed it down
enmity gaged
√ [united] by FEAR
tried to endure
what i could not
FORGIVE

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

In live versions of the song, Vedder has sung the lyric "Divided by fear."
Here is a live version of Rearviewmirror from Pearl Jam's YouTube channel with the alternate lyric.

The symbol in the lyric sheet was probably intended to be the long division symbol, for "divided."

Improve this answer
1
  • I wonder if this means he recorded "united" first, but soon afterward he began vacillating on the lyric and meaning (I recall hearing this was a difficult time for the band) just in time to change the art booklet.
    – 5260452
    Commented Apr 8, 2017 at 2:50

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.