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."
Smack down but then you get up
turn back around but i put you on the ground again and again
silenced but then you speak up
only with a fist in your mouth, you never really heard it again
tied up like a pinata
if you only saw her
you'd never take a hit for the team oh oh
waiting for the Messiah,
you were a liar,
taking on a six ton body slam
there was a time,
when you were right,
and i was on the wrong side of the train,
and you were here, and i was blue
in Mississippi with a small town attitude.
i was the one, who waited in the wrong line,
for a long time, and for you
i'd do it all again
an innocent man walks in
sat down,
it was a fat crowd,
a giggle and hat crowd again,
feet up laid back,
he missed the attack,
it was a quick smack,
got him in the head again
she said she was a model,
should have been a bottle:
can never tell they're dirty
or they're clean
i dug a whole to China,
all for a vagina,
west on territory avenue
turn back around but i put you on the ground again and again
silenced but then you speak up
only with a fist in your mouth, you never really heard it again
tied up like a pinata
if you only saw her
you'd never take a hit for the team oh oh
waiting for the Messiah,
you were a liar,
taking on a six ton body slam
there was a time,
when you were right,
and i was on the wrong side of the train,
and you were here, and i was blue
in Mississippi with a small town attitude.
i was the one, who waited in the wrong line,
for a long time, and for you
i'd do it all again
an innocent man walks in
sat down,
it was a fat crowd,
a giggle and hat crowd again,
feet up laid back,
he missed the attack,
it was a quick smack,
got him in the head again
she said she was a model,
should have been a bottle:
can never tell they're dirty
or they're clean
i dug a whole to China,
all for a vagina,
west on territory avenue
Lyrics submitted by froisbrasil
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
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.
NOT about being wrong and forgiveness... quite the contrary.
It's actually more about the expectations we have, and the lessons we learn from them.
Most of the song is about how he idolizes a girl whom he never truly understands. Once we does, or thinks he does, his expectations deceive him and he becomes jaded by the experience.
Then he goes about tearing down other's expectations. Getting his jollies off, you might say. Knowing that what we expect is never the truth. Having had this epiphany, he loses any regret knowing that our own lies about what we think we understand is never near the honesty of what lays in front of us.
The wrong line... of the train tracks. Or following a blind path which gets us nowhere. Expectations. Never put them down, for they hold lessons for us to learn.