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."
Maybe if you were some spearheaded guy
I would listen to what you have to say
But you're just some incapable figure
Thinking you're bigger than me, but you're not
Yet you don't know a thing about the youth of today
Stating your opinion making it ring in my head all day
And you say,
"My children weren't the same"
"My children's children they're the ones to blame"
And you say,
"In my day we were better behaved"
But it's not your day no more
And we are the youth of today
Change our hair in every way
And we are the youth of today
We'll say what we wanna say
And we are the youth of today
Don't care what you have to say at all
And maybe if you had a true point of view
I would listen to you
But it's just your one sided feelings
They keep getting in my way
And you don't know a single thing about the youth of today
Stating your opinion making it ring in my head all day
And you say,
"My children weren't the same"
"My children's children they're the ones to blame"
And you say,
"In my day we were better behaved"
But it's not your day no more
And we are the youth of today
Change our hair in every way
And we are the youth of today
We'll say what we wanna say
And we are the youth of today
Don't care what you have to say at all
And you say,
"My children weren't the same"
"My children's children they're the ones to blame"
And you say,
"In my day we were better behaved"
But it's not your day no more
And we are the youth of today
Change our hair in every way
And we are the youth of today
We'll say what we wanna say
And we are the youth of today
Don't care what you have to say at all
I would listen to what you have to say
But you're just some incapable figure
Thinking you're bigger than me, but you're not
Yet you don't know a thing about the youth of today
Stating your opinion making it ring in my head all day
And you say,
"My children weren't the same"
"My children's children they're the ones to blame"
And you say,
"In my day we were better behaved"
But it's not your day no more
And we are the youth of today
Change our hair in every way
And we are the youth of today
We'll say what we wanna say
And we are the youth of today
Don't care what you have to say at all
And maybe if you had a true point of view
I would listen to you
But it's just your one sided feelings
They keep getting in my way
And you don't know a single thing about the youth of today
Stating your opinion making it ring in my head all day
And you say,
"My children weren't the same"
"My children's children they're the ones to blame"
And you say,
"In my day we were better behaved"
But it's not your day no more
And we are the youth of today
Change our hair in every way
And we are the youth of today
We'll say what we wanna say
And we are the youth of today
Don't care what you have to say at all
And you say,
"My children weren't the same"
"My children's children they're the ones to blame"
And you say,
"In my day we were better behaved"
But it's not your day no more
And we are the youth of today
Change our hair in every way
And we are the youth of today
We'll say what we wanna say
And we are the youth of today
Don't care what you have to say at all
Lyrics submitted by frankie135
Youth of Today Lyrics as written by Amy Elizabeth Macdonald
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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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,
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
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American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
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.
I think this song, although catchy, is a little arrogant, shortsighted and hypocritical. First off, she sets up a straw man argument that amounts to a vague caricature of her opponents. She seems to imply that the people represented in lines such as this; "And you say, My children weren't the same, My children's children they're the ones to blame," are her prime political opponents, which is arguable and seems really to beat the rotting horse carcass that is youthful rebellion even when there are no more realistic oppressors to rebel against (save maybe gay rights opponents, but I don't think that's what Macdonald is alluding to). She also speaks as though she is dealing with someone whose views are essentially untrue or wrong, without addressing the same potential problems in her point of view; "And maybe if you had a true point of view I would listen to you, But its just your one sided opinions getting in my way," What makes her point of view any more valid or "true" other than by virtue of it being hers? Why should the opposition, who is, obviously, opposed to her views, regard her opinions? She is giving as little thought and attention to the opposition's point of view as they allegedly are to hers, so why should she expect any more from them? If she is upset over the stubbornness and intolerance of these alleged "older people" then why is she responding by being stubborn, arrogant and dismissive? This kind of mistake makes the song seem as if its intents are more masturbatory than argumentative or thought provoking. If Bill O'Reilly were ever to hear this song, he would laugh. If Karl Rove were ever to hear this song, he would laugh. Macdonald frames the situation egocentrically, which makes it hard to take seriously. She assumes that her opinions are the ONLY "right" or "correct" ones and in the end represents a potentially realistic conflict through the one-way mirror lenses of an arrogant, ignorant teenager. Having said that, I like this song.
I sort of agree with you Duncan, but on the other hand, the song wouldn't sound as good if she sounded ambivalent or contradictory to herself. "OOooooh Old people drive me nuts. OOooooh but on the one hand, maybe we drive them nuts." I think it' just her thoughts on the whole concept of old people saying "well in my day." because I think usually young people do not get a chance to argue back to this because they do not actualy know whether the older generation were really any better in their day. But I think she is making the point that our generation definetly has more freedome and even though there will always be a few bad apples, it's better for the rest of us and we shouldn't have to suffer because of them.
I think you misunderstand her intentions; she admits all the faults of her generation pretty quickly,<br /> "don't care what you have to say at all" and<br /> "we'll say what we wanna say".<br /> <br /> Not even she could miss the obvious arrogance of those statements. The problem here is that you're assuming she's trying to make an argument proving others are wrong, but that's not what she's doing. She's actually encouraging freedom of thought and individuality of opinion; that's what Youth of Today stand for.<br /> <br /> She is trying to argue against failing to talk to youth, engage with them, or even to try to understand them at all, WHILE IMPOSING THEIR OPINIONS UPON THEM. That is what she's criticising. This is obvious in <br /> "And you don't know a single thing about the youth of today<br /> Stating your opinion, making it ring in my head"<br /> <br /> This song specifically deals with an imposition of opinion from the elder generation upon the younger. Anyone will agree it's not right to impose your opinion on others regardless of circumstance, and this is exactly what is happening. Her issue is that others opinion's are being forced down her throat without any understanding or consideration for reality or change of times. Her reaction to this is, I don't have to listen to you if you won't listen to me:<br /> "And maybe if you had a true point of view<br /> I would listen to you<br /> But it's just your one sided feelings <br /> They keep getting in my way"<br /> <br /> which is perfectly true, and not arrogant or short-sighted at all. She can't have an argument if the other side won't listen to her, so she's saying she won't argue at all.