In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Let the rain fall down, let it fall to the ground,
Let the rain fall down to the ground.
And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound,
When you're six feet underground.
Well they cast me out when the word spread around
That I never sang in the church.
And it took one night for the town to decide
I'm afflicted by the curse.
And the rain falls down, let it fall to the ground.
And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound.
So I look to the sky, tell me why, tell me why,
Do they all get to live, and I have to die?
So they marched me down to the center of town,
With their pitchforks high in the air.
I was chained and bound with a blindfold around
So the judge wouldn't catch my stare.
And they hung my soul from the gallows pole
But the witch they never found.
So to those who don't fit society's mold,
Learn to swim or you will drown.
And the rain falls down, let it fall to the ground.
And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound.
So I look to the sky, tell me why, tell me why,
Do they all get to live, and I have to die?
And the angels sing "let it shine, let it shine"
Dry the teardrops from my eyes.
And the bells will ring when the blind lead the blind,
'Cause the dead can't testify.
And because I can't take an eye for an eye,
In the afterlife I'll haunt you 'till you die!
And the rain falls down, let it fall to the ground
(Let teardrops hit the ground!)
And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound
(When you're six feet underground!)
So I look to the sky, tell me why, tell me why,
Do they all get to live, and I have to die?
And the angels sing "let it shine, let it shine"
Dry the teardrops from my eyes.
And the bells will ring when the blind lead the blind,
'Cause the dead can't testify.
And because I can't take an eye for an eye,
In the afterlife I'll haunt you 'till you die!
And the angels sing "let it shine, let it shine"
Dry the teardrops from my eyes.
And the bells will ring when the blind lead the blind,
'Cause the dead can't testify.
And because I can't take an eye for an eye,
In the afterlife I'll haunt you 'till you die!
Let the rain fall down to the ground.
And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound,
When you're six feet underground.
Well they cast me out when the word spread around
That I never sang in the church.
And it took one night for the town to decide
I'm afflicted by the curse.
And the rain falls down, let it fall to the ground.
And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound.
So I look to the sky, tell me why, tell me why,
Do they all get to live, and I have to die?
So they marched me down to the center of town,
With their pitchforks high in the air.
I was chained and bound with a blindfold around
So the judge wouldn't catch my stare.
And they hung my soul from the gallows pole
But the witch they never found.
So to those who don't fit society's mold,
Learn to swim or you will drown.
And the rain falls down, let it fall to the ground.
And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound.
So I look to the sky, tell me why, tell me why,
Do they all get to live, and I have to die?
And the angels sing "let it shine, let it shine"
Dry the teardrops from my eyes.
And the bells will ring when the blind lead the blind,
'Cause the dead can't testify.
And because I can't take an eye for an eye,
In the afterlife I'll haunt you 'till you die!
And the rain falls down, let it fall to the ground
(Let teardrops hit the ground!)
And the birds don't sing, no they don't make a sound
(When you're six feet underground!)
So I look to the sky, tell me why, tell me why,
Do they all get to live, and I have to die?
And the angels sing "let it shine, let it shine"
Dry the teardrops from my eyes.
And the bells will ring when the blind lead the blind,
'Cause the dead can't testify.
And because I can't take an eye for an eye,
In the afterlife I'll haunt you 'till you die!
And the angels sing "let it shine, let it shine"
Dry the teardrops from my eyes.
And the bells will ring when the blind lead the blind,
'Cause the dead can't testify.
And because I can't take an eye for an eye,
In the afterlife I'll haunt you 'till you die!
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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."
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."
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
No Surprises
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
This is about someone being executed for witchcraft as a scapegoat by their town.
And it is haunt not hold.