All the Way (Eddie Vedder song)

"All the Way" (also known as "(Someday We'll Go) All the Way" and referred to as "Go All the Way")[1][2] is a song written and performed by Evanston, Illinois native and Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder about the Chicago Cubs.[3] It was first performed in public on August 2, 2007, recorded on August 21, 2008 and August 22, 2008, and released as a single on September 18, 2008.

"All the Way"
Single by Eddie Vedder
ReleasedSeptember 18, 2008
RecordedAugust 21–22, 2008, Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, Illinois
GenreFolk
Length3:39
LabelTen Club
Songwriter(s)Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder singles chronology
"No More"
(2007)		 "All the Way"
(2008)

At the time of the song's release in 2008, it had been 100 years since the Cubs had last won the World Series.[4] Vedder has been a lifelong Cubs fan.[5] The song, which fondly looks forward to the Cubs' next World Series victory, was written with the encouragement of certain Chicago Cubs, most notably Ernie Banks. The song was first performed in Chicago and was recorded over two nights in 2008 at the end Vedder's first solo tour.[3][5] The song was accompanied by an official video release by the team following their victory in the 2016 World Series.

Origin and recording
Eddie Vedder's August 3, 2007 Wrigley Field visit
Singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during seventh-inning stretch
Throwing ceremonial first pitch

Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder was raised in Evanston, Illinois and later San Diego County, California;[6] and even though he is closely associated with Seattle grunge music,[4] Vedder has been a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan. He has performed the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh-inning stretch at several Cubs games and thrown out the ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field.[7] His first seventh-inning stretch performance was on Independence Day (July 4) 1998.[8]

Vedder has attended the Cubs fantasy camp for several years.[5] While attending the camp one year, former Cubs shortstop and first baseman Ernie Banks requested that Vedder write a song about the Cubs.[5] Vedder wrote "All the Way" the night before the camp started and first performed it at Pearl Jam's concert of August 2, 2007 at The Vic Theatre in Chicago with Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood and other Cubs players in attendance.[5][9] On August 3, 2007, one day after "All the Way" was premiered live, Vedder performed "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field for the fourth time and threw out the first pitch for the first time. Vedder's band, Pearl Jam, was in Chicago that week to perform at Lollapalooza,[8] where the band was the headlining act for the three-day festival that ended on August 5, 2007.[10]

Eddie Vedder in concert at the Auditorium Theatre. (2008-08-21)

The version of "All the Way" heard on the commercial single release is mixed from recordings of the August 21, 2008 and August 22, 2008 solo performances of the song by Vedder at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago.[3][11] Vedder performed at the Auditorium Theatre on August 21 and 22, 2008 on a three-week extension of his solo tour that began in Boston, Massachusetts at the Boston Opera House (1980) and ended in Chicago.[12] The solo tour had originally begun in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at The Centre on April 2, 2008.[13][14] This tour was Vedder's first solo tour.[14][15]

Lyrics

The 3:39 song is in the folk music genre, and it is perceived as a sing-along sea chantey or drinking song.[16] The lyrics to the song include lines such as "Our heroes wear pinstripes/Pinstripes in blue/Give us a chance to feel like heroes, too."[3][17] The song makes references to Ernie Banks, Wrigley Field, and a specific reference to Banks' catch phrase of "Let's play two!"[18][19] The refrain includes the phrase "Someday we'll go all the way, Yeah, someday we'll go all the way," which anticipates the day the Cubs win the World Series, gives the song its name.[16][20]

Release and reception
The digital download has been released with a modified image of the Wrigley Field ivy-covered outfield wall. (2008-09-02)

On September 18, 2008, "All the Way" was made available for digital download via Pearl Jam's official website for US$0.99.[2] On approximately September 30, 2008, a CD single version was made available for purchase at select stores in the Chicago area. A souvenir 45 single format version is also a possibility.[21] The digital download and CD single have been released with an associated single cover art image that is a modified version of the Wrigley Field outfield wall.

Philip K. Wrigley had employee Bill Veeck Jr. add ivy to the outfield walls of Wrigley Field in September 1937.[22][23] Wrigley Field is the home stadium for the Chicago Cubs, and its wall is well known for being covered in ivy except for a few select places where signs are present as well as doors to locker rooms and such. The brick is visible under the ivy at the stadium in locations where the signs designate the distance from the wall to home plate measured in feet. The cover art image replaces the distance with the words "All the Way".

By the time of the single release, local Chicago radio stations and sports bars had begun to play the song in anticipation of the 2008 Cubs' playoff run.[24] The song is considered to be an earnest tribute to the Cubs.[25] According to at least one source, the song is reminiscent of "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and much less upbeat than the song "Go, Cubs, Go" by American folk music singer-songwriter Steve Goodman.[26] The Huffington Post encourages listeners to compare the song to Goodman's "Go, Cubs, Go".[25] Another source compares the song to American country-folk singer-songwriter John Prine's 1974 song "Dear Abby" in terms of melody and cadence as well as the theme of Goodman's "A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request".[16]

At The Smashing Pumpkins' concert of November 20, 2008 at the Chicago Theatre, frontman Billy Corgan criticized Vedder and the song. Corgan stated, "If the Cubs did have a chance this last year that just passed, fuckin' Eddie Vedder killed that shit dead. Last I checked Eddie ain't living here, okay? Eddie ain't living here to write a song about my fuckin' team."[27] When the Cubs won the 2016 World Series they released a video set to "All The Way".[28]

References
  1. Kornelis, Chris (September 18, 2008). "Vedder to Cubs: Someday We'll Go All the Way". Seattle Weekly. Village Voice Media. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  2. "Eddie Vedder Go All The Way MP3 Digital Download". PearlJam.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  3. "Cubbie jam". RedEye. Metromix. September 19, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  4. Smith, Lori Spencer (September 22, 2008). "People: Eddie Vedder pens triumph song for Cubs". The Denver Post. Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  5. Brown, David. "Answer Man: Kerry Wood talks Eddie Vedder, bowling, nudity". Yahoo!. June 26, 2008.
  6. Kot, Greg (July 9, 1995). "Rebels With a Cause: Other Bands Talk About Revolution; Pearl Jam is Actually Leading One". Chicago Tribune. Newsbank. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
  7. "Eddie Vedder writes Cubs theme song". Sportsnet.ca. Rogers Sportsnet. September 19, 2008. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
  8. "Eddie Vedder - Vedder Spends A Day With The Cubs". Contactmusic.com. Contactmusic.com Ltd. August 6, 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
  9. "Pearl Jam Songs: "All the Way"" Archived July 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. pearljam.com.
  10. Gendron, Bob (August 6, 2007). "Pearl Jam's Fierce, Political Headlining Set Brings Lollapalooza 2007 to a Fitting End". Rolling Stone. RealNetworks, Inc. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
  11. (2008) Album notes for "All the Way" by Eddie Vedder, [CD booklet]. Seattle: Ten Club.
  12. Kreps, Daniel (July 2, 2008). "Tour Tracker: Eddie Vedder, Goo Goo Dolls and Alice Cooper". Rolling Stone. RealNetworks. Archived from the original on August 2, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  13. Fontana, Kaitlin (April 3, 2008). "Eddie Vedder Digs Deep Into Song, Shirt Archives in Vancouver". Rolling Stone. RealNetworks. Archived from the original on September 20, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  14. Powers, Ann (April 4, 2008). "It's a lot to live up to: The Pearl Jam frontman opens his first solo tour with an intimate yet powerful performance in Vancouver". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  15. "Eddie Vedder". Upcoming. Yahoo!. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  16. Kot, Greg (September 19, 2008). "Eddie Vedder updates Chicago folk classics for 2008 Cubs anthem". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on September 22, 2008. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
  17. Luerssen, John D. (September 19, 2008). "Eddie Vedder Helping Chicago Cubs Go 'All the Way'". Spinner. AOL. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  18. Muskat, Carrie (September 27, 2006). "Banks named Cubs' Hometown Hero". MLB.com. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  19. Koster, Kyle (September 18, 2008). "Eddie Vedder's song pays tribute to Chicago Cubs". Chicago Sun-Times. Sun-Times News Group. Archived from the original on September 21, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  20. "Eddie Vedder pens song for Chicago Cubs die-hards". MSN. Microsoft/Associated Press. September 20, 2008. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  21. "Eddie Vedder's Song For The Chicago Cubs Available Now". PearlJam.com. September 18, 2008. Archived from the original on September 20, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  22. Brown, Richard H. (2005). "Wrigley Field". The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
  23. "Wrigley Field History". Official Site of the Chicago Cubs. MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Archived from the original on September 22, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
  24. Kreps, Daniel (September 19, 2008). "Eddie Vedder Writes Song For the Chicago Cubs". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 20, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  25. "LISTEN: Eddie Vedder's Cubs Song". HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. September 19, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  26. Brown, David (September 19, 2008). "Eddie Vedder ready to go 'All The Way' with new Cubs song". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on September 26, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  27. DeLessio, Joe (November 21, 2008). "Billy Corgan: Eddie Vedder Exclusively to Blame for Cubs' Crappy Season". New York. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
  28. Goodman, Jessica (November 3, 2016). "Cubs release emotional celebration video set to Eddie Vedder's 'All The Way'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
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