W.M.A.

Album: Vs. (1993)
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Songfacts®:

  • W.M.A. stands for "White Male American" In Pearl Jam - The Illustrated Story, Eddie Vedder explained: "I think I'd probably stayed at the rehearsal studio the night before and it had been a couple of days since I had a shower and I've got my old shoes on and I don't look too great, a little grunge on my teeth or whatever. And I'm sitting there with this guy who's of a darker color than me, and along come these cops, they run around with their bikes trying to look cool. So here they come, they're heading straight for us. And they just ignored me and [started] hassling him. Compared to me, this guy looks as respectable as f--k. But they started hassling him, and that just blew me the f--k away. So I started hassling them and one thing led to another... I was just really wound up by it. I had all this f--king energy rushing through me. I was mad. Really f--king angry. I got back to the studio and the guys had been working on this thing and I just went straight in and did the vocals, and that was the song."
  • The liner notes for Vs. show newspaper clips telling the story of Malice Green, a black man who died after being arrested.
  • The original title was "Police Man." >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Martin - Rostock, Germany, for all above

Comments: 4

  • Jack C. from OregonToday's police usually "hassle" POC for legitimate reasons in chronic crime zones, and the rest have to live down inner city reputations. Look up their actual crime rates per the FBI, not what some zealous activist tells you.
  • Billmates from West YorkshireAlways thought this was to do wth Rodney King
  • Zero from Nowhere, NjPolice men are @$$holes - and I'm related to one!
  • Kevin from Melbourne, FlThis is too funny. One of the PJ concerts I went to was back in 94' and I bought a T-shirt and I have been wearing it 17 years, I don't wear it that often. Well the design on the shirt is a guy being held up by the police with a billy club in hand with the initials WMA and on the back it just has the word POLICE in big letters. There is nothing that says Pearl Jam and I never new the story behind it, now it really makes sense. Thanks!
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