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."
I met this girl, she looked like Axl Rose
Got drunk and took her home and we slept in our clothes
In the morning put my feet on the floor and thought
Being awake never felt like this before
And Julianne ya know she wouldn't approve
Talked all day on the phone 'cause I had nothing to do
Got rid of Axl by the afternoon
Being awake never felt so clear and blue
That's all I knew
Guess that I was innocent too
I'll sing a song and it won't be the blues
Cause I don't miss Julianne
My friend she told me she felt sorry for me
She said the truth would come crashing down on me
That I'd be sorry but the truth of it is
That I feel guilty for not giving a shit
That's all I knew
Guess that I was innocent too
I'll sing a song and it won't be the blues
Cause I don't miss Julianne
I got my bag of trash
I got my bag of trash
I drag it up and down, I drag it up and down the road
How could she miss a man
Who drags a bag of trash down the road
This week I feel like I been born again
I knew that Julianne would have a fit
She'd find a reason for the things that I did
And gave me credit for the things that I've never been
That's all I knew
Guess that I was innocent too
I can try just as hard as I can
But I don't miss Julianne
That's all I knew
Guess that I was innocent too
I can try just as hard as I can
But I don't miss Julianne
Got drunk and took her home and we slept in our clothes
In the morning put my feet on the floor and thought
Being awake never felt like this before
And Julianne ya know she wouldn't approve
Talked all day on the phone 'cause I had nothing to do
Got rid of Axl by the afternoon
Being awake never felt so clear and blue
That's all I knew
Guess that I was innocent too
I'll sing a song and it won't be the blues
Cause I don't miss Julianne
My friend she told me she felt sorry for me
She said the truth would come crashing down on me
That I'd be sorry but the truth of it is
That I feel guilty for not giving a shit
That's all I knew
Guess that I was innocent too
I'll sing a song and it won't be the blues
Cause I don't miss Julianne
I got my bag of trash
I got my bag of trash
I drag it up and down, I drag it up and down the road
How could she miss a man
Who drags a bag of trash down the road
This week I feel like I been born again
I knew that Julianne would have a fit
She'd find a reason for the things that I did
And gave me credit for the things that I've never been
That's all I knew
Guess that I was innocent too
I can try just as hard as I can
But I don't miss Julianne
That's all I knew
Guess that I was innocent too
I can try just as hard as I can
But I don't miss Julianne
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
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.
this song is just an open explanation to what really goes on in some (most) relationships that most people want to pretend doesn't happen... it really makes the cheater look like an ass either way.
Glad I'm not Julianne.
Wow, never thought of this to be about cheating, but hey, Julianne was probably a bitch anyway :)
so any person that gets cheated on is a bitch? i think it has more to do with the restraint of the cheater that the character of the cheated
Sure the cheater's confused- he's with a bitch. I didn't think he cheated though, i mean, they slept in their clothes didnt they?! I had a girl like Julianne and girls that try to run your life and are disappointed in you when you quit your job, tend to take dumping quite harshly. That's what i felt guilty for- nice enough girl otherwise but when i came to my senses, i couldn give a shit :)
..even had a girlfriend that looked like axl rose.. but i still like her!...
I don't think we are supposed to assume Julianne is a bitch. The only thing he says about her is that he doesn't miss her and that she would be angry if she found out that he spent the night with another woman. I'd say that sounds pretty reasonable. And even if he didn't actually have sex with the Axl Rose woman, it's definitely pretty sketchy to get her drunk and spend the night together when you have a girlfriend. It could just be that he felt trapped in a relationship that didn't make him happy. Hanging out with the other woman made him realize that he wanted something more out of a relationship. I've had revelations like that, and it didn't mean that my boyfriend was a dick; it just meant that he and I weren't working out. I think that's the message here.
1)I had never thought that he cheated. The last verse might be able to put out a case for it, but I always thought Axl happened after the narrator was through with Julianne. "You know that julianne/She would have a fit" The tense of "would" makes me think that she either hasn't found out yet, or won't find out. Other stanzas lead me to believe that the dumpage has already gone down.
2)I believe that Julianne was a genuine bitch. He's using the image of "dragging a bag of trash" to Julianne. Sounds like he really thought she was a caring, sensitive, worth while lady, didn'he? Did you compare your non-dickish boyfriend to a bag of trash?
This song has a really confident, satisfied sound to it. If Julianne were a better person to the narrator, it would probably sound more like Where's Summer B.? instead of Uncle Walter, you know what I'm saying?
Peace.
i think this song is actually just about a nowhere relationship, a stupid one night stand when she happened up at his house when they got drunk. nothing even happend, but she got emotionally attatched and bitchy.
and he feels bad because it never meant anything to him, and is just trying to get rid of her because she is too much for him
The line of "We slept in our clothes", I think is "We slept in HER clothes". Which does make an awful lot more sense.