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."
Gonna bring out the gorilla in me ya'll
Hear the pistols pump, hear the engine roar
That's my heart and soul, trying to bend the law
It's a beautiful night, to fly like a phoenix
Bang the beat and get high like I'm Jesus
I had a choice
Before I got lost on a canvas
Conform to the norm,
Or go off on a tangent
To a field of dreams,
We built it with no bucks
So I aimed for the stars
And tilted my scope up
Suddenly
Suddenly at gigs
We were packing the floor,
Having 'em roar
It took 2 LP's
To get a crack in the door
Here's Johnny,
But I'm happy of course
I talk total true thoughts
When I'm tackling tours
Matter fact, I just rap,
Not a cat with a Porsche
I'm a tug-of-war of words
Whirling backwards and forwards
And I can't get enough of this feeling,
Blaze the bonfire
Up on this beach and
Welcome to Woodstock 2 double 0 8
You better buckle up, this ride has no breaks
I'm 'a fang the bitch, till it flames out the back
Out of control like a train off it's tracks
You know God damn well
Who burnt the house down
Buried the bullshit
And turned the sound round
B.E.I, we bring it back to Basics
And get the whole crowd ape shit
Well I've been slaving for 5 days,
And finally the weekend's arrived
The walls and roof is on fire,
Now that's what I call saturday night
See if the vibe is right
And the beat is tight
Trust me my brother we gon' eat tonight
And that's a 7 course meal
For my people in the gutter
If we all can't share,
I ain't eating mother f**ker
I went down to the woods
And took a look into my soul and
A kaleidoscope of colours
Started cooking in my couldren
In a dark world I gotta fight
Through the cruel night
Spread my wings,
Take flight into moonlight
I'm just basking in the sunshine
Of fates soothing innocence
Painting with a personal pallet
Of moving images
I am my lifes editor,
You bet I might be that
Jedi Knight on your red eye flight
Direct like Billy Walsh,
I'm in charge like the Dalai Lama
Roll with my Entourage
Like Johnny Drama
Sky surf a computer of destiny
Back at the Bliss batch,
Booze and Buddha is the recipe
It's a baboon bash,
A barbarian ball
Where we all get together
And we never get bored
Yeah we're clever with the swords,
Looked what popped out bitch
Came stomping through your hood
With this knock out shit
Well I've been slaving for 5 days,
And finally the weekend's arrived
The walls and roof is on fire,
Now that's what I call saturday night
I don't move crack rock
In a fat sock
I move dope rhymes
Snap locked in a laptop
Going 80 on the freeway,
Chillin with my DJ
Hot to trot
And we drop with no delay
This is my heart and soul bra,
My art and culture
We hold this bitch down
Like Spartan soldiers
So God forsake me for tellin my rhyme
But big Macka does tell it on time
With the sirens blaring
I rock the damn Richter
I'm the fire Aries,
The cosmic transmitter
I can't complain
That you don't know my name
And if that's the case
Then baby please let me explain
It be that Lumberjack Macka
And Johnathon Coltrane
Izm in the back,
Digging through the wax,
Doing his thing
God forsake me
God forsake what we do in the hood
God forsake me
God forsake what we do in the hood
God forsake me
God forsake what we do in the hood
God forsake me
Big Macka is up to no good
Well I've been slaving for 5 days,
And finally the weekend's arrived
The walls and roof is on fire,
Now that's what I call saturday night
Put the pedal to the metal,
I'm on another level,
You cannot bring me down
I never settle with the devil,
I'm a renegrade rebel,
You got to feel me now
Hear the pistols pump, hear the engine roar
That's my heart and soul, trying to bend the law
It's a beautiful night, to fly like a phoenix
Bang the beat and get high like I'm Jesus
I had a choice
Before I got lost on a canvas
Conform to the norm,
Or go off on a tangent
To a field of dreams,
We built it with no bucks
So I aimed for the stars
And tilted my scope up
Suddenly
Suddenly at gigs
We were packing the floor,
Having 'em roar
It took 2 LP's
To get a crack in the door
Here's Johnny,
But I'm happy of course
I talk total true thoughts
When I'm tackling tours
Matter fact, I just rap,
Not a cat with a Porsche
I'm a tug-of-war of words
Whirling backwards and forwards
And I can't get enough of this feeling,
Blaze the bonfire
Up on this beach and
Welcome to Woodstock 2 double 0 8
You better buckle up, this ride has no breaks
I'm 'a fang the bitch, till it flames out the back
Out of control like a train off it's tracks
You know God damn well
Who burnt the house down
Buried the bullshit
And turned the sound round
B.E.I, we bring it back to Basics
And get the whole crowd ape shit
Well I've been slaving for 5 days,
And finally the weekend's arrived
The walls and roof is on fire,
Now that's what I call saturday night
See if the vibe is right
And the beat is tight
Trust me my brother we gon' eat tonight
And that's a 7 course meal
For my people in the gutter
If we all can't share,
I ain't eating mother f**ker
I went down to the woods
And took a look into my soul and
A kaleidoscope of colours
Started cooking in my couldren
In a dark world I gotta fight
Through the cruel night
Spread my wings,
Take flight into moonlight
I'm just basking in the sunshine
Of fates soothing innocence
Painting with a personal pallet
Of moving images
I am my lifes editor,
You bet I might be that
Jedi Knight on your red eye flight
Direct like Billy Walsh,
I'm in charge like the Dalai Lama
Roll with my Entourage
Like Johnny Drama
Sky surf a computer of destiny
Back at the Bliss batch,
Booze and Buddha is the recipe
It's a baboon bash,
A barbarian ball
Where we all get together
And we never get bored
Yeah we're clever with the swords,
Looked what popped out bitch
Came stomping through your hood
With this knock out shit
Well I've been slaving for 5 days,
And finally the weekend's arrived
The walls and roof is on fire,
Now that's what I call saturday night
I don't move crack rock
In a fat sock
I move dope rhymes
Snap locked in a laptop
Going 80 on the freeway,
Chillin with my DJ
Hot to trot
And we drop with no delay
This is my heart and soul bra,
My art and culture
We hold this bitch down
Like Spartan soldiers
So God forsake me for tellin my rhyme
But big Macka does tell it on time
With the sirens blaring
I rock the damn Richter
I'm the fire Aries,
The cosmic transmitter
I can't complain
That you don't know my name
And if that's the case
Then baby please let me explain
It be that Lumberjack Macka
And Johnathon Coltrane
Izm in the back,
Digging through the wax,
Doing his thing
God forsake me
God forsake what we do in the hood
God forsake me
God forsake what we do in the hood
God forsake me
God forsake what we do in the hood
God forsake me
Big Macka is up to no good
Well I've been slaving for 5 days,
And finally the weekend's arrived
The walls and roof is on fire,
Now that's what I call saturday night
Put the pedal to the metal,
I'm on another level,
You cannot bring me down
I never settle with the devil,
I'm a renegrade rebel,
You got to feel me now
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More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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."
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
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.
this song is all over the place.
fucking love it though.
great work.
Uhm, just in the first line, I actually think he says "Hear the PISTONS pump, hear the engine roar." Description of a car (or bus in the case of the video clip) going fast.. high revs and such.
fuckin love this song...
the lyrics here are all over the place though.