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."
The lights went out in New York
Then they went out in Goshen
I got stuck in Goshen and that was sad.
The townsolf stared hard
Like their minds had been marred
By life in a district so downtrodden and drab.
I flagged down a stranger
In a worn wooden wheelchair
And when I asked if he knew of a hotel
He said "if I get your meaning
Then I'm definitely leaning
Towards recommending the Farmer's Hotel."
As I left to find the place
A mother loooked me in the face
And whispered "please sir, not the Farmer's Hotel."
Once where I was headed
She swore I would regret it
Though what might happen she wouldn't foretell.
The old place it was vicious
Wicked and pernicious
"Please stay clean of that rank abbatoir"
Though her words alarmed me
I was stuck until morning
And in the end we must be who we are.
With no light on the door
I wasn't quite sure
If a night clerk was working within
From behind a red curtain
Limped a perilous person
He appeared to have some egg on his chin.
This old yankee warlock
Brushed back a gray forelock
And bid me to sign in the book
With no bonhomie
He proffered the key
Never once did he give me a look.
I thanked the old codger
And in my role as the lodger
I headed upstairs for to sleep
There was no air of slumber
The doors, they had no numbers
Which room was intended for me?
The passage kept on going
Like the carpet was flowing
Towards that thing at the end of the hall
My own eyed had adjusted
This account can be trusted
Because I know that I saw what I saw.
I heard animal noises
And tangled up voices
Chanting more and of rumors of more
There's no natural law
That can explain what I saw
Spread out on that straw-covered floor.
Now I've put an ocean
Between myself and Goshen
To get away from the Farmer's Hotel
If you get a nation
To travel to Goshen
Please stay away from the Farmer's Hotel
The lights went out in Goshen
Just like poetry in motion
And I checked into the Farmer's Hotel
Things to unclean
Are better left unseen
Please keep away from the Farmer's Hotel
Then they went out in Goshen
I got stuck in Goshen and that was sad.
The townsolf stared hard
Like their minds had been marred
By life in a district so downtrodden and drab.
I flagged down a stranger
In a worn wooden wheelchair
And when I asked if he knew of a hotel
He said "if I get your meaning
Then I'm definitely leaning
Towards recommending the Farmer's Hotel."
As I left to find the place
A mother loooked me in the face
And whispered "please sir, not the Farmer's Hotel."
Once where I was headed
She swore I would regret it
Though what might happen she wouldn't foretell.
The old place it was vicious
Wicked and pernicious
"Please stay clean of that rank abbatoir"
Though her words alarmed me
I was stuck until morning
And in the end we must be who we are.
With no light on the door
I wasn't quite sure
If a night clerk was working within
From behind a red curtain
Limped a perilous person
He appeared to have some egg on his chin.
This old yankee warlock
Brushed back a gray forelock
And bid me to sign in the book
With no bonhomie
He proffered the key
Never once did he give me a look.
I thanked the old codger
And in my role as the lodger
I headed upstairs for to sleep
There was no air of slumber
The doors, they had no numbers
Which room was intended for me?
The passage kept on going
Like the carpet was flowing
Towards that thing at the end of the hall
My own eyed had adjusted
This account can be trusted
Because I know that I saw what I saw.
I heard animal noises
And tangled up voices
Chanting more and of rumors of more
There's no natural law
That can explain what I saw
Spread out on that straw-covered floor.
Now I've put an ocean
Between myself and Goshen
To get away from the Farmer's Hotel
If you get a nation
To travel to Goshen
Please stay away from the Farmer's Hotel
The lights went out in Goshen
Just like poetry in motion
And I checked into the Farmer's Hotel
Things to unclean
Are better left unseen
Please keep away from the Farmer's Hotel
Lyrics submitted by eyecoof
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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,
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
Farmer's Hotel 97 Greenwich Ave Goshen NY