The Inspiration Behind These Famous Songs Show That A Great Idea Can Come From Anywhere

Matt Graves|Entertainment|4 Apr 2018

Jeremy

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Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Lead singer Eddie Vedder wrote Pearl Jam’s song “Jeremy” about high school students who brought a gun to class. It combines the stories of the two incidents. One was a high school classmate of Vedder’s who shot up his school in San Diego.

The other is a sad tale of a boy who shot himself in the head in front of his entire class in Texas, soon after he had been transferred there from another school. “Jeremy spoke in class today” is a metaphor for the boy shooting himself as his classmates looked on.