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 along beneath the lights of that miracle mile
Me and Mary making our way into the night
You can hear the cries from the carnival rides
The pinball bells, and the skee ball slides
Watching the summer sun fall out of sight
There's a warm wind coming in from off of the ocean
Making it's way past the hotel walls to fill the street
Mary is holding both of her shoes in her hand
Said she likes to feel the sand beneath her feet
And in the morning I'm leaving, making my way back to Cleveland
So tonight I hope that I will do just fine
And I don't see how you could ever be
Anything but mine
There's a local band playing at the seaside pavilion
And I got just enough cash to get us in
And as we are dancing, Mary's wrapping her arms around me
And I can feel the sting of summer on my skin
In the midst of the music
I tell her I love her
And we both laugh, 'cause we know it isn't true
Oh, but Mary, there's a summer drawing to an end tonight
And there's so much that I long to do to you
But in the morning I'm leaving, making my way back to Cleveland
So tonight I hope that I will do just fine
And I don't see how you could ever be
Anything but mine
Ooh
And in the morning I'm leaving, making my way back to Cleveland
So tonight I hope that I will do just fine
And I don't see how you could ever be
Anything but mine
Mary, I don't see how you could ever be
Anything but mine
Ooh
Ooh
In the morning I'm leaving, making my way back to Cleveland
So tonight I hope that I will do just fine
Hey, I don't see how you could ever be
Anything but mine
Me and Mary making our way into the night
You can hear the cries from the carnival rides
The pinball bells, and the skee ball slides
Watching the summer sun fall out of sight
There's a warm wind coming in from off of the ocean
Making it's way past the hotel walls to fill the street
Mary is holding both of her shoes in her hand
Said she likes to feel the sand beneath her feet
And in the morning I'm leaving, making my way back to Cleveland
So tonight I hope that I will do just fine
And I don't see how you could ever be
Anything but mine
There's a local band playing at the seaside pavilion
And I got just enough cash to get us in
And as we are dancing, Mary's wrapping her arms around me
And I can feel the sting of summer on my skin
In the midst of the music
I tell her I love her
And we both laugh, 'cause we know it isn't true
Oh, but Mary, there's a summer drawing to an end tonight
And there's so much that I long to do to you
But in the morning I'm leaving, making my way back to Cleveland
So tonight I hope that I will do just fine
And I don't see how you could ever be
Anything but mine
Ooh
And in the morning I'm leaving, making my way back to Cleveland
So tonight I hope that I will do just fine
And I don't see how you could ever be
Anything but mine
Mary, I don't see how you could ever be
Anything but mine
Ooh
Ooh
In the morning I'm leaving, making my way back to Cleveland
So tonight I hope that I will do just fine
Hey, I don't see how you could ever be
Anything but mine
Lyrics submitted by indefeat, edited by hawggolfer, FootrotFlats97
Anything But Mine Lyrics as written by Scooter Carusoe
Lyrics © Bluewater Music Corp.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
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“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.
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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.
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“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 think that this song is about a summer romance (even though it could apply to any situation), and the boy is going to Cleveland either for school, job, etc. Regardless of why he's going, he's leaving this girl behind. He obviously has feelings for her and doesn't want to leave, which is why he can't see her as "anything but mine." While they are listening to the local band, everything feels right, and he tells her he loves her. Then he laughs, but I imagine it to be an awkward/forced laugh that he uses to cover up his true feelings for her. The video is beautiful, and seeing Kenny play this last night in Chicago was amazing. The video shows that the boy writes this song as a goodbye for the girl, which she receives the next morning after he has left. Just a beautiful song that so many can relate to.