Chords
Nothingman

Nothingman is a track by Pearl Jam from their album Vitalogy, released in 1994. According to bassist Jeff Ament, the song was almost entirely written in a single rehearsal session. He brought the chord progression to the band, and Vedder immediately started singing. The lyrics discuss the transience of love and the importance of personal choice. The term nothingman is a reflection on how actions or the lack thereof can define a person.

Key: C

Introduction:  C   Am   G   Am   F  

difficulty
very easy |||||
 C             Am  G            Am      F 
Once divided,    nothing left to subtract
 C                      Am  G        Am       F 
Some words when spoken    can' t be taken back
 C                Am      G           Am          F 
Walks on his own   with thoughts he can' t help thinking
 C               Am              G         Am          F        Am 
Future' s above,     but in the past he' s slow and sinking
 F                             G             F                Am  F   G 
Caught a bolt of lightning,    cursed the day he let it go

 C              F    G 
Nothingman,      nothingman
 C                     F     G 
Isn' t it something?  Nothingman

 C                 Am          G        Am      F 
She once believed   in every story he had to tell
 C                      Am   G        Am       F 
One day she stiffened,     took the other side
 C            Am            G           Am             F 
Empty stares    from each corner of a shared prison cell
 C                 Am        G      Am        F         Am 
One just escapes,    one' s left inside the well
 F                    G          F                Am    F              G 
And he who forgets    will be destined to remember   oh  oh  oh  oh

 C                F   G 
Nothingman,      nothingman
 C                     F     G 
Isn' t it something?  Nothingman
 Am              F        G 
Oh, she don' t want him (she don' t want him)
                     F    Am              F       G   Am 
Oh, she won' t feed him,    after he' s flown away
   F               G       F               G  F 
Oh, into the sun, yeah into the sun
 F                     G 
Burn, burn, burn  burn

 C               F   G 
Nothingman,      nothingman
 C                    F     G 
Isn' t it something?  Nothingman
 C                F   G 
Nothingman,      nothingman
 C                      F     G 
Coulda been something, nothingman

 C        F      C 
oooooooo uoooooo