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 got a head full of noise
Whispers are evidently
Resounding within a void
Lost in the distance
Memory
I got a head full of choice
Each door the same direction
When nothing more than a voice
Echoes the same reflection
I gotta get out
I gotta get out of this
Underneath these satellites
Fall like rain
When you throw your arms around me
A world of walls surround me
I'm all right hope we'll be ok
I've got a heart full of hate
These hands are powerless to change
Is it the fear of the fate?
Reliving all that could have been
Until it won't let me be now
This weakness never ending
And still it won't let me be now
Stronger my will depending
Am I holding on in vain
And I'm praying for a change?
All the wounds set deep within
Cold the walls you set around me
Am I holding on in vain
And I'm praying for a change
That's never coming?
In a memory I have found
Falling pieces hit the ground almost running
It's just a memory of all that we could have been
It's just a memory and all that we could have been
It's just a memory
I've seen
It's just a memory
I'll see
Whispers are evidently
Resounding within a void
Lost in the distance
Memory
I got a head full of choice
Each door the same direction
When nothing more than a voice
Echoes the same reflection
I gotta get out
I gotta get out of this
Underneath these satellites
Fall like rain
When you throw your arms around me
A world of walls surround me
I'm all right hope we'll be ok
I've got a heart full of hate
These hands are powerless to change
Is it the fear of the fate?
Reliving all that could have been
Until it won't let me be now
This weakness never ending
And still it won't let me be now
Stronger my will depending
Am I holding on in vain
And I'm praying for a change?
All the wounds set deep within
Cold the walls you set around me
Am I holding on in vain
And I'm praying for a change
That's never coming?
In a memory I have found
Falling pieces hit the ground almost running
It's just a memory of all that we could have been
It's just a memory and all that we could have been
It's just a memory
I've seen
It's just a memory
I'll see
Lyrics submitted by burleighboy86
In a Memory Lyrics as written by Clint Boge Ben Hall
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
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,
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
First post :)
Ok just a guess but i think this song is about losing sombody you love or are very close to and cant get over the memory of it. Possibly about a girl/boy that you loved and then died or somthing and you have the memory of holding each other "When you throw your arms around me" but you cant get over it.
It definitely sounds like some kind of relationship is coming to an end. The song represents his inner world or reflections. It seems as if he knows the outcome, and what action is going to take place in the near future for him, "I got a head full of choice, each door the same direction, when nothing more than a voice, echoes the same reflection, I gotta get out, I gotta get out, from this".
There's a common theme within the lyrics where the singer keeps mentioning walls that are set up around him, which appears to be created by the significant other. "When you throw your arms around me, a world of walls surround me". This line could be portraying the fact that he is still in love with the person but he feels the relationship is restricting and creating confinement within, which is resulting in internal and external turmoil within the relationship.
I feel the outro is really significant and revealing towards what moment of time the song is set into, and also creates a perfect conclusion of the song as a whole, hence "In Memory".
It's just a memory of all that we could have been It's just a memory and all that we could have been It's just a memory I've seen It's just a memory I'll see This outro reveals where he stands in the present moment, "Its just a memory ill see",
I think that this might be some kind of addiction (drugs?) and he can't find a way out, and "each door the same direction". He can't act the same with the one he loves now because of the addiction "When you throw your arms around me/A world of walls surrounds me" This addiction has taken hold of every aspect of his life and it won't let his life return to normal, so all he has now is memories.