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."
Ah
Ah, ah
Ah, ah
As a child on the farm
I was warned of the wiles of the city
Of that demon disguise
There's the dirt in the skies of the city
Well they say the proximity warps their minds
'Til they're shooting one another just pass the time
And we live it appears
Both in spite and in fear of the city
Oh, oh yeah
Oh
I was constantly told
How our lives were controlled by the city
How they keep us in debt
With the trends that they set it's a pity
Now the beautiful people in the magazines
Got the normal ones living beyond their means
And the things that they said
Made me go in my head to the city
Oh
Ah
Ah, ah
Ah, ah
When I finally came
There's some things still the same in the city
You still lie under the thumb
Of the rich and the young and the pretty
Well they weren't much different than we might act
If there was that many others stacked and closely packed
It's an ancient idea
But it struck me so clear in the city
Oh, oh yeah
Oh, oh yeah
Oh
Ah
Ah, ah
Ah, ah
"I'd like to do a song
That was written about a good friend of mine down in Key West, Florida,
Where I spend a little bit of time.
This particular friend of mine ran a bar in Key West
For a long time before we got fed up with all the other alternatives
To politicians and elected our favorite bartender mayor.
Our mayor's name is Captain Tony Tarascino,
Has a little place called Captain Tony's Saloon
Where we wrote a little song called Last Mango in Paris,
Not to be confused with that movie by a similar title."
Ah, ah
Ah, ah
As a child on the farm
I was warned of the wiles of the city
Of that demon disguise
There's the dirt in the skies of the city
Well they say the proximity warps their minds
'Til they're shooting one another just pass the time
And we live it appears
Both in spite and in fear of the city
Oh, oh yeah
Oh
I was constantly told
How our lives were controlled by the city
How they keep us in debt
With the trends that they set it's a pity
Now the beautiful people in the magazines
Got the normal ones living beyond their means
And the things that they said
Made me go in my head to the city
Oh
Ah
Ah, ah
Ah, ah
When I finally came
There's some things still the same in the city
You still lie under the thumb
Of the rich and the young and the pretty
Well they weren't much different than we might act
If there was that many others stacked and closely packed
It's an ancient idea
But it struck me so clear in the city
Oh, oh yeah
Oh, oh yeah
Oh
Ah
Ah, ah
Ah, ah
"I'd like to do a song
That was written about a good friend of mine down in Key West, Florida,
Where I spend a little bit of time.
This particular friend of mine ran a bar in Key West
For a long time before we got fed up with all the other alternatives
To politicians and elected our favorite bartender mayor.
Our mayor's name is Captain Tony Tarascino,
Has a little place called Captain Tony's Saloon
Where we wrote a little song called Last Mango in Paris,
Not to be confused with that movie by a similar title."
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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."
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.