Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
In the quiet silent seconds I, I turned off the light switch
And I, I came down to meet you in the half light the moon left
While a, a cluster of night jars sang some songs out of tune
A mantle of bright light shone down from a room
Come down in time I still hear her say
So clear in my ear like it was today
Come down in time was the message she gave
Come down in time and I'll meet you half way
Well I don't know if I should have heard her as yet
But a, a true love like hers is a, a hard love to get
And I've, I've walked most all the way and I, I ain't heard her call
And I, I'm getting to thinking if she's coming at all
Come down in time I still hear her say
So clear in my ear like it was today
Come down in time was the message she gave
Come down in time and I'll meet you half way
There are women, women, and some hold you tight
While some leave you counting the stars in the night
And I, I came down to meet you in the half light the moon left
While a, a cluster of night jars sang some songs out of tune
A mantle of bright light shone down from a room
Come down in time I still hear her say
So clear in my ear like it was today
Come down in time was the message she gave
Come down in time and I'll meet you half way
Well I don't know if I should have heard her as yet
But a, a true love like hers is a, a hard love to get
And I've, I've walked most all the way and I, I ain't heard her call
And I, I'm getting to thinking if she's coming at all
Come down in time I still hear her say
So clear in my ear like it was today
Come down in time was the message she gave
Come down in time and I'll meet you half way
There are women, women, and some hold you tight
While some leave you counting the stars in the night
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Mountain Song
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Hey, anyone hear Sting's version on the Tribute Album for Bernie and Elton? Great song, great lyrics. AND I can relate to the last part since I have been left counting the stars in the night one time too many. Damn.
Peace
I think it's about how a memories are more distinct if they're emotionally loaded - and they can be at once positive and negative. It could also be about promises coming true or not coming true - she said come down in time and I'll meet you half way but now he's left counting stars in the night without her.
The music tracks with the emotion, from the crushing sorrow of the verse to the empty promise in the chorus to the face-punch of the final line of the chorus.
Like a few songs on Tumbleweed Connection, it grows and grows on you until you think it's so awesome you're not sure why it wasn't a bigger hit- but it's just too gorgeous to hit people with the immediacy of a pop/radio hit.
way under rated. wonderful, wonderful song.
"And I'm getting to thinking, If she's coming at all."
One of the saddest lines in song.
This song haunts me . Only Elton and Bernie could make art like this happen . I listen to it over and over trying to figure out why it's so soulful and beautiful . Tumbleweed version , live in Tokyo and Stings version as well .
I looked up Nightjar , it's a small nocturnal bird. : ) "And I'm gettin to thinkin' if she's comin' at all"
Kent
a lucid dream, perhaps, about a person you are deeply attracted to in real life and would like to be engaged with them romantically in real or a lucid dream about someone you do not even know, but attracted to in the dream. The reason I think it is about a dream is because Night Jars birds are nocturnal. Also cutting out then night lights could be symbolizing going to sleep. 'Come down in time' is the person you see in the dream telling you to hurry before you wake up and miss her. Sadly, the person never got really talk to the person again..because they woke up. Playing with translation here, but trying to decipher anything a brilliant writer like Bernie Taupin put down on paper is difficult. I just know that this is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. The whole Album, Tumbleweed Connection' is perfection. Not many writers have accomplished with Bernie and Elton have. Thanks to them both.
@auraj I wrote this early in the morning and read back over it. I need to put it in more simpler terms. Hehe<br /> <br /> Seems like a lucid dream about someone you know or just met in the dream. You are strongly attracted to the person in the dream. The reason I think it is about a dream is because Night Jars are nocturnal and cutting the off the night lights symbolize going to sleep. "Come down in time "means hurry up to see me, before you wake up.Well, you woke up and may not see the person from the dream again..
I don't know of another song that halts mid-sentence like this. It is trying to capture the indecision of the person in this situation. He thinks he's found true love, but he is not with her. He remembers there was a spark, she wanted him once, and he is stuck waiting, just as the listener is hanging, waiting for the song's line to complete when the singer pauses. He's hurting for sure. The birds are out of tune, and the oboe ends its phrase on a sour note, an accidental. It's an interesting dynamic isn't it? Bernie Taupin could write knowingly about relationships with women, and Elton would sing them, though I imagine he was tapping into his memories of the men he had been with to give his singing of it emotion. Listen closely to the orchestration in the original, it is masterful.
One of this song's subtle beauties is the unique arrangement that emphasizes conjunctions in the lyrics by pausing for them and setting them apart, adding an elusive feeling..."there are women women AND some hold you tight WHILE some leave you counting THE stars in the night". The whole song is remarkable in that way, with the unique cadence emphases. Bernie wrote the lyrics, of course, but Elton turns in a remarkably restrained and beautiful performance here - easily one of the best things he's ever done.
Why hasn't anybody commented on this song? Its fantastic!!
Yes, indeed it's been far too long a wait, but I agree it's an impossibly delicate song from Elton and Bernie. One of the few times they came together to achieve perfection.