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."
Picture perfect
That's what it seems
They've got this whole thing figured out
But not me
We'll leave this place behind
Doesn't that feel right?
Picture perfect, it's picture perfect
Through the fire
Through the smoke and the flames
In my reflection in the window
Match in hand, and I'm running
Everyone's screaming, "You're never gonna get there"
Waking up shaking feels much better
And everyone's saying, "Shape up and get a life"
If nothing goes wrong, then how will it feel right?
Picture perfect doesn't mean much to me
Is it true what they're saying
I gotta settle down in place just like the rest?
Living the dream, is this what it feels like?
Picture perfect
It's picture perfect
The days are fading
Like they're one in the same
I point the finger
And it shows me I'm to blame
And I'm running
Everyone's screaming, "You're never gonna get there"
Waking up shaking feels much better
And everyone's saying, "Shape up and get a life"
If nothing goes wrong, then how will it feel right?
Picture perfect doesn't mean much
Picture perfect doesn't mean much to me
I've had enough time to figure this out
But I can't believe that I waited this long
I've seen the truth in another light
This is everything I never wanted to be
Wake up, shape up
You're never gonna get there
If nothing goes wrong, then how would it feel right?
Wake up, shape up
You're never gonna get there
It's picture perfect, it's picture perfect
Everyone's screaming, "You're never gonna get there"
Waking up shaking feels much better
And everyone's saying, "Shape up and get a life"
If nothing goes wrong, then how will it feel right?
Everyone's screaming, "You're never gonna get there"
Waking up shaking feels much better
And everyone's saying, "Shape up and get a life"
If nothing goes wrong, then how will it feel right?
Picture perfect doesn't mean
Picture perfect doesn't mean much to me
Picture perfect doesn't mean much to me
That's what it seems
They've got this whole thing figured out
But not me
We'll leave this place behind
Doesn't that feel right?
Picture perfect, it's picture perfect
Through the fire
Through the smoke and the flames
In my reflection in the window
Match in hand, and I'm running
Everyone's screaming, "You're never gonna get there"
Waking up shaking feels much better
And everyone's saying, "Shape up and get a life"
If nothing goes wrong, then how will it feel right?
Picture perfect doesn't mean much to me
Is it true what they're saying
I gotta settle down in place just like the rest?
Living the dream, is this what it feels like?
Picture perfect
It's picture perfect
The days are fading
Like they're one in the same
I point the finger
And it shows me I'm to blame
And I'm running
Everyone's screaming, "You're never gonna get there"
Waking up shaking feels much better
And everyone's saying, "Shape up and get a life"
If nothing goes wrong, then how will it feel right?
Picture perfect doesn't mean much
Picture perfect doesn't mean much to me
I've had enough time to figure this out
But I can't believe that I waited this long
I've seen the truth in another light
This is everything I never wanted to be
Wake up, shape up
You're never gonna get there
If nothing goes wrong, then how would it feel right?
Wake up, shape up
You're never gonna get there
It's picture perfect, it's picture perfect
Everyone's screaming, "You're never gonna get there"
Waking up shaking feels much better
And everyone's saying, "Shape up and get a life"
If nothing goes wrong, then how will it feel right?
Everyone's screaming, "You're never gonna get there"
Waking up shaking feels much better
And everyone's saying, "Shape up and get a life"
If nothing goes wrong, then how will it feel right?
Picture perfect doesn't mean
Picture perfect doesn't mean much to me
Picture perfect doesn't mean much to me
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More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
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.
It's not about not wanting a "perfect" life–it's about not wanting a "picture-perfect" life. In particular, the picture-perfect life detailed by the song is connected with "the American Dream": getting married, and having kids, a house in the suburbs and a mediocre regular job (cf. 'And everyone's saying, "Shape up and get a life"' and 'I gotta settle down in place just like the rest; Living the dream, is this what it feels like').
There's a fundamental difference between a true "perfect" life and a "picture-perfect" life: the first is based on being truly happy (and therefore is subjective) and the other is based on the appearance of being happy (thus, easily perceived). It is possible to have both a perfect and picture-perfect life, but they're orthogonal: you can have a perfect life that's not picture-perfect or a picture-perfect life that's not perfect. The subject of the song knows this difference (emphasis mine): "Picture perfect, that's what it seems."
The subject is urged to stop his "fooling" around, telling him that whatever it is he is doing is not worth it ('Everyone's screaming, "You're never gonna get there"') and that he should get a picture-perfect life ('And everyone's saying, "Shape up and get a life"'). But he does not want a picture perfect life ('Picture perfect doesn't mean much to me'), and he knows that it was his decision to pursue his dream ('I point the finger and it shows me I'm to blame'). In fact, it seems that he's actually truly happy with his less-than-picture-perfect life ("Waking up shaking feels much better [than everyone telling him he's wrong]") and justifies that his life is better because it makes it feel more satisfied: "If nothing goes wrong, then how will it feel right?"
The high point in the song is when he realizes that he is indeed right in his decision to not pursue the picture-perfect life:
I've saving up time to figure this out But I can't believe that I waited this long I've seen the truth in another light This is everything I never wanted to be
Basically the song is about truly pursuing your dream and not just settling for something that everyone tells you is the "right" thing to do. It's an anthem for people like me, who are there, doing what they love the most, no matter how many times people tell them to "get a proper life."