Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town

"Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. The song is the tenth track on the band's second studio album, Vs. (1993). Although credited to all members of Pearl Jam, it was primarily written by vocalist Eddie Vedder. The length of the song's title was a reaction by the band to the fact that most of its songs featured one-word titles. The song is often referred to simply as "Small Town" by the band and its fans. Despite the lack of a commercial single release, the song managed to reach number 17 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. An acoustic version of the song can be found on the "Go" single. The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror (Greatest Hits 1991–2003). The song was used in promos for the final season of Rescue Me.

Origin and recording

When discussing how he initially came up with "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town", vocalist Eddie Vedder stated that "it was so quick." He elaborated further: