Some of the smartest television shows were/are written as stories. They contain several layers of subtlety that are all connected and intertwined, holding the story together; it all makes sense in the end. Take, for example, Arrested Development, the show that Fox so smartly decided to cancel after three seasons (although they wanted to kill it after 2). Arrested Development is one of those shows that gets better the more times you watch it. You start to catch all the nuances, and all of the little things that you wouldn't have necessarily paid attention to at first start standing out. The more times you revisit, the more you learn. The idea of not putting it all out there at the beginning; making the listener earn the story.
Pearl Jam's 'Daughter' (from 1993's Vs.) is one such story. You can take it at its face value and walk away, or you can delve into it and see what is hiding under the surface. The lyrics speak of an adolescent whose parents mistake her learning disability for stupidity and refusal to behave. As a consequence of the error in understanding, they abuse her, thinking she'll somehow snap out of it, all the while not looking below the surface to see what could be the problem. The song, broadly speaking, gives off the vibe of a country song. Country music has long been associated with the less-that-glamorous aspects of life (sorrow, pain, trials and tribulations). Pearl Jam, then, follows a musically accurate protocol in telling the story.
The song is in the key of G major. The only other chord in the song is E minor - the relative minor of G major. G major and E minor share the same key signature, and songs in one will almost always explore the other. The story is, then, told in two moods: G major and E minor. One is related to the other, and this relation of musical key keeps the story intact; the listener understands (on some level) that what happens in one key is related to what happens in the other key.
Lyrically, the story is split into two main components: one expresses the feelings and emotions of the child, and the other refers to the thoughts and actions of the parents. The lyrics pertaining to the child are almost entirely sung over G major, and the lyrics about the parents in E minor. Here, Pearl Jam is breaking down the relationship between parents and child, and giving each a mood. The child's bright-eyed innocence and good intentions are in the (musically coded as positive) key of G major. She appears to be the protagonist, uplifting emotions and representing good. On the other side, the parents are characterized in E minor (musically coded as negative).
Below is a breakdown of the lyrics in the two keys; the text in green is in the key of G major, and they text in red is in the key of E minor. As mentioned before, the lyrics based in G major represent the protagonist, and the idea and hope that she will overcome her difficulties, and those in red (E minor) deal with the antagonists (the parents) and their cruelties towards their child.
Alone, listless; breakfast table in an otherwise empty room
Young girl; violins; center of her own attention
The mother reads aloud, child tries to understand it
Tries to make her proud
The shades go down into her head, painted room; can't deny there's something wrong
Don't call me daughter, not fit to; the pictures kept will remind me
Don't call me daughter, not fit to; the pictures kept will remind me
Don't call me
She holds the hand that holds her down; she will rise above
Don't call me daughter, not fit to; the pictures kept will remind me
Don't call me daughter, not fit to; the pictures kept will remind me
Don't call me daughter, not fit to; the pictures kept will remind me
Don't call me daughter, not fit to; the pictures kept will remind me
The shades go down..
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