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."
Me and my, uh, mother and father
And a grandmother and grandfather
Were driving through the desert, at dawn
And a truck load of Indian workers had
Either hit another car, or just
I don't know what happened
But there were Indians scattered
All over the highway, bleeding to death
So the car pulls up and stops
That was the first time I tasted fear
I musta been about four
Like a child is like a flower
His head is just floating in the breeze, man
The reaction I get now thinking about it, looking back
Is that the souls of the ghosts of those dead Indians
Maybe one or two of 'em
Were just running around freaking out
And just leaped into my soul
And they're still in there
And a grandmother and grandfather
Were driving through the desert, at dawn
And a truck load of Indian workers had
Either hit another car, or just
I don't know what happened
But there were Indians scattered
All over the highway, bleeding to death
So the car pulls up and stops
That was the first time I tasted fear
I musta been about four
Like a child is like a flower
His head is just floating in the breeze, man
The reaction I get now thinking about it, looking back
Is that the souls of the ghosts of those dead Indians
Maybe one or two of 'em
Were just running around freaking out
And just leaped into my soul
And they're still in there
Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira
Dawn's Highway Lyrics as written by John Paul Densmore Jim Morrison
Lyrics © Doors Music Company
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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HOw did none of you doors fans not comment on this? This is Jim Morrison saying where it all began man I mean c'mon.
this recording chills me. listen to in at night, in darkness, with only silence surrounding you.. i actually get quivers, feeling as though i understand exactly what he means by leaped into his soul.. i love it. jim morrison= genius ♥
Jim Morrison did actually witness a car accident as a small child involving Native American Indians out in the desert. Whether Jim actually believed that there was Indigenous American souls running around in his head is a topic for debate.
He's also commenting on how impressionable children can be. One event can create a person. Especially if it happens to him or her at an extremely young age.
In a couple of his songs, (Peace Frog, Ghost song) he mentions this quote, "Indians scattered on dawns highway bleeding, Ghosts crowd the young child's fragile, eggshell mind."