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."
Over and over and over again
I say that were just friends
Forget the implications
Infatuations end
If loves so easy, why is it hard
I can't imagine ever being apart
I'll come back to you
It'd be brand new
But I promise
We're just friends
Over and over and over again
I try to make amends
For everything I've done wrong
My whole world just spins
Make some coffee, hold me up
Try to talk me out of giving up
I'll come back to you
It'll be brand new
But I promise
We're just friends
I say that were just friends
Forget the implications
Infatuations end
If loves so easy, why is it hard
I can't imagine ever being apart
I'll come back to you
It'd be brand new
But I promise
We're just friends
Over and over and over again
I try to make amends
For everything I've done wrong
My whole world just spins
Make some coffee, hold me up
Try to talk me out of giving up
I'll come back to you
It'll be brand new
But I promise
We're just friends
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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.
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.
Hey, Jeff Tweedy, wanna stop writing songs about my life? Actually, keep doing it, but stop making me want to cry, thanks.
It seems like whenever a woman breaks it off with a man, they still want to be just friends. When the man ends up staying friends, they usually want more -- a reconciliation of the relationship.
He regrets all the ways he fucked up in the relationship and is trying to tell her it won't be like last time -- I'm different now. I promise we're just friends though, if that's the only way I can have you, I'll take what I can get.
This kind of reminds me of when I was in middle school in a lot of ways. Which is ridiculous cause a beautiful song like this shouldn't be related to something so juvenile.
But uhm. I started hanging out with a friend of mine's older brother and his friends. He was two years older. And at the time that seemed like a very large gap. He was really cute. And I was very awkward at the time.
One of his friends would constantly make jokes about how apparently we were secretly in love cause we had so much stuff in common, I guess. Or something like that. I always relentlessly denied it. My self esteem was low so I mostly thought they were just being mean to me.
He and I actually became bestfriends for awhile. And I eventually did develop feelings for him - two years later. And about that time I found out that those jokes weren't just slander. He had divulged to his friend that he liked me but that guy being the asshole that he is thought it would be funny to razz him about it. I had been rejecting him so harshly for so long he really did just see me as a friend. So I just kept having to say it every time one of those stupid jokes was made.
He and I talked about it much later. I see this song as his point of view.
i love the simplicity of this song.
My whole world just spins** right?
This song hits close to home these days...
My Purple-Black Eye, the lyrics "My whole world just ends" are correct. He's saying that he regrets all the wrong things he's done that ended the relationship so much that he feels like his world is over.
It should be "try to talk me out of giving* up"
i hate this song because it hurts to listen
It hurts to listen to this song, but I can't NOT listen to it.
I love how you can hear the pain in his voice.