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 have to drive
I have my reasons, dear
It's cold outside
I hate the seasons here
I suffer mornings most of all
I feel so powerless and small
By ten o'clock I'm back in bed
Fighting the jury in my head
You learn to drive
It's only natural, dear
You drive all night
We haven't slept in years
We suffer mornings most of all
We saw you lying in the road
We tried to dig a decent grave
But it's still no way to behave
It is a delicate position
Spin the bottle
Pick the victim
Catch a tiger
Switch directions
If he hollers
Break his ankles
To protect him
We'll have to drive
They're getting closer
Just get inside
It's almost over
We will save your brothers
We will save your cousins
We will drive them far away
From streets and lights
From all signs of bad mankind
We suffer mornings most of all
Wake up all bleary eyed and sore
Forgetting everything we saw
(I'll meet you in an hour
At the car)
I have my reasons, dear
It's cold outside
I hate the seasons here
I suffer mornings most of all
I feel so powerless and small
By ten o'clock I'm back in bed
Fighting the jury in my head
You learn to drive
It's only natural, dear
You drive all night
We haven't slept in years
We suffer mornings most of all
We saw you lying in the road
We tried to dig a decent grave
But it's still no way to behave
It is a delicate position
Spin the bottle
Pick the victim
Catch a tiger
Switch directions
If he hollers
Break his ankles
To protect him
We'll have to drive
They're getting closer
Just get inside
It's almost over
We will save your brothers
We will save your cousins
We will drive them far away
From streets and lights
From all signs of bad mankind
We suffer mornings most of all
Wake up all bleary eyed and sore
Forgetting everything we saw
(I'll meet you in an hour
At the car)
Lyrics submitted by HalfJack483
Have to Drive Lyrics as written by Amanda Palmer
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I have a pretty distinct image in my mind of what is happening in this song.
I think what happened is the narrator was driving one day and hit a deer; the deer gets horribly mangled but isn't dead right away. The narrator is so shocked and disturbed she can't bear to run over it again to put it out of its misery. She calls the cops and then walks onto the shoulder of the road and starts digging a grave for the deer. After a few minutes she sees a cop car coming and goes back in her car. There is a sense of relief with the cop's arrival because they will shoot the deer to put it out of its misery (they're getting closer/just get inside/it's almost over).
The majority of the song is talking about the aftermath and its effects on the narrator. She feels awful about killing an innocent animal and allowing it to suffer for so long. She starts thinking a lot about mankind's detrimental effects on wildlife, and starts wondering if she should change her lifestyle to do her part to minimize those effects. But she justifies her continued use of a vehicle by saying she "has to drive." In this day and age, how does one survive without driving? It's not possible, she tells herself (I have to drive/I have my reasons, deer; you learn to drive/it's only natural, deer). The truth is that it is possible, it's just inconvenient, and she knows this deep down and the selfishness of it is eating her up (fighting the jury in my head). Finally she acknowledges that the choice to drive IS a choice, not a necessity, and that it is a selfish choice but she's going to choose it anyway, because in the end she values her lifestyle more than the lives of a few animals (it is a delicate position/spin the bottle/pick the victim - she could volunteer to be the "victim" by giving up her lifestyle, or she could continue to drive and pick wildlife and nature to be the "victim"). Finally she is tired of agonizing over the issue and feeling anxious every time she's behind the wheel, so she decides to simply put it out of her mind (forgetting everything we saw). The last lines (meet me in an hour/at the car) are important because it shows how the narrator is moving on with her life; she didn't want to give up the ability to just hop in the car and meet up with someone in an hour's time, so she shoves her guilt to the back of her mind and continues to drive.