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."
A cloud of eiderdown
Draws around me
Softening a sound
Sleepy time, and I lie
With my love by my side
And she's breathing low
And the candle dies
When night comes down
You lock the door
The book falls to the floor
As darkness falls
The waves roll by
The seasons change
The wind is warm
Now wakes the owl
Now sleeps the swan
Behold the dream
The dream is gone
Green fields, a cold rain
Is falling, in a golden dawn
And deep beneath the ground
The early morning sounds
And I go down
Sleepy time, and I lie
With my love by my side
And she's breathing low
And I rise, like a bird
In the haze, when the first rays
Touch the sky
And the night wings die
Draws around me
Softening a sound
Sleepy time, and I lie
With my love by my side
And she's breathing low
And the candle dies
When night comes down
You lock the door
The book falls to the floor
As darkness falls
The waves roll by
The seasons change
The wind is warm
Now wakes the owl
Now sleeps the swan
Behold the dream
The dream is gone
Green fields, a cold rain
Is falling, in a golden dawn
And deep beneath the ground
The early morning sounds
And I go down
Sleepy time, and I lie
With my love by my side
And she's breathing low
And I rise, like a bird
In the haze, when the first rays
Touch the sky
And the night wings die
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae, edited by Mellow_Harsher, DougJones, Jaxion08
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ok I'm completely astounded that no one has said anything about this song! wow....this is one of the best songs I've ever heard in my fucking life. could a song be more beautiful and dreamy??? I think I would even go as far as to say that this is my favorite Pink Floyd song
I have a ritual with my 5 year old daughter, where I comb her hair and play a few Pink Floyd songs of the Discovery box set I got her and sing along softly. This is one of Mt favorites and most memorable of songs to sing to her. One of my most pleasing moments as a father sorry far is not only doing that with her, but that she's totally receptive to it and just sits there enjoying her dad sing to her.
Today, I lost my precious dog of 13.5 years who's been with me and got me through everything. She instantly took to my little girl when I first brought her home from the hospital. My dog would not leave her side, ever. My daughter has grown up with her, viewing her as a true member of the family.
As I sit and try to find just the right music tonight, I came across Pillow of Winds, and it's hit the spot just right, in a whole new light. All these memories with the two most dear to me girls in my life have been gliding softly through my mind with this song playing.
All that said, this is one of the most beautiful songs ever created, and I have a whole different outlook on it today.
"Sleepy time, and I lie. With my love by my side, and she's breathing low. "
Rest in peace, my love.
I apologize for the typos. Auto correct and had to rush.
@Floyd4Life <br /> I'm really so very sorry to hear about your dog. I also lost my sweet 13.5 year-old dog in September. I have two young sons who loved her very much as well. I hope you and your daughter are doing well. Take care. Music helps a lot, it's true.
@Floyd4Life
@Floyd4Life I will not take my dog for granted then, I’m sorry for your loss. Granted it was 3 years ago but I have an almost 15 year old dog who has been coming down with fevers for a while now. I love this song but I think San Tropez is better :)
"A Pillow Of Winds"
"A cloud of eider down Draws around me softening the sound"
A 'cloud of eiderdown' is a pillow. The right-sized pillow tends to bunch up a little around your ears, muting the outside world. The song is very much about the otherworldliness of sleep.
"Sleepy time when I lie With my love by my side And she's breathing low And the candle dies."
A candle's dying can be both comforting and ominous.
"When night comes down you lock the door The book falls to the floor"
Or 'boot.' Either way, the daytime world is being put away and they are preparing for the night. Presumably they don't lock the door until they sleep. Otherwise they feel safe with the door unlocked as long as they are home and awake, even at night. But the time of sleep is different as one is truly defenseless against the night. The change to the minor key reminds us of the dual nature of night, it is life-giving but death-like and there is never a guarantee you will wake up.
"As darkness falls the waves roll by The seasons change The wind is warm."
Now they are truly asleep. But for long? When you are asleep you don't really have any sense of time passing. When we fall asleep are we prepared to hibernate? How much time passes when we are dreaming? In any case the wind's being warm is nice and it jumps back up to the earlier chord which sounds quite different in this minor context.
"Now wakes the owl, now sleeps the swan"
The natural order of opposites, day/night. wake/sleep, life/death etc.
"Behold a dream, the dream is gone"
The German word DunstEwigkeitZug (vapor + eternity +whiff) describes the moment when you wake up and you can still for a brief second remember the meaning of your dream and understand everything, and then quickly forget it.
"Green fields A cold rain is falling in a golden dawn."
The 'golden dawn' here is metaphorical because they have not yet woken up. The 'golden dawn' is the dreamscape and it has an implication of being an eden-like afterlife or a post-rapture world.
"And deep beneath the ground The early morning sounds and I go down"
The key change means they are now waking up.
"Sleepy time in my life With my love by my side And she's breathing low And I rise like a bird In the haze and the first rays touch the sky And the night winds die."
Having communed with death he rises like a Phoenix. The ominous night winds are gone.
@MCDIII I like your interpretation. Nice initials. Im also MCD although the II
@MCDIII I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there
dreamy.............in the realms of sleep...n back again into consciousness..back n forth till u finally enter the dream world
True this is another great song, relaxing, ot sort of spaves you out.
As noted by my comment on "One of these days" I believe that this is song is about the release most of us have at the end of an extremely stressful day. The stressful day is played out in "One of these days"
To me, its about laying down, falling asleep, and dreaming. I know there's more to it, but i just love playing this song in bed, it makes my imagination go wild for awhile, then relaxes me...
A GORGEOUS song - I fall to sleep by it (and 'Echoes') almost nightly.
I think it's simply a nice slice of cozy life, someplace we'd all like to be or have been - in a beautiful world you've conjured up in your head because you're in love. The world is magical and sensual and sleepy. It's an idealistic little painting of how perfect the world seems at that moment when you're happy. It's almost like a snapshot of contentment.
'Meddle' is a great album.
i do adore this song most of all on the Meddle album. although echoes is wonderfully written, this song is more instrumentally beautiful. listening to this song reminds me of that wonderful time right before you go to sleep with the person you love right next to you. a complete release of stress from the mind. i love you pink floyd
I don't know where to start. I can't put this feeling into words. I love this song.