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Cover of Vs. by Pearl Jam
Cover: Vs.

Song · Pearl Jam

“Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” by Pearl Jam

From the album Vs. (1993)

“Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” by Pearl Jam appears on 71 radio countdowns from 28 stations between 1993 and 2025. It was first released in 1993 on the album Vs.. Its best result is #4 on The End Top 77 Pearl Jam Songs of All-Time (September 2005). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #46 alternative song of 1994, #208 alternative song of all time and #290 of the '90s.

71countdowns
28stations
#4best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1993–2025years charted

Watch

Pearl Jam - Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town (Official Audio)

Video from YouTube (PearljamVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" is track ten on Vs., Pearl Jam's second album, from 1993, and its mouthful of a title was a deliberate joke: the band was tired of almost all its songs having one-word names. Fans and band members usually shorten it to "Elderly Woman" or "Small Town".

The whole band shares the credit, but Eddie Vedder did most of the writing, and it's one of the record's quietest moments: a hushed acoustic strum, a melody that folds in on itself, and Vedder singing low and close like he's telling you something he's never said aloud. Brendan O'Brien produced it with the band on Epic, and he leaves plenty of air around the voice.

It never got a proper single release, yet it still reached number 17 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks. An acoustic take showed up on the "Go" single, and the band later picked it for their 2004 greatest hits set, rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003).

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1993 34 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1993 91
1994 32 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1994 107
1994 37 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1994 106
1994 23 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1994 101
1994 15 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1994 100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1995 387 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1996 196 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1999 188 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 377 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 61 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 174 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 27 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 403 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 48 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 27 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 476 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 30 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 242 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 409 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 30 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 816 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 371 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 30 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 118 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 30 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 134 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 848 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2005 29 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 238 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 4 107.7 The End The End Top 77 Pearl Jam Songs of All-Time (September 2005) 77
2006 340 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2007 203 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 33 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 401 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 278 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 34 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 143 CFNY 102.1 The Edge The Top 200 Songs of the 90's According to 102.1 The Edge 200
2009 35 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 44 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 49 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2012 260 WYEP WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown 500
2012 615 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 50 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 50 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 257 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2014 511 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 266 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2019 351 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2020 49 DC101 Top DC101 of the 90's 101
2020 359 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 1305 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 95 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2020 177 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2021 201 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 186 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2021 469 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 391 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2022 133 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 380 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 188 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 884 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 1017 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 603
2023 155 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 176 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 997 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 355 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2023 642 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 770 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places 800
2024 214 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 501 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2025 475 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043

Also listed as: Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town; Elderly Woman Behind The Counter in a Small Town; Elderly Woman Behind The Counter...; Elderly Woman Behind the Counter; Elderly Woman Behind The Counter; Elderly Woman Behind the Counter….

Charting alongside it in 1994

Best songs of 1994 →
  1. 1Black Hole SunSoundgarden
  2. 2CloserNine Inch Nails
  3. 3Self-EsteemThe Offspring
  4. 4Interstate Love SongStone Temple Pilots
  5. 5Come Out and PlayThe Offspring
  6. 6Basket CaseGreen Day

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