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About

Genius Annotation

Released in 1998 as the 7th track on Yield, the song was not a huge radio single. It peaked at only #40 on the Mainstream Rock Charts, but over the years it’s become a favorite of critics and fans. Eddie Vedder has even called it his person favorite from Yield.

In a 1998 interview Eddie Vedder explained that the song is about someone that’s :

drunk with technology, who thinks they’re the controlling living being on this planet

Daniel Quinn’s novel Ishmael has been cited by Vedder as having a heavy influence on the content of the song.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Pearl Jam say about "Do the Evolution"?
Genius Answer

This Daniel Quinn book, Ishmael…I’ve never recommended a book before, but I would actually, in an interview, recommend it to everyone….But this book, it’s kind of the book of my … My whole year has been kind of with these thoughts in mind. And on an evolutionary level, that man has been on this planet for 3 million years, so that you have this number line that goes like this [hands wide apart]. And that we’re about to celebrate the year 2000, which is this [holds hands less than one inch apart]. So here’s this number line; here’s what we know and celebrate. This book is a conversation with a man and an ape. And the ape really has it all together. He kinda knows the differences between him and the man, and points out how slight they are, and it creates an easy analogy for what man has done, thinking that they were the end-all. That man is the end-all thing on this earth. That the earth was around even so much longer before the 3 million years. Fifty million years of sharks and all these living things. Then man comes out of the muck, and 3 million years later he’s standing, and now he’s controlling everything and killing it. Just in the last hundred! Which is just a speck on this line. So what are we doin' here? This is just a good reminder…And I’m anxious to see what happens. You know, I’ve got a good seat for whatever happens next. It’ll be interesting.

Eddie Vedder in a 1998 interview to Addicted to Noise

Credits
Recording Engineer
Mixing Engineer
Mastering Engineer
Phonographic Copyright ℗
Recorded At
Studio X & Studio Litho (Seattle, WA), Southern Tracks & Doppler Studios (Atlanta, GA)
Release Date
February 8, 1998
View Do the Evolution samples
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