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."
There's a time, when the operation of the machine becomes so odious
Makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part
You can't even passively take part
And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels
Upon the levers, upon all the apparatus
And you've got to make it stop
To save face, how low can you go?
Talk a lotta game, but yet you don't know
Static on the way make us all say whoa
The people up top push the people down low
Get down, and obey every word
Steady, get in line if you haven't yet heard
Wanna take what I got, don't be absurd
Don't fight the power, nobody gets hurt
If you haven't heard yet, then I'm lettin' you know
There ain't shit we don't run when the guns unload
And no one make a move, unless my people say so
Got everything outta control, now everybody go
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Steel unload, final blow
We, the animals, take control
Hear us now, clear and true
Wretches and kings, we come for you
So keep pace, how slow can you go?
Talk a lotta shit, and yet you don't know
Fire on the way make you all say whoa
The people up top and the people down low
Get down, and I'm runnin' it like that
The front of the attack is exactly where I'm at
Somewhere in between the kick and the hi-hat
The pen and the contract, the pitch and the contact
So get with the combat, I'm lettin' them know
There ain't shit you can say to make me back down, no
So push the button, let the whole thing blow
Spinning everything outta control, now everybody go
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Steel unload, final blow
We, the animals, take control
Hear us now, clear and true
Wretches and kings, we come for you
Steel unload, fire blow
Filthy animals beat them low
Skin and bone, black and blue
No more this sun shall beat onto you
From the front to the back and to side to side
If you fear what I feel, put 'em up real high
Front to the back and the side to side
If you fear what I feel, put 'em up real high
Front to the back and the side to side
If you fear what I feel, put 'em up real high
Front to the back and the side to side
If you fear what I feel, put 'em up real high
Front to the back and the side to side
If you fear what I feel, put 'em up real high
Front to the back and the side to side
If you fear what I feel, put 'em up real high
When the operation of the machine becomes so odious
Makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part
You can't even passively take part
And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels
Upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop
And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it
That unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part
You can't even passively take part
And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels
Upon the levers, upon all the apparatus
And you've got to make it stop
To save face, how low can you go?
Talk a lotta game, but yet you don't know
Static on the way make us all say whoa
The people up top push the people down low
Get down, and obey every word
Steady, get in line if you haven't yet heard
Wanna take what I got, don't be absurd
Don't fight the power, nobody gets hurt
If you haven't heard yet, then I'm lettin' you know
There ain't shit we don't run when the guns unload
And no one make a move, unless my people say so
Got everything outta control, now everybody go
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Steel unload, final blow
We, the animals, take control
Hear us now, clear and true
Wretches and kings, we come for you
So keep pace, how slow can you go?
Talk a lotta shit, and yet you don't know
Fire on the way make you all say whoa
The people up top and the people down low
Get down, and I'm runnin' it like that
The front of the attack is exactly where I'm at
Somewhere in between the kick and the hi-hat
The pen and the contract, the pitch and the contact
So get with the combat, I'm lettin' them know
There ain't shit you can say to make me back down, no
So push the button, let the whole thing blow
Spinning everything outta control, now everybody go
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Steel unload, final blow
We, the animals, take control
Hear us now, clear and true
Wretches and kings, we come for you
Steel unload, fire blow
Filthy animals beat them low
Skin and bone, black and blue
No more this sun shall beat onto you
From the front to the back and to side to side
If you fear what I feel, put 'em up real high
Front to the back and the side to side
If you fear what I feel, put 'em up real high
Front to the back and the side to side
If you fear what I feel, put 'em up real high
Front to the back and the side to side
If you fear what I feel, put 'em up real high
Front to the back and the side to side
If you fear what I feel, put 'em up real high
Front to the back and the side to side
If you fear what I feel, put 'em up real high
When the operation of the machine becomes so odious
Makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part
You can't even passively take part
And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels
Upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop
And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it
That unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Lyrics submitted by MusicFREAK20, edited by ColonyCollapse
Wretches and Kings Lyrics as written by Chester Charles Bennington Brad Delson
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Mountain Song
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For the quote from Mario Savio, by the way, the phrase is "When the operation of the machine becomes so ODIOUS..."