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."
It's different now I think
I wasn't older yet
I wasn't wise, I guess
Somewhere I lost whatever else I had
I wasn't over you
I see it run inside itself
And then I called you out
I'm not such older than I was
I'm feeling so much righter now
And then I woke myself, confused
Your dress comes down
To you, don't get it wrong, don't get excited
I wanted so much to be at rest
Now that I'm older
So be it so of love
The silent man comes down
All dressed in radiant colors
You see it for yourself
To demonstrate my love for you
You, I thought I was so in love
Some say it wasn't true
Now that I'm older
Now, now that I'm older
There's so much travel
And now that I'm older
Someone else, can see it for myself
So much travel, yeah
Now that I'm older
I wasn't older yet
I wasn't wise, I guess
Somewhere I lost whatever else I had
I wasn't over you
I see it run inside itself
And then I called you out
I'm not such older than I was
I'm feeling so much righter now
And then I woke myself, confused
Your dress comes down
To you, don't get it wrong, don't get excited
I wanted so much to be at rest
Now that I'm older
So be it so of love
The silent man comes down
All dressed in radiant colors
You see it for yourself
To demonstrate my love for you
You, I thought I was so in love
Some say it wasn't true
Now that I'm older
Now, now that I'm older
There's so much travel
And now that I'm older
Someone else, can see it for myself
So much travel, yeah
Now that I'm older
Lyrics submitted by imapickledbeet
Now That I'm Older Lyrics as written by Sufjan Stevens
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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,
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.
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
I feel, since I've commented on other songs from this album, that I'm being a bit redundant at this point, but this seems to be, in part, again about the futility of words. When he felt in love, others said it wasn't true--there will always be someone to say the opposite. I think it reflects the difficulties of a postmodern time where almost any statement can be deconstructed from so many sides that it loses all meaning. Even the narrator becomes two distinct people. He becomes "someone else" and sees things for himself now. He is both himself and someone else. Everything is deconstructed into abstraction. Even any conclusion he reaches in this song will be further abstracted, because eventually, he will be older again...
Arguably, the most striking image in the song is of the SILENT man who comes down dressed in radiant colours. I don't believe this is a coincidence.
This amazing song is about how we only get wiser about things after getting older... or we think we do.
All the loves lost, all the heartache we go through when we're younger. Not that it gets that much better when we're older... now that I'm older... now that I'm older... will I ever learn? <3
It's different now I think I wasn't older yet I wasn't wise, I guess Somewhere I lost whatever else I had I wasn't over you
I like this song. Its like a recollection of past events. This is a different Sufjan as far as lyrics go. He's singin directly. Not as many metaphors...Not as much narration.
hey excellent work. may i suggest a minor change i think theses lines are different from what's above:
"I'm not such older than I was, I'm feeling so much righter now"
should be:
"I'm not such of the man I was, Feeling it so much right and wrong."
I'm hearing<br /> "I'm not such all the man I was."
i love his new style of singing! compared to albums like Seven Swans and Illinoise, his voice is usually more relaxed and ambient (but beautiful)...but in this one its sharp and strong, especially this song because the music isnt taking over! oooh sufjan i love you. :D
when i said there 'but in this one its sharp and strong, especially this song because the music isnt taking over', i mean that in the best way possible!!! :)
This is my favorite from The Age of Adz. Does this remind anyone of Pittsfield? I feel like it has a similar sound and tone to it. And it just so happens as I was just looking up the lyrics for Pittsfield, I noticed these lines...
"Now that I'm older, wiser and working less I may regret having left the place a mess"
Perhaps there is a connection? I say it's at least worth taking a look at. Either way, these are both two very beautiful songs. Sufjan never disappoints.
I really enjoy how the style of this album reflects its lyrical themes. As mentioned in a post above, Sufjan has really decimated his use of metaphors that were so prevalent on previous albums. He seems to be attempting to cut through much of the abstraction of language and get as directly to the point as he can.
Seems like he could be telling the story of Joseph here. Silent man in radiant colors, and all.
I don't think there's any religious undertones in this album, I did read that some songs are about the guy who did the artwork (Prophet Royal Robertson) it could be about him.
I know this is a late response, but his song, "Get Real Get Right" do have the lyrics, "I know you really gotta get right with the Lord<br /> You know you really gotta get right with the Lord".<br /> I'm not sure if this song is religious but Sufjan has been known to have some underlying messages.
I think the choir on this sound similar to the Russian Orthodox Church choir in 'The Deer Hunter.' It's an absolutely beautiful song.