Pilate Lyrics
Talk of circles and punching out
Looking in, drawin' circles down
Fallin' up the south marking ground
Talking out of turn, drawin' circles down
[Chorus]
Like Pilate, I have a dog
Like Pilate, I have a dog
[Verse 2]
Walks me out of town, still, one's a crowd
Making angels in the dirt, lookin' up, lookin' all around
[Chorus]
Like Pilate, I have a dog
(Obeys, listens, kisses, loves)
Like Pilate, I have a dog
(Obeys, listens, kisses, loves)
[Bridge]
Stunned by my own reflection
It's lookin' back, sees me too clearly
And I swore I'd never go there again
Not unlike a friend that politely drags you down, you down, you down, you down
Like Pilate, I have a dog
(Obeys, listens, kisses, loves)
Like Pilate, I have a dog
(Obeys, listens, kisses, loves)
Like Pilate, I have a dog
(Obeys, listens, kisses, loves)
Like Pilate, I have a dog
About
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
“I think "Pilate” was the question I was asking myself, and “Low Light ” was the answer, the realization. Have you ever read The Master and Margarita [by Mikhail Bulgakov]? I just read that book, and at the end they talk about Pontius Pilate being all alone on a mountain with his dog. He couldn’t sleep and he couldn’t function. It really struck me hard, because at that point I was feeling very alone. I’ve always had this recurring dream about being old and just me and my dog sitting on the porch. It wasn’t necessarily a sad dream or a premonition, but it did get me to thinking about why Pilate was so alone and freaked out. Then I realized he didn’t get to finish his conversation with Jesus—that’s why he can’t function, because he didn’t tie up the loose ends in his life. Later, I was playing the guitar, and I was hit so hard by this amazing, emotion. In that moment the words “low light” came out, and somehow those were the only words to explain what I was feeling. It was a kind of gratefulness at finding that place of calm and peace at my center and getting a glimpse of the person I could choose to be. It was the purest happiness that I’ve experienced in a long time, that particular emotion. God, I thought I was going to explode. I feel very lucky to have been able to put it down on tape that morning and work thorough it until it became a song."
Jeff Ament, in a interview to Guitar World
Alright, hey, this here number is one we don’t get to play enough, and it was inspired by a guy named Mikhail Bulgakov – he’s a Russian author – and it was written by Jeff Ament. He’s really the intellectual of the group.
— Eddie Vedder before performing “Pilate” live at the Key Arena in Seattle on December 6, 2013.
- 1.Brain of J.
- 2.Faithfull
- 3.No Way
- 4.Given to Fly
- 5.Wishlist
- 6.Pilate
- 8.Red Bar
- 9.MFC
- 10.Low Light
- 11.In Hiding
- 12.Push Me, Pull Me
- 14.Hummus