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."
Those wedding bells were ringing up upon that hill
And I don't wanna swallow such a bitter pill
You keep on moving, but I stay still
But I always loved you, and I always will
Days of no sleeping, caked in mud
All kinds of poison in my blood
I lost the only thing I ever loved
I heard them ringing and procession by
Umbrellas in that clear blue sky
And saw you swimming in that sea of white
Wedding Bells ringing up upon that hill
And I don't wanna swallow such a bitter pill
You keep on moving, baby I stay still
I always loved you and I always will
I loved you and I say it still
I always loved you and I always will
If everything that went before didn't matter
I always loved you and I always will
And I don't wanna swallow such a bitter pill
You keep on moving, but I stay still
But I always loved you, and I always will
Days of no sleeping, caked in mud
All kinds of poison in my blood
I lost the only thing I ever loved
I heard them ringing and procession by
Umbrellas in that clear blue sky
And saw you swimming in that sea of white
Wedding Bells ringing up upon that hill
And I don't wanna swallow such a bitter pill
You keep on moving, baby I stay still
I always loved you and I always will
I loved you and I say it still
I always loved you and I always will
If everything that went before didn't matter
I always loved you and I always will
Lyrics submitted by ZedZangetsu
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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,
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
The person in the song (I'll assume it's a guy), used to have someone that he loved very much. I think after a while, they realized it wasn't going to work, so they split up. I'm not sure if this was a decision made by both of them, or by only one of them. However, I think the person in the song knows the breakup is for the better. He misses her, and still has feelings for her.
"Those wedding bells are ringing up upon that hill" - She's with somebody else.
"And I don't wanna swallow such a bitter pill" - a bitter pill is a great analogy. It's something that needs to be taken, even though it doesn't taste very good. In the song, this is referring to letting her go. It's not something he wants to do, but he knows it's something that has to be. Whether he realizes it's not working out, or he thinks it's just the way it needs to be.
"You keep on moving but I stay still" - She had moved on, and has a new lover now. The song may be about her getting married to her new lover.
"But I always loved you and I always will" - He's still going to always have feelings for her.
"Days of no sleeping Caked in mud All kinds of poison in my blood" - This is him looking back. He spent nights lying awake wondering if they should leave each other.
"I lost the only thing I ever loved" - Pretty self explanatory. They chose to break up, and he lost the only person that he ever had to love.
"I heard them ringing and processioning by Umbrellas in the clear blue sky I saw you swimming in that sea of white" - Even though they broke up, the two remained friends. When the guys lover get's married, he's invited to the wedding. He goes, and finds himself very sad. She still looked very beautiful, and he remembered when they were together.
"If everything that went before didn't matter" - this part really confuses me. It appears to me to be an unfinished thought...