“Dissident” by Pearl Jam

Vs.
Epic Records
1993

This song expands on the Biblical story of the high priest Eli and the boy Samuel. Eli, the narrator, is uncertain what to make of the child who God calls to be a prophet. The chorus and second stanza reveal that Eli is speaking from a point several years after Hannah, the boy’s mother, leaves Samuel in the Temple. This then is not a chronology of Eli’s feelings but instead him reflecting on these events in hindsight. From this perspective Eli knows Samuel is a prophet and, with this new information, Eli looks back on Hannah’s struggle with new eyes.

She nursed him there, over a night

I wasn't so sure she wanted him to stay

What to say? What to say?

But soon she was down. Soon he was low

At a quarter past, a holy no

She had to turn around

When she couldn't hold, she folded

A dissident is here

Escape is never the safest path

A dissident. A dissident is here

And to this day she's glided on

Always home but so far away

Like a word misplaced

Nothing said, what a waste

But when she had contact with the conflict

There was meaning but she sold him to the state

She had to turn around

When she couldn't hold she folded

A dissident is here

Escape is never the safest path

A dissident. A dissident is here

She gave him away when she couldn't hold

No, she folded

A dissident is here

Escape is never the safest path

A dissident, a dissident is here

Oh, couldn't hold on. She couldn't hold

No, she folded. A dissident is here

Escape is never the safest place

A dissident is here

Interpretation

She nursed him there, over a night
I wasn't so sure she wanted him to stay
What to say? What to say?
But soon she was down. Soon he was low
At a quarter past. A holy no
She had to turn around
First Samuel 1-2 tells the story when God grants Hannah’s request for a son after years of failing to conceive. In return, Hannah promises to give her child back to God for service in the Temple. In this first stanza, Eli, the high priest, describes the struggle he sees in Hannah. He wonders if she will renege on her promise. Eli wonders if he should intercede, “What to say?” But when Samuel, her son, is done nursing (1 Samuel 1:24), she brings him to the temple and leaves him in Eli’s care. There is still a struggle going on in Hannah but she remains obedient, turns around (away from her child) and goes back home.

When she couldn't hold, she folded
A dissident is here
Escape is never the safest path
A dissident. A dissident is here
In this stanza Eli describes Hannah’s actions; she didn’t resist God but let her son go, “she folded”. Then Eli calls Samuel a dissident. As a boy Samuel is called by God to be a prophet, which made him a routinely hated figure, “a dissident”, because he spoke God’s truth. Despite this tricky relationship, Eli recognizes that God has called Samuel and it is not the “safest path” for Eli to “escape” or go against God.

And to this day she's glided on
Always home but so far away
Like a word misplaced.
Nothing said, what a waste
But when she had contact with the conflict
There was meaning but she sold him to the state
She had to turn around
Eli again describes Hannah this time in the absence of her son. He portrays her as getting on with her life though he imagines her as not entirely happy and maybe even depressed “always home but so far away”. When she faced her promise to God, she fulfilled it; she gave Samuel up to service in the temple “the state”. She wanted to hold onto her son but she obeyed God and she walked away from the temple leaving Samuel there “she had to turn around”.

When she couldn't hold she folded
A dissident is here
Escape is never the safest path
A dissident. A dissident is here

She gave him away when she couldn't hold
No, she folded
A dissident is here
Escape is never the safest path
A dissident, a dissident is here
Oh, couldn't hold on. She couldn't hold
No, she folded. A dissident is here
Escape is never the safest place
A dissident is here
The repetition of this stanza indicates Eli’s apprehension towards the boy prophet. Perhaps he is anticipating the calamity about to befall Israel. Eli knows Israel’s history and understand that a prophet is raised up in a time of need. 1 Samuel 2-5 describes the sin of Eli’s sons and their corresponding defeat in battle against the Philistines. In this battle, both of Eli’s sons are killed, the ark of the covenant (Israel’s holiest object) is taken by the enemy, and when Eli hears the news he falls out of his seat, breaks his neck, and dies. If Eli has any idea that this misfortune is about to occur, his words in the song may a wish that Hannah had “folded”, broken her promise and kept Samuel away from the temple. These dissident prophets are never a good omen.