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."
Skinny was born in a bathtub
And he grew so incredibly thin
Even the end of an eye dropper
Sucked him in
Skinny never knew any questions
Skinny never looked at lights
Skinny sold something
Every single night
Skinny sold a soldier toy to me
Skinny sold a wife
Skinny sold a suction cup
And a knife
Skinny found a hello dolly
Record in the hall
He sold it to a truck driver
In the fall
(Hello Dolly)
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
I am coming, Constantinople
Here I come
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
I am coming, Constantinople
Here I come
All the leaves are off of the oak and
All the sheep have followed the spoken
Word I'm coming, Constantinople
Here I come
As I stand out in the open
All my friends are with you I hope and
Pray I'm coming, constantinople
Here I come
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
I am coming Constantinople
Here I come
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
I am coming Constantinople
Here I come
Well, here I come, Constantinople
I'm coming, Constantinople
I'm coming with my head held high
Here I come, Constantinople
I'm coming
I can't wait to see you
I'm coming with my head held high
I'm not coming on my knees
I'm coming, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
I am coming Constantinople
Here I come
And he grew so incredibly thin
Even the end of an eye dropper
Sucked him in
Skinny never knew any questions
Skinny never looked at lights
Skinny sold something
Every single night
Skinny sold a soldier toy to me
Skinny sold a wife
Skinny sold a suction cup
And a knife
Skinny found a hello dolly
Record in the hall
He sold it to a truck driver
In the fall
(Hello Dolly)
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
I am coming, Constantinople
Here I come
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
I am coming, Constantinople
Here I come
All the leaves are off of the oak and
All the sheep have followed the spoken
Word I'm coming, Constantinople
Here I come
As I stand out in the open
All my friends are with you I hope and
Pray I'm coming, constantinople
Here I come
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
I am coming Constantinople
Here I come
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
I am coming Constantinople
Here I come
Well, here I come, Constantinople
I'm coming, Constantinople
I'm coming with my head held high
Here I come, Constantinople
I'm coming
I can't wait to see you
I'm coming with my head held high
I'm not coming on my knees
I'm coming, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
I am coming Constantinople
Here I come
Lyrics submitted by PersonMan92
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More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Gentle Hour
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
Oh yes, and now that I've listened to them, I agree that constantinople is much better, but I'm not so sure about Hello Skinny. They're both pretty good.