<P> Vedder about "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town": </P> <P> It's kind of about a lady, and she's getting on in years, and she's stuck in this small town . Small towns fascinate me: You either struggle like hell to get out, to some people want to stay' cause then they're the big fish in the small pond, and then others just kind of get stuck there . So here she is working in this little place, and then an old flame comes in, and he's probably driving a nice car and looking kind of sharp--not a fancy car, but he's moved on . And then she sees him, and at first she doesn't even remember who he is, and then she realizes who it is . She's just too embarrassed to say' hello' . </P> <P> Without being released as a single, "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 17 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1994 . David Browne of Entertainment Weekly said the song has "an unexpected melodic delicacy ." The acoustic guitar - driven "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" is still played on popular rock radio . </P> <P> The lyric page for the song in the album's liner notes featured a picture of an "elderly woman," but at some point after the first pressings another picture was used in place of the original . Allegedly, the original woman never gave permission for her picture to be used, so Pearl Jam changed the picture to another woman . The difference is easy to spot, as "the new and improved woman behind the counter" is printed below the picture . </P>

Lyrics to pearl jam elderly woman behind the counter