"Jeremy" was inspired by the real-life tragedy of Jeremy Wade Delevingne
Jeremy Wade Delle's mother – the student who inspired Pearl Jam – spoke about the song for the first time.
Delle took his own life when he was 16 years old, in front of his classmates in 1991. Regarding the event, his mother, Wanda Crane, told WFAA that "the day he died doesn't define his life." She added: "He was a son, a brother, a nephew, a cousin, a grandson. He was a friend. He was talented."
Wanda remembers when she first heard the news about her son's death. “I was at work. I couldn't believe it. I was in shock. It couldn't be my son. I was going to pick him up from school that afternoon.”
As the song says, Delle was an artist in the making. “He won first place at the Texas State Fair,” Crane said. “He won best show. This was before he was 12 years old.”
A former classmate of the boy, Brittany King, was in the room during Delle's death. “Shock and fear overwhelmed my mind,” she said. “All the students ran to the back of the room and huddled together. This was a huge lesson for me. Life isn't all good things all the time. Tragedies happen, real things. It made me grow up very quickly, literally overnight.”
When asked about Pearl Jam's tribute, King replied: “I was angry with them for writing that song. I felt like they didn't know what happened. They weren't there. The story isn't accurate.”
Watch the video for “Jeremy” below:
https://youtu.be/MS91knuzoOA
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