"Guaranteed" is a song written and performed by Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder from the '' Into the Wild''

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

(2007). It is the final track on the album, and also features a hidden track of "Guaranteed" (Humming Vocal) after about two minutes of silence following the regular version of "Guaranteed".

Lyrics

Like the other songs on the soundtrack, "Guaranteed" is based on the story of American wanderer

Christopher McCandless Christopher Johnson McCandless (; February 12, 1968 – August 1992), also known by his pseudonym "Alexander Supertramp", was an American adventurer who sought an increasingly nomadic lifestyle as he grew up. McCandless is the subject of '' Int ...

. After graduating as a top student from

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

in 1990, McCandless decided to give up all of his savings and travel across the United States. In April 1992, McCandless hitchhiked to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

to live in the wilderness with little food and equipment, hoping to live a period of solitude. Nearly five months later, he died of starvation near

Denali National Park and Preserve Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, is an American national park and preserve located in Interior Alaska, centered on Denali, the highest mountain in North America. The park and contiguous preserve ...

. Director

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

said that as soon as he heard the song he "just felt that for sure this is the musical voice of (actor) Emile (Hirsch's) character."Cohen, Jonathan
"Q&A: Penn, Vedder go where the "Wild" things are"

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

. October 26, 2007. Eddie Vedder has said that the lyrics "Don't come closer or I'll have to go/Owning me like gravity are places that pull/If ever there was someone to keep me at home/It would be you" are for McCandless' sister, Carine.

Reception

Vedder won a 2007 Golden Globe Award for "Guaranteed". At the

2008 Grammy Awards The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonies ...

, "Guaranteed" received a nomination for

Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media (including its previous names) is the Grammy Awards awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media. Recipients * Each year is linked ...

. "Guaranteed" was also nominated for the 2008

Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Song The Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association. Winners and nominees 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s See also *Academy Award for B ...

, and a 2008 World Soundtrack Award in the category of Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film. In The Netherlands, the song is heavily associated with the murdered crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, who used the first line of this song (“On bended knee is no way to be free”) as his life motto.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "Guaranteed" was directed by

Marc Rocco Marc Rocco (June 19, 1962 – May 1, 2009) was an American film director, film producer and screenwriter. Rocco was born Marc Daniel King in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, to Harvey King and Sandra Elaine Garrett (1942–2002). Garrett married ...

. The video features Vedder in a dark room performing the song amid a series of floating still images from ''Into the Wild''. It premiered on January 7, 2008 on VH1.

Live performances

"Guaranteed" was first performed live by Vedder at an ''Into the Wild'' post-screening party on the Paramount Pictures lot on November 2, 2007. He would go on to perform the song on his 2008 solo tour. It has also been performed once with Pearl Jam during their 2008 tour.. TwoFeetThick.com.

References

{{authority control 2007 songs Best Original Song Golden Globe winning songs Eddie Vedder songs Songs written for films Songs about real people Songs written by Eddie Vedder Song recordings produced by Adam Kasper