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 don't know just how this happened,
I didn't think it ever could,
I'm the author of sappy love songs,
Trading in my bachelorhood.
Something snapped deep inside me,
Something that somebody said,
I felt the brush of angels wings then,
Your voice echoed in my head.
Chorus:
Ugly Day the sun is shining,
Every cloud's got a silver lining.
Ugly day the skies are blue,
Now every day is ugly without you.
You're the one pure thing,
That I've always prayed for.
Scales are falling from my eyes,
I must have been so blind before.
I would lie down on the street,
To keep the dust off of your feet,
I would kneel each time I kissed you,
Anything Christie I miss you.
Today was an ugly one,
Just like all the others.
All the flowers and the birds,
Making me feel smothered.
I would lie down on the street,
To keep the dust off your feet,
I would kneel each time I kissed you,
Anything Christie I miss you.
I didn't think it ever could,
I'm the author of sappy love songs,
Trading in my bachelorhood.
Something snapped deep inside me,
Something that somebody said,
I felt the brush of angels wings then,
Your voice echoed in my head.
Chorus:
Ugly Day the sun is shining,
Every cloud's got a silver lining.
Ugly day the skies are blue,
Now every day is ugly without you.
You're the one pure thing,
That I've always prayed for.
Scales are falling from my eyes,
I must have been so blind before.
I would lie down on the street,
To keep the dust off of your feet,
I would kneel each time I kissed you,
Anything Christie I miss you.
Today was an ugly one,
Just like all the others.
All the flowers and the birds,
Making me feel smothered.
I would lie down on the street,
To keep the dust off your feet,
I would kneel each time I kissed you,
Anything Christie I miss you.
Lyrics submitted by ThreeMilesDown
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.
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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Okay, so he gave an outline of the breakup on the new DVD. She was living somewhere else out of the country I believe and she had grown emotionally distant and one day she called and didn't want to continue the relationship. So yeah. It's sad.
i love this song...it reminds me of my boyfriend...awww
This is definantly one of my to fave FIF songs. Just listening to it makes me happy (which is a little wierd since it isn't supposed to be) but i am curious...who is Christie?
I believe Christie was Reese's fiance at the time... yet they are no longer engaged, it was broken off. At least, this is what I think. I'm far from knowledgable of FIF bio stuff. I'm somewhat new to their music.
he became a homo and she found out and broke it off
uh.... yeah, torska, that's it >
Blast! I had a whole reply written up and such, and apparantly it only put up the first part... lemme try to recreate it... "uh... yeah, torska, that's it. /sarcasm Anyway, from what I've heard, Reese was engaged (I guess her name was Christie, judging by the lyrics) and like the day before (that could have been an exaggeration by my friend) she called him up and said she never wanted to see him again. Ouch. Also, he also wrote another song about it called Independence Day for the Brave Saint Saturn side project. There might be another song or two about it, too tired to think right now, so, uh... yeah."
Christie is a girl Reese proposed to, She agreed. They were engaged, then she started having second thoughts, so she broke it off. Reese went into this depression and wrote and wrote and wrote. this song, along with Hurricanes is a song he wrote after the loss of his would-be wife, Christie.
this song, along with almost every brave saint saturn song, and with quite a few FIF songs, helps me realize and admire reese and how mature he is in his walk. he always seems to turn the bad situations around into either a comedy (blue comb '78) or a happy song like this one and independence day (BSS), or even mature songs by brave saint saturn like two twenty nine, gloria, and under bridges.
this is one of my all time faves. its adorable, meaningful and catchy.