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."
Across the border they turn water into wine
Some say it's the devil's blood
They're squeezing from the vine
Some say it's a savior
In these hard and desperate times
You see it helps me to forget that we're just born
To die
I came here like so many did to find a better life
To find my piece of easy street
To finally be alive
And I know nothing good comes easy
All good things take some time
I made my bed I'll lie in it
To die in it's the crime
You can't help but prosper
Where the streets are paved with gold
They say the oil wells ran deeper here than anybody's known
Now I packed up on my wife and kid
And left them both back at home
See there's nothing in this pay dirt
The ghosts are all I know
Now the oil's gone
And the money's gone
All the jobs are gone
Still we're hangin' on
Down in dry county
They're swimming in the sand
Praying for some holy water
To wash the sins from off our hands
Here in dry county
The promise has run dry
Where nobody cries
And no one's getting out of here alive (Not this time)
"In the blessed name of Jesus" I heard a preacher say
That we are all God's children
And He'd be back, back someday
I hoped that he knew something as he drank that cup of wine
I didn't have too good a feeling as I head out to the night
I cursed the sky to open
I begged the clouds for rain
I prayed all night for water
For this burning in my veins
It was like my soul's on fire
And I had to watch the flames
All my dreams went up in ashes
And my future blew away
Now the oil's gone
And the money's gone
All the jobs are gone
Still we're hangin' on
Down in dry county
They're swimming in the sand
Praying for some holy water
To wash these sins from off our hands
Here in dry county
The promise has run dry
Where nobody cries
And no one's getting out of here alive
Men spend their whole lives waiting
Prayin' for some big reward
But it seems sometimes the payoff
Leaves you feeling like a dirty whore
If I could choose the way I'd die
Make it by the gun or knife
'Cause the other way there's too much pain
Night after night after night after night
Down in dry county
Where they're swimming in the sand
Praying for some holy water
To wash the sins from off our hands
In dry county
The promise has run dry
Where nobody cries
No one's getting out of here
Dry county
And no one's getting out of here
Dry county
Some say it's the devil's blood
They're squeezing from the vine
Some say it's a savior
In these hard and desperate times
You see it helps me to forget that we're just born
To die
I came here like so many did to find a better life
To find my piece of easy street
To finally be alive
And I know nothing good comes easy
All good things take some time
I made my bed I'll lie in it
To die in it's the crime
You can't help but prosper
Where the streets are paved with gold
They say the oil wells ran deeper here than anybody's known
Now I packed up on my wife and kid
And left them both back at home
See there's nothing in this pay dirt
The ghosts are all I know
Now the oil's gone
And the money's gone
All the jobs are gone
Still we're hangin' on
Down in dry county
They're swimming in the sand
Praying for some holy water
To wash the sins from off our hands
Here in dry county
The promise has run dry
Where nobody cries
And no one's getting out of here alive (Not this time)
"In the blessed name of Jesus" I heard a preacher say
That we are all God's children
And He'd be back, back someday
I hoped that he knew something as he drank that cup of wine
I didn't have too good a feeling as I head out to the night
I cursed the sky to open
I begged the clouds for rain
I prayed all night for water
For this burning in my veins
It was like my soul's on fire
And I had to watch the flames
All my dreams went up in ashes
And my future blew away
Now the oil's gone
And the money's gone
All the jobs are gone
Still we're hangin' on
Down in dry county
They're swimming in the sand
Praying for some holy water
To wash these sins from off our hands
Here in dry county
The promise has run dry
Where nobody cries
And no one's getting out of here alive
Men spend their whole lives waiting
Prayin' for some big reward
But it seems sometimes the payoff
Leaves you feeling like a dirty whore
If I could choose the way I'd die
Make it by the gun or knife
'Cause the other way there's too much pain
Night after night after night after night
Down in dry county
Where they're swimming in the sand
Praying for some holy water
To wash the sins from off our hands
In dry county
The promise has run dry
Where nobody cries
No one's getting out of here
Dry county
And no one's getting out of here
Dry county
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae
Dry County Lyrics as written by Jon Bon Jovi
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
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.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
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.
"Across the border they turn water into wine..."
I'm a sucker for a great opening lyric, and, in my opinion that is one of the best ever written. It kind of sets the scene for the whole song and lets you know what it's about. I get chills whenever this song starts. Just amazing.