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."
Bombs and Bullets Have No Heart
They Only Tear Your Flesh Apart
To live Inside A Battle Zone
The Sins Of Man Can Find A Home
And Home Is Where The Hate Begins
It Doesn't Count Unless It Wins
The Corporate Pigs Keep Getting Fat
And Number One Is Where It's At
There Is No Room For Number Two
Just Stare Into Your T.V. Set
The Cogs Of Industry Grind On
The Lie, The Snitch, the Teacher's Pet
The Cop-Callers Make Up The Glue
And Soon They'll Set There Sights On You
Without The Fear In Which We Drown
Injustice Might Not Keep Us Down
If Your Neighbors Keep You Up At Night
Then Talk To 'Em, Don't Start A Fight
Don't Be So Quick To Call Police
for It's Just The Fascist Cogs You Grease
Why Can't We Try To Make The Best?
The Rest Can Go and Die, We Don't
Want Lies To Educate The Hate
The Rest Can Choke On Fate and Apple Pie
So With The Choice you Make
Your Wal-Mart Life Becomes A Fake
The Plastic Crasstic Sick Facade
Becomes Your Ever-Loving God
Diversion Fuels This Sterile Vision
With War and Lies On Television
And We Become A Mindless Ghost
Richest, Fattest, Deadest, Most
And All These Unjust Laws and Codes
When Freedom Rots, The Soul Erods
And A Microscopic Brain Incision
Hooks You To Your Television
A Branded Car, A Branded Wife
A Branded Home and A Branded Life
to Wash and Clean A Spotless Day
And Pills To Clean Your Thoughts Away
A Sterile, Gated Hateful Place
Where Cleanest, Whitest Wins The Race
And All Those Who Don't Fit The Mold
Can Starve and Die Out In The Cold
Diversion Feeds This Sterile Vision
With War and Lies On Television
And We Become A Mindless Ghost
Richest, Fattest, Deadest, Most
Diversion Feeds This Sterile Vision
With War and Lies On Television [3x]
And We Become A Shattered Ghost
Richest, Fattest, Deadest, Swollen, Most!
They Only Tear Your Flesh Apart
To live Inside A Battle Zone
The Sins Of Man Can Find A Home
And Home Is Where The Hate Begins
It Doesn't Count Unless It Wins
The Corporate Pigs Keep Getting Fat
And Number One Is Where It's At
There Is No Room For Number Two
Just Stare Into Your T.V. Set
The Cogs Of Industry Grind On
The Lie, The Snitch, the Teacher's Pet
The Cop-Callers Make Up The Glue
And Soon They'll Set There Sights On You
Without The Fear In Which We Drown
Injustice Might Not Keep Us Down
If Your Neighbors Keep You Up At Night
Then Talk To 'Em, Don't Start A Fight
Don't Be So Quick To Call Police
for It's Just The Fascist Cogs You Grease
Why Can't We Try To Make The Best?
The Rest Can Go and Die, We Don't
Want Lies To Educate The Hate
The Rest Can Choke On Fate and Apple Pie
So With The Choice you Make
Your Wal-Mart Life Becomes A Fake
The Plastic Crasstic Sick Facade
Becomes Your Ever-Loving God
Diversion Fuels This Sterile Vision
With War and Lies On Television
And We Become A Mindless Ghost
Richest, Fattest, Deadest, Most
And All These Unjust Laws and Codes
When Freedom Rots, The Soul Erods
And A Microscopic Brain Incision
Hooks You To Your Television
A Branded Car, A Branded Wife
A Branded Home and A Branded Life
to Wash and Clean A Spotless Day
And Pills To Clean Your Thoughts Away
A Sterile, Gated Hateful Place
Where Cleanest, Whitest Wins The Race
And All Those Who Don't Fit The Mold
Can Starve and Die Out In The Cold
Diversion Feeds This Sterile Vision
With War and Lies On Television
And We Become A Mindless Ghost
Richest, Fattest, Deadest, Most
Diversion Feeds This Sterile Vision
With War and Lies On Television [3x]
And We Become A Shattered Ghost
Richest, Fattest, Deadest, Swollen, Most!
Lyrics submitted by acidmaniac
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
the title refers to the word nigger, hence n-bomb. LoC believes that punks like Rancid are all too comfortable to use the word in an "all-white group." You should read the text in the Deadline booklet.