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."
Bronze by gold heard the hoofirons
Steelyringing imperthnthn thnthnthn
Chips, picking chips off rocky thumbnail, chips
Horrid, and gold flushed more
A husky fifenote blew, blew
Blue bloom is on the gold pinnacled hair
A jumping rose on satiny breasts of satin
Rose of Castille
Trilling, trilling, I Dolores
Peep, who's in the, peepofgold?
Tink cried to bronze in pity
And a call, pure, long and throbbing
Longindying call
Decoy, soft word, but look, the bright stars fade
O rose, notes chirruping
Answer, Castille, the morn is breaking
Jingle jingle jaunted jingling
Coin rang, clock clacked
Avowal, Sonnez, I could rebound of garter, not leave thee
Sweetheart, goodbye
Avowal, warm
When love absorbs
War, war, the tympanum
A sail, a veil awave upon the waves
Horn, Hawhorn
When first he saw, alas
Full tup, full throb
Warbling, ah, lure, alluring
Martha, come
Clapclop, clipclap, clappyclap
Goodgod henev erheard inall
A moonlight nightcall, far, far
I feel so sad, P.S., so lonely blooming
Listen
The spiked and winding cold seahorn
Have you the?
Each, and for other, plash and silent roar
Pearls, when she, Liszt's rhapsodies, hiss
Steelyringing imperthnthn thnthnthn
Chips, picking chips off rocky thumbnail, chips
Horrid, and gold flushed more
A husky fifenote blew, blew
Blue bloom is on the gold pinnacled hair
A jumping rose on satiny breasts of satin
Rose of Castille
Trilling, trilling, I Dolores
Peep, who's in the, peepofgold?
Tink cried to bronze in pity
And a call, pure, long and throbbing
Longindying call
Decoy, soft word, but look, the bright stars fade
O rose, notes chirruping
Answer, Castille, the morn is breaking
Jingle jingle jaunted jingling
Coin rang, clock clacked
Avowal, Sonnez, I could rebound of garter, not leave thee
Sweetheart, goodbye
Avowal, warm
When love absorbs
War, war, the tympanum
A sail, a veil awave upon the waves
Horn, Hawhorn
When first he saw, alas
Full tup, full throb
Warbling, ah, lure, alluring
Martha, come
Clapclop, clipclap, clappyclap
Goodgod henev erheard inall
A moonlight nightcall, far, far
I feel so sad, P.S., so lonely blooming
Listen
The spiked and winding cold seahorn
Have you the?
Each, and for other, plash and silent roar
Pearls, when she, Liszt's rhapsodies, hiss
Lyrics submitted by Downtownla12, edited by Kailek
Air War Lyrics as written by Ethan Kath Alice Glass
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Every time the "When love absorbs. War! War! " part comes I get really excited.
In the Sirens episode of James Joyce's "Ulysses," Leopold Bloom gets morose and drunk listening to the lyrics of a song about a cheating wife, while he imagines his own wife is getting seduced by a lover.
Except the song is not about a cheating wife, but a sleepwalking wife, mistaken for a cheat.
So Bloom gets mixed up in his own drunken jealousy, confusion, misinterpreting lyrics carried along by the siren song of music and alcohol.
The "Air War" lyrics (quoted from Sirens) reflect the jealousy ("War! War! The tympanum"), the music ("jingle jingle" "clack clack"), the confusion and drunkenness ("henev erheard inall" - ie he never heard it all) as Bloom mistakes his wife for a Siren Seductress ("A sail! A veil awave upon the waves").
These are the words to the origianl track from the 1950s, taken from Ulysses by James Joyce.
download it here: suburbanghettomusick.blogspot.com/2008/05/bronze-by-gold-heard-hoofirons.html
i think this is the most useful comment about this song, people seem to be missing it. I downloaded the vocal track Air War used, and it's evident why crystal castles would want to use it, such a cool track.
this is the sickest fucking song ever. i reccomend being high as fuck and just sitting and listening to it realllllly loud. if possible, have someone just drive around and play it loud in a car. haha :)
I always thought it was a kid telling a story of some great battle that they made up because I originally thought they were saying 'ships' and then 'boom boom BOOM!' where it says 'blew. blue bloom...'
But now the lyrics make no sense.
STILL AMAZING THOUGH.
Ugh. A song that not one human being can deciper but it's "amazing." Send me a check for $1,000 and I'll write you a book of non-sensical lyrics.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm..........
I was NOT expecting all this. Listening to the song you think the lyrics are pretty unrecognizable. Guess I'll have to listen again, closely.
this song is so addictive!
this song is so addictive!
i dont get it...