RockLists.com
Cover of Backspacer by Pearl Jam
Cover: Backspacer

Song · Pearl Jam

“Just Breathe” by Pearl Jam

From the album Backspacer (2009)

“Just Breathe” by Pearl Jam appears on 62 radio countdowns from 37 stations between 2009 and 2026. It was first released in 2009 on the album Backspacer. Its best result is #2 on the WTTS Top 50 Songs of 2010. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #39 alternative song of 2010 and #120 of the '10s.

62countdowns
37stations
#2best position
0#1 finishes
4top 10 finishes
2009–2026years charted

Watch

Pearl Jam - Just Breathe

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

"Just Breathe" was the second single from Backspacer, Pearl Jam's ninth album, released on October 31, 2009. Eddie Vedder wrote it alone, and it grew out of a single chord from "Tuolumne", an instrumental on his soundtrack for the 2007 film Into the Wild.

It's a hushed folk-rock ballad built on voice and acoustic strum, with a small string section of Justin Bruns and Christopher Pulgram on violin, Cathy Lynn on viola and Danny Laufer on cello swelling softly around Vedder. Brendan O'Brien produced it. It held number one on Billboard's Adult Alternative Airplay chart for 13 weeks, and a 2021 ranking put it 14th among the most successful songs that chart has ever had.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2009 29 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2009 91
2009 93 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2009 101
2009 81 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 101 Songs of 2009 101
2009 67 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON 102.1 The Edge The Top 102 of 2009 102
2009 83 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2009 99
2009 67 The Current Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN The Current Top 89 Songs of 2009 89
2009 56 Impact 89FM Lansing, MI Impact 89FM Top 89 of 2009 89
2009 91 94.5 The Buzz Houston, TX 94.5 The Buzz Top 94 of 2009 94
2009 13 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2009 103
2009 87 X103.9 Riverside-San Bernardino, CA X103.9 Top Songs of 2009 103
2009 23 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 2009 106
2009 39 107.1 The Peak Westchester County, NY WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2009 107
2009 27 WXPN Philadelphia, PA WXPN Year in Review: Top 100 Songs of 2009 100
2009 59 99 Rock Lebanon-Hanover-White River Junction, NH-VT 99Rock WFRD Top 99 of 2009 99
2009 86 105.7 The Point St. Louis, MO 105.7 The Point Top 105 Songs of 2009 105
2009 18 ALT 104.5 Philadelphia, PA Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2009 51
2009 35 103.1 The River Kalispell-Flathead Valley, MT 103.1 The River Top 103 of 2009 103
2009 96 Lightning 100 Nashville, TN Lightning 100 Top 100 Songs of 2009 100
2009 15 WRNR 103.1 Annapolis, MD WRNR Top 104 Songs of 2009 104
2009 44 KSLG Eureka (Humboldt County), CA KSLG Top 94 of 2009 94
2009 89 WBRU Providence, RI WBRU Top 95.5 Songs of 2009 96
2010 46 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2010 91
2010 78 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2010 101
2010 53 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 101 Songs of 2010 101
2010 63 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2010 101
2010 25 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON 102.1 The Edge Top 102 Songs of 2010 102
2010 16 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2010 99
2010 31 94.3 WCYY Portland, ME WCYY Top 50 of 2010 50
2010 2 92.3 WTTS Indianapolis-Bloomington, IN WTTS Top 50 Songs of 2010 50
2010 10 94.5 The Buzz Houston, TX 94.5 The Buzz Top 94 of 2010 94
2010 53 Exit 97.7 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY WEXT Top 97 of 2010 97
2010 13 89.7 The River Omaha, NE / Council Bluffs, IA 89.7 The River Top 89 of 2010 89
2010 22 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 2010 95
2010 16 93XRT Chicago, IL WXRT Listener Poll: Top 25 Songs of 2010 25
2010 16 ALT 104.5 Philadelphia, PA Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2010 51
2010 35 94.1 The Zone Rochester, NY 94.1 The Zone Most Played Songs of 2010 91
2010 33 Channel 92.3 San Jose / San Francisco Bay Area, CA Channel 92.3 Top 92 Songs of 2010 92
2010 66 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2010 88
2010 6 Lightning 100 Nashville, TN Lightning 100 Best of 2010 50
2010 35 X96 Salt Lake City, UT X96 Top 50 Songs of 2010 50
2010 3 106.1 The Corner Charlottesville, VA 106.1 The Corner Top 106 of 2010 105
2010 88 WBRU Providence, RI WBRU Top 95 Songs of 2010 95
2011 90 94.5 The Buzz Houston, TX 94.5 The Buzz Top 94 of 2011 94

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2009 181 WYEP WYEP 913 Songs That Matter from the Last Decade 913
2012 655 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 55 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Songs of the New Millennium (2013) 885
2016 643 WYEP WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 913
2018 399 WTMD WTMD Listeners' Top 897 Songs, 2003-2018 896
2019 249 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2019 249 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2020 1715 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2022 593 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s 907
2022 142 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2022 336 KEXP KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) 491
2023 590 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2024 425 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 19 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century 1055
2024 72 WXPN WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) 885
2025 433 The Current 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now 893
2025 240 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century 909
2025 58 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) 714
2026 768 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Charting alongside it in 2010

Best songs of 2010 →
  1. 1Little Lion ManMumford & Sons
  2. 2Tighten UpThe Black Keys
  3. 3RadioactiveKings of Leon
  4. 4The High RoadBroken Bells
  5. 5AnimalNeon Trees
  6. 6Lay Me DownDirty Heads

Comments

Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Just Breathe" by Pearl Jam.

Be kind and stay on topic. Guidelines

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.