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."
Here's to the bruised and the broken hearted
Here's to dear friends now departed
Here's to the lonely here's to the lost
Here's to those who love at a cost
Here's to the bitter and the reviled
Here's to the rejected child
Here's to those who don't have a hope
Here's to all of us in the same boat
Here's to you and here's to me
Only time's gonna set us free
Beautiful losers
You beautiful losers
Here's to you and here's to me
Here's to our philosophy
You beautiful losers
I'm gonna take all your bruises away
Away
Away
We'll be winners at the end of the day
Here's to the talentless and the trying
Here's to those who are always crying
Here's to the fearful, here's to the faint
Here's to time that'll make you a saint
Here's to the broken, here's to the bent
Here's to you all heaven sent
Here's to those that are lost at sea
Here's to the time that'll set you free
Here's to you and here's to me
Only time's gonna set us free
Beautiful losers
You beautiful losers
Here's to you and here's to me
Here's to our philosophy
You beautiful losers
I'm gonna take all your bruises away
Away
Away
We'll be winners at the end of the day
Here's to rain
Here's to thunder
Here's to those that are trodden under
Here's to darkness
Here's to death
Here's to each fading breath
Here's to sorrow
Here's to pain
Here's to heartache once again
Here's to you
Here's to me
Only time's gonna set us free
Free
Set us free
And when we die we're gonna go dancing
At that nightclub in the sky
When we die we're gonna go dancing
At that nightclub in the sky
When we die we're gonna go dancing
At that nightclub in the sky
You beautiful losers
I'm gonna take all your bruises away
Beautiful losers
I'm gonna take all your bruises away
You beautiful losers
I'm gonna kiss all your bruises away
Beautiful losers
I'm gonna kiss all your bruises away
Beautiful losers
You'll be winners at the end of the day
Here's to dear friends now departed
Here's to the lonely here's to the lost
Here's to those who love at a cost
Here's to the bitter and the reviled
Here's to the rejected child
Here's to those who don't have a hope
Here's to all of us in the same boat
Here's to you and here's to me
Only time's gonna set us free
Beautiful losers
You beautiful losers
Here's to you and here's to me
Here's to our philosophy
You beautiful losers
I'm gonna take all your bruises away
Away
Away
We'll be winners at the end of the day
Here's to the talentless and the trying
Here's to those who are always crying
Here's to the fearful, here's to the faint
Here's to time that'll make you a saint
Here's to the broken, here's to the bent
Here's to you all heaven sent
Here's to those that are lost at sea
Here's to the time that'll set you free
Here's to you and here's to me
Only time's gonna set us free
Beautiful losers
You beautiful losers
Here's to you and here's to me
Here's to our philosophy
You beautiful losers
I'm gonna take all your bruises away
Away
Away
We'll be winners at the end of the day
Here's to rain
Here's to thunder
Here's to those that are trodden under
Here's to darkness
Here's to death
Here's to each fading breath
Here's to sorrow
Here's to pain
Here's to heartache once again
Here's to you
Here's to me
Only time's gonna set us free
Free
Set us free
And when we die we're gonna go dancing
At that nightclub in the sky
When we die we're gonna go dancing
At that nightclub in the sky
When we die we're gonna go dancing
At that nightclub in the sky
You beautiful losers
I'm gonna take all your bruises away
Beautiful losers
I'm gonna take all your bruises away
You beautiful losers
I'm gonna kiss all your bruises away
Beautiful losers
I'm gonna kiss all your bruises away
Beautiful losers
You'll be winners at the end of the day
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
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
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.