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."
Save the planet for another day.
("Attention shoppers,
Buy with a conscience and save.")
Save the planet for another day.
("Save Alaska!
Let the caribou stay.")
Don't care what the governments say.
("They're all bought
and paid for anyway.")
Save the planet for another day.
("Hey Big Oil!
What do you say?")
We were runnin' through the night,
Never knowin' if we would see the light.
Paranoid schizophrenic visions,
Livin in fear of the wrong decisions.
We got to wake up,
We got to keep goin.
If they follow us
There's no way of knowin'.
We got a job to do.
We got to save Mother Earth.
Be the ocean when it meets the sky.
("You can make a difference.
If you really try.")
Be the magic in the Northern lights.
("Six Days...
Six nights.")
Be the river as it rolls along.
("It has three eyed fish.
And it's smellin' strong.")
Be the rain you remember fallin'.
("Be the rain.
Be the rain.")
Yeah rain was fallin' and we're soakin' wet.
Hail is beatin' down on our head.
The wind is blowin' through our hair,
Faces frozen in the frigid air.
We got to get there...
Alaska.
We got to be there,
Before the big machines.
We got a job to do.
We got to save Mother Earth.
Dream the hunter on the Western plain.
("The birds are all gone.
Where did they go?")
Dream the fisherman in his boat.
("He's comin home empty.
He's barely afloat.")
Dream the logger in the great Northwest.
("They're runnin out of trees.
They got to give it a rest.")
Dream the farmer in the old heartland.
("Corporate greed and chemicals
Are killin' the land.")
Next mornin' Sun was up at dawn.
She looked around and Earth was gone.
Dark visions he had last night.
He needed peace, he needed light.
He heard the rumble
And he saw the big machines.
The Green Army rose
And it was a bad dream.
He had a job to do.
He had to save Mother Earth.
Be the ocean when it meets the sky.
("Greek freighters are dumping
Crap somewhere right now.")
Be the magic in the Northern lights.
("The ice is melting!")
Be the river as it rolls along.
("Toxic waste dumpin'
From corporate farms.")
Be the rain you remember fallin'.
("Be the rain.
Be the rain.")
Save the Planet for another day.
("Be the rain.
Be the rain.")
Be the river as it rolls along.
("Be the rain.
Be the rain.")
"Be the rain.
Be the rain."
("Attention shoppers,
Buy with a conscience and save.")
Save the planet for another day.
("Save Alaska!
Let the caribou stay.")
Don't care what the governments say.
("They're all bought
and paid for anyway.")
Save the planet for another day.
("Hey Big Oil!
What do you say?")
We were runnin' through the night,
Never knowin' if we would see the light.
Paranoid schizophrenic visions,
Livin in fear of the wrong decisions.
We got to wake up,
We got to keep goin.
If they follow us
There's no way of knowin'.
We got a job to do.
We got to save Mother Earth.
Be the ocean when it meets the sky.
("You can make a difference.
If you really try.")
Be the magic in the Northern lights.
("Six Days...
Six nights.")
Be the river as it rolls along.
("It has three eyed fish.
And it's smellin' strong.")
Be the rain you remember fallin'.
("Be the rain.
Be the rain.")
Yeah rain was fallin' and we're soakin' wet.
Hail is beatin' down on our head.
The wind is blowin' through our hair,
Faces frozen in the frigid air.
We got to get there...
Alaska.
We got to be there,
Before the big machines.
We got a job to do.
We got to save Mother Earth.
Dream the hunter on the Western plain.
("The birds are all gone.
Where did they go?")
Dream the fisherman in his boat.
("He's comin home empty.
He's barely afloat.")
Dream the logger in the great Northwest.
("They're runnin out of trees.
They got to give it a rest.")
Dream the farmer in the old heartland.
("Corporate greed and chemicals
Are killin' the land.")
Next mornin' Sun was up at dawn.
She looked around and Earth was gone.
Dark visions he had last night.
He needed peace, he needed light.
He heard the rumble
And he saw the big machines.
The Green Army rose
And it was a bad dream.
He had a job to do.
He had to save Mother Earth.
Be the ocean when it meets the sky.
("Greek freighters are dumping
Crap somewhere right now.")
Be the magic in the Northern lights.
("The ice is melting!")
Be the river as it rolls along.
("Toxic waste dumpin'
From corporate farms.")
Be the rain you remember fallin'.
("Be the rain.
Be the rain.")
Save the Planet for another day.
("Be the rain.
Be the rain.")
Be the river as it rolls along.
("Be the rain.
Be the rain.")
"Be the rain.
Be the rain."
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
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.
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
I Love This Song But It Seems A Weird Way To End The Greendale Album. I'm Left Wanting To Hear More About The Whole Green Family Earl Green's Paintings The Devil Jed Green Etc. I Got Kind Of Tired Of Sun Green By The End Of Her Song (Right Before This) But Either Way, As A Stand-Alone Song, This Is Still Classic Neil Young Magic.