"I Am Mine" is a song by American rock 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 ...

. 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 ...

, "I Am Mine" was released on October 8, 2002, as the first single from the band's seventh studio album, ''

Riot Act The Riot Act (1 Geo.1 St.2 c.5), sometimes called the Riot Act 1714 or the Riot Act 1715, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which authorised local authorities to declare any group of 12 or more people to be unlawfully assembled and o ...

'' (2002). The song peaked at number six 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 ...

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. The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, '' rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003)''.

Origin and recording

"I Am Mine" was written by vocalist

in a hotel room near Virginia Beach, Virginia before the band's first show after the Roskilde tragedy in 2000. Vedder said that he wrote the song to "reassure myself that this is going to be all right."

Composition

Drummer Matt Cameron on "I Am Mine":

It seems like it has all the elements this band is known for: strong lyrics, strong hook, and a good sense of melody. It wasn't a really tough decision to have that be the starting point for the record.

Lyrics

The lyrics for "I Am Mine" tackle existential matters. At the band's April 8, 2003, show in New Orleans, Louisiana at the UNO Lakefront Arena, Vedder stated, "This song is about what's inside you. You own it, and you have the freedom for it to come out. It's allowed to come out." At the band's July 8, 2003, show in New York City at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

, Vedder stated, "This song's about personal safety, and the feeling of being secure, and even free."

Release and reception

"I Am Mine" was released to several radio formats on September 23, 2002, while the physical release of the single was issued on October 8, 2002. The various versions of the "I Am Mine" single include the 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 ...

s "Down" and "Undone", both of which can also be found on the compilation album '' Lost Dogs'' (2003), with the latter in an alternate version. "I Am Mine" was the most successful song from ''Riot Act'' on the American rock charts. The song peaked at number 43 on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, number seven on the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart, and number six on the ''Billboard''

chart. In Canada, the song reached the top 10 on the

Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by '' Jam!''/Canoe. I ...

. Outside North America, "I Am Mine" reached the top 30 in the United Kingdom and peaked at number 12 in Australia, where it was certified gold. The track reached the top 50 in New Zealand, the top 40 in Ireland, the top 30 in Sweden, the top 20 in Finland, and the top 10 in Italy, Norway, and Portugal.

Music video

The music video for "I Am Mine" was directed by James Frost.Mills, Fred
"Yield Not"
'' Seattle Weekly''. November 6, 2002. The video was filmed at Seattle, Washington's Chop Suey club in September 2002. The video consists of a filmed live performance of the band rather than a conceptual video. It was one of five videos shot at the club to promote ''Riot Act'' (including " Save You", " Love Boat Captain", "

Thumbing My Way "Thumbing My Way" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Written by vocalist Eddie Vedder, "Thumbing My Way" is the seventh track on the band's seventh studio album, '' Riot Act'' (2002). Origin and recording "Thumbing My Way" was writt ...

", and " 1/2 Full"). Up to that point, the band had not made any music videos since 1998's "

Do the Evolution "Do the Evolution" is a song by American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by guitarist Stone Gossard, "Do the Evolution" is the seventh track on the band's fifth studio album, ''Yield (albu ...

". The video was released in October 2002.

Live performances

"I Am Mine" was first performed live at Neil Young's 2001

Bridge School Benefit The Bridge School Benefit was an annual charity concert usually held in Mountain View, California, every October at the Shoreline Amphitheatre from 1986 until 2016 with the exception of 1987. The concerts lasted the entire weekend and were organ ...

. The band played this song when it appeared on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

'' in November 2002 in support of ''Riot Act''. Live performances of "I Am Mine" can be found on various official bootlegs and the '' Live at the Gorge 05/06'' box set. Performances of the song are also included on the DVDs '' Live at the Showbox'' and '' Live at the Garden''.

Track listings

All songs were written by

except where noted. CD (US, Canada, and Europe) and 7-inch vinyl (Europe) # "I Am Mine" # "Down" ( Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Vedder) 7-inch vinyl (US) :A. "I Am Mine" :B. "Undone" CD (Australia) and maxi-single (Europe) # "I Am Mine" # "Down" (Gossard, McCready, Vedder) # "Bushleaguer" (Gossard, Vedder) # "Undone" CD (UK) # "I Am Mine" (album version) – 3:35 # "Bushleaguer" (album version) (Gossard, Vedder) – 3:57 # "Undone" – 3:08

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

Lyrics at pearljam.com
{{Authority control 2002 singles 2002 songs Epic Records singles Pearl Jam songs Song recordings produced by Adam Kasper Song recordings produced by Eddie Vedder Song recordings produced by Jeff Ament Song recordings produced by Matt Cameron Song recordings produced by Mike McCready Song recordings produced by Stone Gossard Songs inspired by deaths Songs written by Eddie Vedder