Green Disease

Album: Riot Act (2002)
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Songfacts®:

  • The "green disease" is greed. Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, who wrote it, explained in the book Twenty: "I'm not saying capitalism is what's wrong about this, it's more like corporate responsibility. You can't tell me there's not other ways of making it good for everybody."
  • "Green Disease" is part of Pearl Jam's Riot Act album, which found them getting more political, particularly in response to 9/11. They were much more active in side projects than as a band in 2001, but when they came together to record the album in 2002, they found they had a lot to say. This song was written entirely by Vedder, but the other four members contributed to various other tracks.

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