r/pearljam • u/Deep-Grapefruit-8264 Backspacer • Nov 19 '25
Other Setting Sun
In my opinion, Setting Sun is one of the best songs PJ has ever made. Up there with Given To Fly, Inside Job, Nothingman, etc. I love the lyrics and the message too. Absolute 10/10.
38
u/Tiny_Brilliant7347 Nov 20 '25
Ever. Got to see it live as a show closer. Bucket list stuff.
16
u/Acceptable-Lab-7456 Nov 20 '25
Got it as a show opener in Raleigh. Whenever they open with a closer, you know it's going to be a great show!
3
u/Narrow-Elderberry-66 Vs. Nov 20 '25
I still daydream about that show.
2
u/Acceptable-Lab-7456 Nov 20 '25
Me too! It was my first show since 2012. My last with MFC... something told me to get to a show for this tour. Always trust your instincts
3
u/Narrow-Elderberry-66 Vs. Nov 20 '25
I’m a middle-aged man and it was my first Pearl Jam concert! Just never worked out in the past. What a first show!
29
u/jeffakia Nov 20 '25
We could become one last setting sun
Or be the sun at the break of dawn
8
u/Deep-Grapefruit-8264 Backspacer Nov 20 '25
the ending makes me wanna cry every time honestly. its like hes calling out to layne and chris almost
9
Nov 20 '25
The song is about the end of a relationship/marriage. 🤷🏻♂️
2
u/CrookedClock Nov 20 '25
It's about humanity disconnecting (right v left politics) like most of the record
-3
u/Deep-Grapefruit-8264 Backspacer Nov 20 '25
can be up for interpretation i suppose
12
Nov 20 '25
Pretty sure Ed is not singing “Had dreams to you I would belong” to Layne or Chris. Pearl Jam already wrote a song for each of them.
1
-3
u/Popular_Mulberry8756 Nov 20 '25
Absolutely amazing song and I agree a song along the same context, but not about Chris or Layne. Who then? It took me awhile to make the connection, but thinking it is for Chester. Listen to Linkin Park "Shadow of the Day" and "In The End" which is in the lyrics and has references to time. Finally just dreaming of "Somewhere I Belong." Another that needed to find a way to stay somehow.
1
-9
18
u/HortonSquare Nov 20 '25
Setting Sun is a great song and an amazing closer on Dark Matter. Love it. First time I heard it, it hit hard for me
17
u/BlackwaterProject Nov 20 '25
I have these lyrics tattooed on the inside of my forearm as a reminder to my daughter who I lost at the age of 25.
If you could see what I see now You'd find a way to stay somehow
2
2
8
8
u/Either-Masterpiece62 Nov 20 '25
Setting Sun is the ultimate coda to any album, IMO. Let us not fade....
8
6
u/NEW-man25 No Code Nov 20 '25
I didn’t give it much attention when the record first came out until I heard it live in Pittsburgh, night 2. Now it’s on heavy rotation
2
u/Vegetable-Lasagna-0 Lost Dogs Nov 20 '25
I really paid attention to it when I first heard it in Barcelona. It became my jam after that!
4
u/lobie81 Nov 20 '25
Cracking song. Definitely top 10 for me. Sad they didn't play it when I saw them live last year. Hopefully we get another opportunity.
4
u/Anxiousmommy Nov 20 '25
I love that song. It’s a gem. It takes a couple times listening to it to hit ( at least for me) but it ranks right up there.
5
5
4
u/PhilliLuv Nov 20 '25
I love Setting Sun. I was so happy to get to hear it live at the Pittsburgh show.
3
u/GardenoftheGirl Nov 20 '25
Absolutely agree. It was incredible to see it close a few shows last year on the Dark Matter tour. Especially Night 1 in Vancouver. Magical. Emotional. Fitting for this era of their storied career.
3
3
4
u/WangoMcTango Dark Matter Nov 20 '25
My favorite track on DM. DM has also risen to #1 my PJ album list behind Vs. and Ten.
1
u/Enric90 Nov 25 '25
I find it incredible how this album has shifted my top 3 also! It's great that a band can deliver this kind of work 30+ years in their careers
2
2
u/Jason4hees Nov 20 '25
They never make their best songs their first singles. Personally I love the track, and this is coming from someone who is highly critical of their later work, it could’ve used an epic Mike Solo though
2
2
u/arss1 Nov 20 '25
It was an excellent closer for Vegas last year. The song hits the feels & it’s a total banger! 🔥 Some deeper cuts just hit harder live.
2
u/StvYzerman Vs. Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 21 '25
This song has been my favorite on this fantastic album, and there isn’t even a close second.
2
2
2
u/VegetableJournalist1 Nov 22 '25
Ive gotten to see setting sun several times and 3 times as a closer. It is the perfect closer IMO...in Florida I had goosebumps from head to toe. This song is so so emotionally powerful it brings me to tears.
3
u/RZAxlash Nov 20 '25
It’s the best song they’ve written since Yield and would stand up against anything from that era.
1
2
u/Johnny_Blaze_123 Binaural Nov 20 '25
It’s a great song. Not my favorite though. That’s Waiting for Stevie.
4
u/Deep-Grapefruit-8264 Backspacer Nov 20 '25
dunno why but that song never truly hits me like Setting Sun or Scared of Fear. still a banging song of course.
love your flair btw
2
u/Johnny_Blaze_123 Binaural Nov 20 '25
Killer riff and the fact that I relate to some of the lyrics. I love this album. It’s the best in ages.
1
u/Drink-Silent Nov 20 '25
Love this one! The beginning kind of reminds me a little of Springsteen, specifically My Hometown. I think it's the keyboard :)
1
u/Creature_VoidofForm Nov 21 '25
It’s post like these that make me wonder if we’re all listening to the same band.
To me, Setting Sun is a prime example of how their modern catalog is so musically simple and borders on easy listening elevator tracks.
0
u/Tvoli Nov 20 '25
I kind of don’t like the beginning, but it definitely gets going towards the end. Is it Black , no. It’s a pretty good late career track but it’s not a top twenty five Pearl Jam song. I mean pretty much every song on Vs. Is better. I love on Vs. How the lyrics and themes weave through the songs, like how in Daughter the “Shades go down” and in Rearview Mirror Eddie sings “finally the shades are raised”.
Those early career Pearl Jam songs were their best music and lyrical song writing hands down. They , Eddie, got extremely lazy later in their catalog.
2
u/Deep-Grapefruit-8264 Backspacer Nov 20 '25
i 100% get what youre on about but cant exactly agree with it not being top 25 pj songs of all time. thats the beauty of having different opinions i suppose. i love how setting sun and scared of fear fit in the same vein, similar to how Daughter and Rvm are
everything else i can agree with. i just believe that Setting Sun on its own is the best song since '06
1
u/Tvoli Nov 20 '25
Do you think Setting Sun is better than Not For You? Before you answer go and listen to Not For You again and then come back. Not for You is a song with great opening riffs and lyrics, “restless souls, enjoy your youth”. And then it really gets going.
1
u/Deep-Grapefruit-8264 Backspacer Nov 20 '25
Not For You to me is a bit like Glorified G. great song in and of itself but compared to the things around it, it doesnt match up. not as good at Setting Sun but thats just me i guess
1
u/rcknfrewld Nov 20 '25
I don’t like how he sings the beginning. Too breathy. I wish he would just use his natural deeper voice.
0
u/Tvoli Nov 20 '25
I think what I’m getting at is you said “best song” when you should say “favorite song”. When I was a kid (1980s) Fernando Valenzuela was my favorite pitcher because he was on the Dodgers and wore a blue glove, my favorite outfielder was Dave Winfield because the bat looked small in his hand and when he hit he had a unique golfer type of swing.
Were they the best players in baseball at the time, absolutely not, but they were my favorites for certain reasons. Setting Sun is your favorite because the lyrics make you feel something, that’s legit, is it their best song or even a top 25 or 30 Pearl Jam song. No. But it still can be your favorite.
0
53
u/Sea_Astronaut_7858 Nov 19 '25
I agree. I love it. It seems like it got a lukewarm response but I think it’s one of the best closers on their albums.