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."
I need time, not heroin
nor alcohol, nor nicotine
I don't need help nor caffeine
but I do need dynamite and turpentine
I need oil for gasoline
explosive like kerosene
with lots of octane and free of lead
a fuel like gasoline
I don't need a friend, nor cocaine
I need neither a doctor nor medicine
I don't need a woman, just Vaseline
some nitroglycerine
I need money for gasoline
explosive like kerosene
with lots of octane and free of lead
a fuel like gasoline
Give me gasoline
It flows through my veins
It sleeps in my tears
It leaks from my ears
Heart and kidneys are motors
gasoline
If you want to part with something
then you have to incinerate it
If you never want to see it again
let it swim in gasoline
I need gasoline
Give me gasoline
nor alcohol, nor nicotine
I don't need help nor caffeine
but I do need dynamite and turpentine
I need oil for gasoline
explosive like kerosene
with lots of octane and free of lead
a fuel like gasoline
I don't need a friend, nor cocaine
I need neither a doctor nor medicine
I don't need a woman, just Vaseline
some nitroglycerine
I need money for gasoline
explosive like kerosene
with lots of octane and free of lead
a fuel like gasoline
Give me gasoline
It flows through my veins
It sleeps in my tears
It leaks from my ears
Heart and kidneys are motors
gasoline
If you want to part with something
then you have to incinerate it
If you never want to see it again
let it swim in gasoline
I need gasoline
Give me gasoline
Lyrics submitted by Sniper69
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this is pretty easy i guess, i heard that this another anti US song. here goes, every country in the world needs resources to develop, and the main recourse is OIL, which means, once you gain oil, you develop, money comes in and with money comes power. oil = money = power, thats the 21st centrury for you, and the US is in the frontline for some oil, and needs it badly to keep its economy growing, hence Iraq and the kyoto agreement they havent signed, i dont blame Rammstein
I think the song goes deeper than just talking about oil usage, I think it's a personificication of a country needing gasoline to fuel it, and it's like some kind of addiction that the country can't shake off.
My first thoughts were less political/economical. To me it sounds like it is about how hard it is to part with things, somethings you have to do something drastic to move on: burn it down, cut the ties. Or maybe more literally about a pyromaniac who devoloped that disorder because he needed a way to part with things. That wouldn't be too unlike Rammstein. :)
in kerrang! this song was described by Till as a tribute to pyrotechnics as they have really launched the band outside of germany. i think the song is just about a pyromaniac. i don't think this one is political at all.
If you want to part with something then you have to incinerate it If you never want to see it again let it swim in gasoline
yeah, my 2 cents is right. this has "pyromaniac anthem" written all over it.
It seems that fire/pyromania is a theme that can be followed throughout the album Rosenrot - admittedly, it can't be found in every song, but Benzin, Hilf mir, and Feuer und Wasser all deal with the topic of fire directly and it gets mentioned in the other songs indirectly... or am I reaching too far here?
Anyway, the first time I heard Benzin, I thought it was about self-destructive behavior, like drinking alcohol in excess (high-proof liquor could be compared to gasoline :). But upon listening to it more, I kind of came to the same conclusions as the other people here about a 21st century addiction to oil.
Initially, I had thought that this song was about the American need for gasoline. With more thought, however, it seemed (to me) that the song is about the world's need to burn chemicals for fuel. It seems that humanity's need to burn fuel for energy is criticized. Much of the lyrics, however, don't support such an idea... it seems that the 'pyromaniac' idea is best supported.
Till has said that is, in fact, an ode to pyrotechnics.
The video is great though.
Yes, Iraq is an excuse, but the fact of the matter is that we get a lot of our own oil in our country, therefore our prices are cheaper than that of european countries.
It's just a pyromaniac song, not a political statement. You're diggin too deep man. ;)
Yeah this one just seems to be Till singing about how much he loves fire, as seen through their live shows, or whats at least shown of them on TV, movies, ect. This stuff about the oil industry is just too much.