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."
Walking home from work
Stop at the supermarket
The condiment aisle
A jar of pickles catches the eye
Made eye contact with a solitary pickle
But the jar took it home
Then made up the stairs
And made it through the doorway
And waded through the floor
Tried to head in the general direction of the bathroom
The truest room in the whole damn hous
saying love is the answer to a question that I
Have forgotten
And I know I've been asked
So the answer's got to be love
so feeding time with TV
Then sleeping time not sleepy so reading time with pickle
But where the bedside lamp had been
Is now emanating soft soft green
Has it always been this way?
Is it possible that all this magic went unnoticed?
maybe now things will start to change,
And life will turn a better page
No more rage.
saying love is the answer to a question that I
Have forgotten
But I know I've been asked
And the answer's got to be love
Love
Tomorrow back to work again
But run to the supermarket
Running hopeful through the aisles
Haven't been this happy in a long time
But not a single jar will smile
After hours
Man pickle jars are just pickle jars
And pickles are just pickles
Ingredients: water, salt, cucumbers, garlic, and pickling spices
But love is the answer to a question that I
Have forgotten
And I know I've been asked
And the answer's got to be love
Love is the answer to a question that I
Have forgotten
And I know I've been asked
And the answer's got to be love
And the answer's got to be love
And the answer's got to be love
And the answer's got to be love
Stop at the supermarket
The condiment aisle
A jar of pickles catches the eye
Made eye contact with a solitary pickle
But the jar took it home
Then made up the stairs
And made it through the doorway
And waded through the floor
Tried to head in the general direction of the bathroom
The truest room in the whole damn hous
saying love is the answer to a question that I
Have forgotten
And I know I've been asked
So the answer's got to be love
so feeding time with TV
Then sleeping time not sleepy so reading time with pickle
But where the bedside lamp had been
Is now emanating soft soft green
Has it always been this way?
Is it possible that all this magic went unnoticed?
maybe now things will start to change,
And life will turn a better page
No more rage.
saying love is the answer to a question that I
Have forgotten
But I know I've been asked
And the answer's got to be love
Love
Tomorrow back to work again
But run to the supermarket
Running hopeful through the aisles
Haven't been this happy in a long time
But not a single jar will smile
After hours
Man pickle jars are just pickle jars
And pickles are just pickles
Ingredients: water, salt, cucumbers, garlic, and pickling spices
But love is the answer to a question that I
Have forgotten
And I know I've been asked
And the answer's got to be love
Love is the answer to a question that I
Have forgotten
And I know I've been asked
And the answer's got to be love
And the answer's got to be love
And the answer's got to be love
And the answer's got to be love
Lyrics submitted by TheBeff, edited by kiackley90, iSWORD
Reading Time with Pickle Lyrics as written by Regina Spektor
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
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No Surprises
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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.
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.
I love this song so much.
Regina can put a story into a song and making it heart-warming, shocking, funny- she is amazing with words.
When I hear this song I feel happy. She is reminding people that love can exist and it is always there but nowadays it appears not to be ("Has it always been this way? Is it possible that all of this magic went unnoticed?").
Regina is trying to say there is so many negative things happening in the world today people fail to realise that love is the answer to true happiness- "love is the answer to a question that I have forgotten." Maybe Regina is trying to say that because of all of the war going on in the world love is going unnoticed- "life will turn a better page, no more rage."
I think the "pickles" are symbolic in this song. They represent love. When the girl "made eye contact with a solitary pickle" she feels that she needs to care for them, maybe she feels that she is lacking someone in her life that can give her affection, therefore cares for the pickles and treats them like a child, she is the mother figure- "so feeding time with TV, then sleeping time not sleepy, so reading time with pickle."
Halfway through the song the character realises that love can still be found in the world, it still exists, and her jar of pickles are..well..just a jar of pickles, not someone or something that can show love and care towards her like she showed towards them- "After all, pickle jars are just pickles, and pickles are just pickles." When she returns the pickles, she feels happy and knows that it is still possible to find love in a world full of pain and suffering.
:) Hope this has came in useful to anyone.
Would be glad to hear anybodys ideas! x