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."
Are you not entertained?
Are you not entertained?
Is this not why you're here?
Uh, uh, huh
Turn the music up
Turn me down
Guru, let's go get 'em again
This time it's for the money my nigga
Brooklyn stand up
There's never been a nigga this good for this long
This hood
Or this pop is hot
Or this strong
With so many different flows
This one's for this song
The next one I'll switch up
This one will get bit up
These fucks
To lazy to make up shit
They crazy
They don't paint pictures
They just trace me
You know what
Soon they forget who they plucked
They whole style from
And try to reverse the outcome
I'm like, cluck
I'm not a biter
I'm a writer
For myself and others
I say a B.I.G. verse I'm only biggin' up my brother
Biggin' up my borough
I'm big enough to do it
I'm that thorough
Plus I know my own flow is foolish
So the rings and things you sing about
Bring 'em out
It's hard to yell when the barrel's in your mouth
I'm in, new sneakers
Deuce seaters
A few divas
What more can I tell you?
Let me spell it for you
W-i-double L-I-E
Nobody truer than H-O-V
And I'm back for more
New York's ambassador
Prime Minister back to finish my business up
What more can I say?
What more can I do?
I give this all to you
I know this much is true
My life
(Look at my life)
(See what I see)
What more can I say to you
You heard it all
You already know what I'm about
Flying birds down south
Moving wet off the step
Purple Rain in the drought
Stunting on hoes
Brushing off my shirt
But ain't nothing on my clothes
Except my chain
My name
Young H-O
Pitch the yea faithful
Even if they patrol I make payroll
Benz paid for
Friends they roll
Private jets down to Turks and Caicos
Chrys' case loads
I don't give a shit
Nigga one life to live I can't let a day go
Bye
Without me being fly
Fresh to death
Head to toe until the day I rest
And I don't wear jerseys I'm thirty plus
Give me a crisp pair of jeans nigga button ups
S dots on my feet
Makes my cycle complete
What more can I say Guru play the beat
We gonna let this ride into the hook
I'ma snap my fingers on this one
What more can I say to you?
Get my grown man on
Let's go!
(What more can I say?)
Now you know ass is Willie
When they got you in a mag
For like half a billi
And your ass ain't Lily
White
That mean that shit you write must be illy
Either that or your flow is silly
It's both
I don't mean to boast
But damn if I don't brag
Them crackers gonna act like I ain't on they ads
The Martha Stewart
That's far from Jewish
Far from a Harvard student
Just had the balls to do it
And no I'm not through with it
In fact I'm just previewing it
This ain't the show I'm just EQ'in it
One, two and I won't stop abusing it
To groupie girls stop false accusing it
Back to the music
The Maybach roof is translucent
Niggas got a problem Houston
What up B?
They can't shut up me
Shut down I
Not even P.E.
I'ma ride
God forgive me for my brash delivery
But I remember vividly
What these streets did to me
So picture me
Letting these clowns nit pick at me
Paint me like a pickanniny
I will literally
Kiss Tee-Tee in the forehead
Tell her please forgive me
Then squeeze until your forehead
I'm not the one to score points off
In fact
I got a joint to knock your points off
Young
Hova the God nigga blast for me
I'm at the Trump International
Ask for me
I ain't never scared
I'm everywhere
You ain't never there
Nigga why would I ever care?
Pound for pound I'm the best to ever come around here
Excluding nobody
Look what I embody
The soul of a hustler I really ran the street
I CEO's mine
That marketing plan was me
And no I ain't get shot up a whole bunch of times
Or make up shit in a whole bunch of lines
And I ain't animated, like say a, Busta Rhymes
But the real shit you get when you bust down my lines
Add that to the fact I went plat' a bunch of times
Times that by my influence
On pop culture
I supposed to be number one on everybody's list
We'll see what happens when I no longer exist
Fuck this
(What more can I say?)
Are you not entertained?
Is this not why you're here?
Uh, uh, huh
Turn the music up
Turn me down
Guru, let's go get 'em again
This time it's for the money my nigga
Brooklyn stand up
There's never been a nigga this good for this long
This hood
Or this pop is hot
Or this strong
With so many different flows
This one's for this song
The next one I'll switch up
This one will get bit up
These fucks
To lazy to make up shit
They crazy
They don't paint pictures
They just trace me
You know what
Soon they forget who they plucked
They whole style from
And try to reverse the outcome
I'm like, cluck
I'm not a biter
I'm a writer
For myself and others
I say a B.I.G. verse I'm only biggin' up my brother
Biggin' up my borough
I'm big enough to do it
I'm that thorough
Plus I know my own flow is foolish
So the rings and things you sing about
Bring 'em out
It's hard to yell when the barrel's in your mouth
I'm in, new sneakers
Deuce seaters
A few divas
What more can I tell you?
Let me spell it for you
W-i-double L-I-E
Nobody truer than H-O-V
And I'm back for more
New York's ambassador
Prime Minister back to finish my business up
What more can I say?
What more can I do?
I give this all to you
I know this much is true
My life
(Look at my life)
(See what I see)
What more can I say to you
You heard it all
You already know what I'm about
Flying birds down south
Moving wet off the step
Purple Rain in the drought
Stunting on hoes
Brushing off my shirt
But ain't nothing on my clothes
Except my chain
My name
Young H-O
Pitch the yea faithful
Even if they patrol I make payroll
Benz paid for
Friends they roll
Private jets down to Turks and Caicos
Chrys' case loads
I don't give a shit
Nigga one life to live I can't let a day go
Bye
Without me being fly
Fresh to death
Head to toe until the day I rest
And I don't wear jerseys I'm thirty plus
Give me a crisp pair of jeans nigga button ups
S dots on my feet
Makes my cycle complete
What more can I say Guru play the beat
We gonna let this ride into the hook
I'ma snap my fingers on this one
What more can I say to you?
Get my grown man on
Let's go!
(What more can I say?)
Now you know ass is Willie
When they got you in a mag
For like half a billi
And your ass ain't Lily
White
That mean that shit you write must be illy
Either that or your flow is silly
It's both
I don't mean to boast
But damn if I don't brag
Them crackers gonna act like I ain't on they ads
The Martha Stewart
That's far from Jewish
Far from a Harvard student
Just had the balls to do it
And no I'm not through with it
In fact I'm just previewing it
This ain't the show I'm just EQ'in it
One, two and I won't stop abusing it
To groupie girls stop false accusing it
Back to the music
The Maybach roof is translucent
Niggas got a problem Houston
What up B?
They can't shut up me
Shut down I
Not even P.E.
I'ma ride
God forgive me for my brash delivery
But I remember vividly
What these streets did to me
So picture me
Letting these clowns nit pick at me
Paint me like a pickanniny
I will literally
Kiss Tee-Tee in the forehead
Tell her please forgive me
Then squeeze until your forehead
I'm not the one to score points off
In fact
I got a joint to knock your points off
Young
Hova the God nigga blast for me
I'm at the Trump International
Ask for me
I ain't never scared
I'm everywhere
You ain't never there
Nigga why would I ever care?
Pound for pound I'm the best to ever come around here
Excluding nobody
Look what I embody
The soul of a hustler I really ran the street
I CEO's mine
That marketing plan was me
And no I ain't get shot up a whole bunch of times
Or make up shit in a whole bunch of lines
And I ain't animated, like say a, Busta Rhymes
But the real shit you get when you bust down my lines
Add that to the fact I went plat' a bunch of times
Times that by my influence
On pop culture
I supposed to be number one on everybody's list
We'll see what happens when I no longer exist
Fuck this
(What more can I say?)
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