Pilate - 1998

Pearl Jam

The CD Yield of the Seattle rock band Pearl Jam was released in 1998 and is inspired by the novel Ishmael of the American writer Daniel Quinn, but the track Pilate is based on the confrontation between Pontius Pilate and Yeshua Ha-Nozri as it was described by Mikhail Bulgakov.

Bassist Jeff Ament wrote the song after he heard the story of how Pilate sat on a hill with his dog when Yeshua died on the cross, wishing he could have completed his last conversation with him. Pilate in the novel has a dog, Banga, which «obeys, listens, kisses and loves». Just as in the chorus of the song: «Like Pilate, I have a dog - obeys, listens, kisses, loves».

Pearl Jam - Pilate

Pearl Jam

Technical details

Album
Yield

Musicians
Jeff Ament - bass
Stone Gossard - guitar
Jack Irons - drums
Mike McCready - guitar
Eddie Vedder - vocals, guitar

Label
EPIC, 1998

Video

Click on the arrow below to watch Pearl Jam performing the song Pilateat the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia on October 31, 2009, on the night of Halloween.

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