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."
Catch a dream and let it
Take you by the hand
Follow your imagination
And you will discover wonderland
That place is nowhere to be found
But once in a while it may come around
You won't find it if you seek
But it can find you any time
Into clear water I look down
And I see strange creatures moving around
Is it a completely different world
Or a reflection that I see
A strange place is where they live
In a fragile dream they act as if
They were the only ones around
And that world was
Their very own design
Call it kind of madness
Call it just a dream
Call it lack of reason
Or you can call it lack of self-esteem
Sometimes when there is no way out
It may be wise to take the way inside
When you come back
You see thing clearer every time
Into clear water I look down
And I see strange creatures moving around
Is it a completely different world
Or a reflection that I see
A strange place is where they live
In a fragile dream they act as if
They were the only ones around
And that world was
Their very own design
We work hard all our lifetime
For a little place to call our own
Or anything, strong enough for clutching at
We're driven to go on and on
To ignore our broken pride, our broken hearts
And all those broken dreams we had
Take me away
I want to lay that pressure down
The daily treadmill eats us up
And when it spits us out again
We all have gone half the way to insanity
So what else could keep our souls alive but the hope
There's more to our lives
That there's another wilder bright reality
Take me away
I want to lay that pressure down
This is more than I can take
Sometimes when there is no way out
It may be wise to take the way inside
When you come back
You see things clearer every time
Into clear water I dive down
And I touch the creatures moving around
This is a completely different world
But truly this is real
A strange place is where we live
And from down here it looks as if
We were the only ones around
And this world was
Our very own design
Take you by the hand
Follow your imagination
And you will discover wonderland
That place is nowhere to be found
But once in a while it may come around
You won't find it if you seek
But it can find you any time
Into clear water I look down
And I see strange creatures moving around
Is it a completely different world
Or a reflection that I see
A strange place is where they live
In a fragile dream they act as if
They were the only ones around
And that world was
Their very own design
Call it kind of madness
Call it just a dream
Call it lack of reason
Or you can call it lack of self-esteem
Sometimes when there is no way out
It may be wise to take the way inside
When you come back
You see thing clearer every time
Into clear water I look down
And I see strange creatures moving around
Is it a completely different world
Or a reflection that I see
A strange place is where they live
In a fragile dream they act as if
They were the only ones around
And that world was
Their very own design
We work hard all our lifetime
For a little place to call our own
Or anything, strong enough for clutching at
We're driven to go on and on
To ignore our broken pride, our broken hearts
And all those broken dreams we had
Take me away
I want to lay that pressure down
The daily treadmill eats us up
And when it spits us out again
We all have gone half the way to insanity
So what else could keep our souls alive but the hope
There's more to our lives
That there's another wilder bright reality
Take me away
I want to lay that pressure down
This is more than I can take
Sometimes when there is no way out
It may be wise to take the way inside
When you come back
You see things clearer every time
Into clear water I dive down
And I touch the creatures moving around
This is a completely different world
But truly this is real
A strange place is where we live
And from down here it looks as if
We were the only ones around
And this world was
Our very own design
Lyrics submitted by progmetalgod
Very Own Design Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
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