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."
What took her to the city was some sort of scholarship.
Some Fancy New York Fashion Institute.
Her Junkie Boyfriend took to crime, which took up too much of her time.
It only took a year till she took a different Route.
[Chorus]
What just happened?
She just happened?
She just happened to cross my mind?
Without warning she crossed my mind?
What just happened to me?
She moved into this building next to the one I used to trash.
She lived there with this roommate I despised.
We found a room against the tracks.
Don't stay out late, and watch your backs.
Make sure to lock the door we were advised.
[Chorus: x2]
Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah!
Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah!
She just happened to me!
From there it went nowhere, and after that it fell apart.
The next thing I remember here we are.
Not to diminish what it was.
Well there's no reason to becuase.
All though it was so long, anyways it seems so far.
[Chorus: x2]
Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah!
All though it was so long, anyways it seems so far.
Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah!
She just happened to me!
Some Fancy New York Fashion Institute.
Her Junkie Boyfriend took to crime, which took up too much of her time.
It only took a year till she took a different Route.
[Chorus]
What just happened?
She just happened?
She just happened to cross my mind?
Without warning she crossed my mind?
What just happened to me?
She moved into this building next to the one I used to trash.
She lived there with this roommate I despised.
We found a room against the tracks.
Don't stay out late, and watch your backs.
Make sure to lock the door we were advised.
[Chorus: x2]
Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah!
Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah!
She just happened to me!
From there it went nowhere, and after that it fell apart.
The next thing I remember here we are.
Not to diminish what it was.
Well there's no reason to becuase.
All though it was so long, anyways it seems so far.
[Chorus: x2]
Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah!
All though it was so long, anyways it seems so far.
Oh Yeah! Oh Yeah!
She just happened to me!
Lyrics submitted by coheed-cambria
She Just Happened Lyrics as written by Joseph Gittleman Dicky Barrett
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Mountain Song
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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.
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Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Page
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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.
This song seems quite blissfully nostalgic to a degree. The story of the song goes that he simply got along with a girl a while ago that since they've long forgotten about. He seems to reminisce about their time together as most of the song takes place in the past, but never with a high enough intensity to allude that he is depressed at the fact he no longer has contact with the girl anymore.
At the beginning he seems to describe this girl, how she appeared to have some sort of potential judging by the fact she had a scholarship, which is contrasted by her 'junke boyfriend'. From the get go the speaker is in clear admiration of this girl and feels some sort of pity for her for having to deal with her good for nothing partner.
The second verse describes the brief but fairly touching development of their relationship. Describing that they apparently ended up sharing a room, and though this may allude to them developing an intimate relationship, nothing suggests that anything more than a platonic friendship was shared between the two. In conclusion they had a 'chill' relationship with one another, nothing too major but still one he appreciated.
Finally, the reason why I believe the speaker is so fond of her is shown in the chorus. 'Without warning she crossed my mind' shows us that he had more feelings towards her than simply one of friendship, just one that wasn't realised at the time. The speaker is coming to the conclusion too late that he actually had appreciated and liked her a lot more than he made apparent to her at the time. What makes this song for me though is that given the information you would think this would be a depressing ode to a girl he once loved, but it's nothing of the sort. It's nostalgic and for the most part endearing. He isn't upset that their brief relationship fell apart but it just seemed to catch him off guard at this present moment in time, especially given the fact that the feelings he once had a long time ago had resurfaced.
Overall it's quite a cheery song, and mellow in it's meaning as supposed to depressing. It's interesting to see a song about a lost relationship written from this angle as supposed to the typical and formulaic melodramatic sappiness that a lot of love songs suffer from containing too much of. This isn't even a love song as it is a song of appreciation; it has that innocent charm to it that is lacking in songs with similar topics.