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 was standing on the shore, facing an open sea
I was listening to the sound of the waves breaking
And I thought of all the words that they were whispering
And it kept changing
I was standing in the midst of a great company
Listening to the voices in ecstasy
And I watched as all creation was sang into being
And it kept changing
And it was changing
And all at once I caught a pulse and felt a rhythm
And I thought of the song of the ages
Then the balance slipped and opened up the season
And I felt like raging
I was staring at the clouds, the rain began to fall softly
Filling up the rivers in Texas
And I thought of you and maybe you once thought of me
We were changing
And we kept changing
And all at once I saw a hole into the future
And I thought of the bells of creation
I heard the voice of God coming in the music
And I felt like Satan
And I felt like Satan
We were standing on the shore, facing an open sea
Listening the sound of the waves breaking
And I turned to you and said "we should never leave"
We were changing
I was listening to the sound of the waves breaking
And I thought of all the words that they were whispering
And it kept changing
I was standing in the midst of a great company
Listening to the voices in ecstasy
And I watched as all creation was sang into being
And it kept changing
And it was changing
And all at once I caught a pulse and felt a rhythm
And I thought of the song of the ages
Then the balance slipped and opened up the season
And I felt like raging
I was staring at the clouds, the rain began to fall softly
Filling up the rivers in Texas
And I thought of you and maybe you once thought of me
We were changing
And we kept changing
And all at once I saw a hole into the future
And I thought of the bells of creation
I heard the voice of God coming in the music
And I felt like Satan
And I felt like Satan
We were standing on the shore, facing an open sea
Listening the sound of the waves breaking
And I turned to you and said "we should never leave"
We were changing
Lyrics submitted by mayinevergodeaf, edited by openregister
Bells of Creation Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © 2004 STEAL OUR MUSIC
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just a correction on the lyrics: i think "And I thought of you and maybe it was suddenly" should be "And I thought of you and maybe you once thought of me" its kind of slurred so i'm not completely sure though and "And all at once I saw a humming(?) to the future" should be "And all at once I saw a hole into the future" this makes more sense at least
i think you got it right on both.
maybe '...opened up the schism'?
gorgeous song. deals with that constant human need and effort towards understanding the immensity of existence, how we try to know things that are unknowable and that are in constant flux... but these things can't be known, controlled, or kept. and he parallels that nicely with a relationship that he and another grew out of. maybe..
I think all those lyrics suggestions are spot on.
Trail of Dead is da bes
Conrad Keely told The Skinny that this song "is about Theophany – heavenly music." He explained: "It was inspired by a documentary I was watching on TV about Mormons, and after I'd read the book Under the Banner of Heaven, a very scathing indictment of Mormonism and a crazy story. Basically, the founder of church, Joseph Smith, had a vision, which he described as hearing the song of angels. I've always wondered – because of the universality of music and the way it's governed by laws we didn't invent, I guess I took that one step further to ask the question - if we're governed by these universal laws here, what would music sound like that was made by aliens? Or what would music be like that was made by beings of a spiritual nature – non-material beings?"