"Go" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

, released in October 1993 as the first single from the band's second studio album, '' Vs.'' (1993). Although credited to all members of Pearl Jam, it features lyrics written by vocalist

Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of four guitarists of the rock band Pearl Jam. He also appeared as a guest vocalist i ...

and music primarily written by drummer

Dave Abbruzzese David James Abbruzzese () (born May 17, 1968) is an American musician who was the drummer for the American rock band Pearl Jam from 1991 to 1994. He replaced drummer Dave Krusen in 1991, shortly before the release of the band's debut album, '' ...

. The song peaked at number three on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Album Rock Tracks chart and number two in New Zealand (their highest-charting song there alongside "

Spin the Black Circle "Spin the Black Circle" is a song by American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 8, 1994, as the first single from the band's third studio album, ''Vitalogy'' (1994). Although credited to all members of Pearl Jam, it features lyrics writt ...

"), and it received a Grammy nomination for

Best Hard Rock Performance The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards until 2011. The academy recognized hard rock music artists for the first time at the 31st Grammy Awards (1989). The category was ori ...

at the

1995 Grammy Awards The 37th Annual Grammy Awards were presented on March 1, 1995, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Bruce Springsteen was the night's biggest winner with 4 awards, including Song ...

. The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, ''

rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003) ''Rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003)'' is a two-disc compilation album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 16, 2004 through Epic Records. The album has been certified platinum by the RIAA in the United States. I ...

''.

Origin and recording

"Go" was one of the songs the band produced during the first week of recording for ''Vs.'' The main guitar riff for "Go" was written by drummer

.Garbarini, Vic
"Spit Fire"
''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original art ...

''. February 1995. He initially wrote the music for the song using an acoustic guitar. Abbruzzese said, "With "Go", I just happened to pick up the guitar at the right moment. Stone asked what I was playing and started playing it, then Jeff started playing it, and Eddie started singing with it, and it turned into a song." Guitarist

Stone Gossard Stone Carpenter Gossard (born July 20, 1966) is an American musician who serves as a guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. G ...

added the siren-like guitar part. Gossard on the song:

That song went through a cool evolution that goes back to what we've been saying about creative input. Dave played us the two main parts, that BAM-BAM-BAM groovy chordal riff bit and then the main ascending riff in more of an acoustic vein. Then, when he got behind the drums, everyone turned up real loud and it evolved into something else, a little more hard core.

Guitarist

Mike McCready Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician who serves as the lead guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. McCready wa ...

played a yellow

Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it is the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful Les Paul had built a prototype solid bod ...

on the song. McCready threw the guitar on the ground at the end of the take, which can be heard on the recorded version. McCready on the song:

That solo on "Go" was probably the second of three or four takes. And I do have a problem recreating it live, because I wasn't thinking about it at all when we did it in the studio. So on stage, I get into this mode where I'll start to think while I'm playing, "Okay, this sounds like the album, and I want to emulate that." But to really capture that feel of being in the moment, I have to be in contact with the emotion that's running through me RIGHT NOW.

Lyrics

In Kim Neely's book ''Five Against One: The Pearl Jam Story'', Abbruzzese quips that vocalist

told him he wrote the lyrics for "Go" about his pickup truck. This may be a clever joke on the chorus of the song "Please don't go on me," but the full lyrics of the song suggest it is of a much more serious nature.

Release and reception

While the "Go" single was released commercially to international markets in 1993, the commercial single was not released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

until June 27, 1995, and was only available as a more expensive import version beforehand. "Go" was released as a single in 1993 with a previously unreleased

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

titled "Alone", of which an alternate version can also be found on the compilation album, ''

Lost Dogs Lost Dogs are an American musical supergroup formed in 1991, comprising vocalists, songwriters, and guitarists from multiple Christian alternative rock bands. Their current lineup includes Terry Scott Taylor (Daniel Amos, the Swirling Eddies), ...

'' (2003). The song peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Album Rock Tracks chart and number eight on the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart. At the

, "Go" received a nomination for

. Outside the United States, the single was released commercially in Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. The UK release of this single included a bonus cassette featuring a live version of the '' Vs.'' track "

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

", which was distributed free with all the

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

"Go" singles. This made the song ineligible to reach the UK top 40, and it stalled at number 190. It is unknown how many sales the single generated, but as this was the case Pearl Jam essentially missed out on breaking into the UK's top ten single sales with this release ("

" eventually reached number 10 in November 1994, the band's only UK top-ten single). "Go" peaked at number 22 on the Australian

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, number 21 in the Netherlands, and number five in Norway. In New Zealand, the single reached number two to become Pearl Jam's highest-charting song in that country. "Spin the Black Circle" matched this peak in 1994. Chris True of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

said that "Go" "can at times feel like a jam, but a jam that has stripped all the useless meanderings and solos in favor of sheer pace." He added, "For them to open up their second album, ''Vs.'' with this rather aggressive song...was an obvious statement by Pearl Jam that they were no longer the band of " Jeremy" fame. This was a band intent on writing its own rule book, taking over their way."

Live performances

"Go" was first performed live at the band's May 13, 1993, concert in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

at Slim's Café."Pearl Jam Songs: "Go""
. pearljam.com. On April 3, 1994, in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

at the Fox Theatre, Vedder dedicated a live version of the song to

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...

, days after the

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

frontman had escaped from rehab. Cobain's body would be found five days later, on April 8; he is believed to have died on April 5. Live performances of "Go" can be found on the "

Dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established Political system, political or Organized religion, religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and ...

"/''Live in Atlanta'' box set, the live album ''

Live on Two Legs ''Live on Two Legs'' is the first major live album by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 24, 1998 through Epic Records. The album has been certified platinum by the RIAA in the United States. Overview ''Live on Tw ...

'', various official bootlegs, and the ''

Live at the Gorge 05/06 ''Live at the Gorge 05/06'' is a seven-disc live box set by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released on June 26, 2007 through Rhino Entertainment/Warner Music Group. The box set documents the band's 2005 and 2006 shows at The G ...

'' box set. A performance of the song is also included on the DVD ''

Touring Band 2000 ''Touring Band 2000'' is the second DVD release by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, culled from performances from the North American legs of the band's 2000 Binaural Tour. It was released on VHS and DVD on May 1, 2001. Overview DV ...

''. When played live, the percussive intro at the beginning of the song is omitted, with the band launching straight into the main chord progression.

Track listings

All songs were written by

Jeff Ament Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician and songwriter who is best known as the bassist of the American rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Prior to his wo ...

, and

. CD (US, Australia, Austria, Canada, and Europe) and Cassette (Australia, Indonesia, and Thailand) # "Go" – 3:13 # "

Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. The song is the tenth track on the band's second studio album, '' Vs.'' (1993). Although credited to all members of Pearl Jam, it was primarily wri ...

" (acoustic) – 3:18 # "Alone" – 3:35 CD (Austria and The Netherlands) # "Go" – 3:13 # "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" (acoustic) – 3:18 CD (UK) and 12-inch vinyl (UK) # "Go" – 3:13 # "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" (acoustic) – 3:18 # "Alone" – 3:35 * Included a bonus cassette featuring "

" (live) recorded at the

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

on September 2, 1993.

Charts

References

External links

*
Lyrics at pearljam.com
* Review of "Go"at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{Authority control 1993 singles 1993 songs Epic Records singles Pearl Jam songs Alternative metal songs Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer) Song recordings produced by Dave Abbruzzese Song recordings produced by Eddie Vedder Song recordings produced by Jeff Ament Song recordings produced by Mike McCready Song recordings produced by Stone Gossard Songs written by Dave Abbruzzese Songs written by Eddie Vedder Songs written by Jeff Ament Songs written by Mike McCready Songs written by Stone Gossard