"Who You Are" | |||||||||||||||||
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Single by Pearl Jam | |||||||||||||||||
from the album No Code | |||||||||||||||||
B-side | "Habit" | ||||||||||||||||
Released | July 30, 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
Format | CD single, Cassette, vinyl | ||||||||||||||||
Recorded | July 12, 1995 – May 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
Length | 3:50 | ||||||||||||||||
Label | Epic | ||||||||||||||||
Writer(s) | Stone Gossard, Jack Irons, Eddie Vedder | ||||||||||||||||
Producer(s) | Brendan O'Brien, Pearl Jam | ||||||||||||||||
Pearl Jam singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||
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"Who You Are" is a song by American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music co-written by drummer Jack Irons and guitarist Stone Gossard, "Who You Are" was released on July 30, 1996 as the first single from the band's fourth studio album, No Code (1996). The song topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, Rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003). On Pearl Jam's greatest hits album, "Who You Are" has a slight lyric change. Instead of "circumstance, clapping hands", it's "avalanche, falling fast".
"Who You Are" features lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music co-written by drummer Jack Irons and guitarist Stone Gossard. The polyrhythmic drum pattern for the song was inspired by a Max Roach drum solo that Irons heard at a drum shop when he was eight years old. Irons said, "To turn my drum music into a song is pretty challenging, but the guys have been really supportive of me doing it, and we've worked some things into a few songs." Vedder played an electric sitar on the song, giving it an Eastern-influenced sound. Regarding the song, Vedder said, "We realized that we had an opportunity to experiment."
Vedder has admitted that the choice of "Who You Are" as the first single for No Code was a "conscious decision" intended to keep the size of the band's audience down. "Who You Are" was the most successful song from No Code on the American rock charts. The song peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100, number five on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.