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."
Forty million refugees with no place on this earth to call there home
One for every aimless graduate with nothing else to show for it but loans
And those of us who make our mark use someone else's blood
Our western stain won't wash away, it won't vanish in the flood
It seeps deeper through each hurricane and tidal wave and war
Oh woah oh oh
We want everything we see and once it's gone we just want more
Atlas had those shoulders, we've got Ambien and Jameson's and blow
To bind us in a bubble and keep the newsprint nightmare distant and remote
But when we wake in gulitines and pitch our screaming fits
When the govenor strikes up the band and gags our parted lips
When the worst case shows up dressed and dazzling, ready for the ball
Oh woah oh oh
But that bubbles bound to burst and what a tragic way to fall
The tabloids tell us hate
The rat who strikes those subways closed and put's you out
Forget those fifty hour tunnel weeks
Inhaling steel dust poison through his mouth
Well if he don't deserve a pension it makes his family feel secure
If we're now so dissconected it's our reflections we ignore
And if our constant choice is skimming past the writing on the wall
Oh woah oh oh
Then I'm sad to say we're lost and I'm embarrassed for us all
So most days I can't put to rest the burning city smoking in my mind
And I play and pretend the principles are nothin' more than actors runnin' lines
And I stumble through a movie set where tourtered victims laugh
And embedded journalists who juggle knives and daggered glass
While they entertain a mob of heads of state and CEO's
Oh woah oh oh
I stagger past anarchist extras through saloon doors painted gold
So I turn and I see Uncle Sam outside a wardroube ready for a shoot
So I walk right up and talk to him, I tell him that I'm scared and I'm confused
And while they test the cameras out and get the lighting right
While the catering fills coffee cups and carves up apple pie
And while the stylists trim his beard and straighten those clothes
Oh woah oh oh
I ask his empires what made him drive us straight to hell
And as my daydream ends, he stands ashamed, a shocked and shattered shell
But there's never any answer for my starving tongue to tell
Woah oh oh oh
'Cause the director shouted action, and from offset its just as well
One for every aimless graduate with nothing else to show for it but loans
And those of us who make our mark use someone else's blood
Our western stain won't wash away, it won't vanish in the flood
It seeps deeper through each hurricane and tidal wave and war
Oh woah oh oh
We want everything we see and once it's gone we just want more
Atlas had those shoulders, we've got Ambien and Jameson's and blow
To bind us in a bubble and keep the newsprint nightmare distant and remote
But when we wake in gulitines and pitch our screaming fits
When the govenor strikes up the band and gags our parted lips
When the worst case shows up dressed and dazzling, ready for the ball
Oh woah oh oh
But that bubbles bound to burst and what a tragic way to fall
The tabloids tell us hate
The rat who strikes those subways closed and put's you out
Forget those fifty hour tunnel weeks
Inhaling steel dust poison through his mouth
Well if he don't deserve a pension it makes his family feel secure
If we're now so dissconected it's our reflections we ignore
And if our constant choice is skimming past the writing on the wall
Oh woah oh oh
Then I'm sad to say we're lost and I'm embarrassed for us all
So most days I can't put to rest the burning city smoking in my mind
And I play and pretend the principles are nothin' more than actors runnin' lines
And I stumble through a movie set where tourtered victims laugh
And embedded journalists who juggle knives and daggered glass
While they entertain a mob of heads of state and CEO's
Oh woah oh oh
I stagger past anarchist extras through saloon doors painted gold
So I turn and I see Uncle Sam outside a wardroube ready for a shoot
So I walk right up and talk to him, I tell him that I'm scared and I'm confused
And while they test the cameras out and get the lighting right
While the catering fills coffee cups and carves up apple pie
And while the stylists trim his beard and straighten those clothes
Oh woah oh oh
I ask his empires what made him drive us straight to hell
And as my daydream ends, he stands ashamed, a shocked and shattered shell
But there's never any answer for my starving tongue to tell
Woah oh oh oh
'Cause the director shouted action, and from offset its just as well
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More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
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:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
by far my favourite kevdev song.
"and those of us who make our mark use someone elses blood."