"Corduroy" is the eighth track on Pearl Jam's 1994 album, Vitalogy. Despite not being released as a single, the song managed to reach number 13 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song was included on Pearl Jam's greatest hits album, Rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991-2003.
"Corduroy" begins with an eerie riff played as an arpeggio of the first two notes of a power chord. Then the song lifts off, proceeding with a structure of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus-verse. Although not revolutionary, the song structure is not completely normal, as almost no lyrics are repeated (including choruses) and the fade-out of the song begins after a verse rather than the traditional ending of a song after the third chorus.
The song has become a concert favorite, although in concert it is generally played at a slightly faster tempo. Some live performances are preceded by a brief jam of Pink Floyd's "Interstellar Overdrive". Live performances of "Corduroy" can be found on the live albums Live on Two Legs and Live at the Gorge 05/06. Performances of the song are also included on the DVDs Touring Band 2000, Live at the Showbox, and Immagine In Cornice.
