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."
What a waste, I could've been your lover
What a waste, I could've been your friend
Perfect love is like a blossom that fades so quick
When it's blowing up a storm in May
Travel south until your skin turns, woman
Travel south until your skin turns brown
Put a language in your head and get on a train
And then come back to the one you love
Yeah you're great, you're just part, of this lifetime of dreaming
That extends to the heart of this long summer feeling
Quiet night, you see the TV's glowing
Quiet night, you hear the walls are awake
Me and you are getting out of the party crowd
Can I see what's underneath your bed?
Can I stay until the milkman's working?
Can I stay until the cafe awakes?
Do you hate me in the light?
Did you get a fright?
When you looked across from where you lay
Yeah you're great, you're just part, of this lifetime of dreaming
That extends to the heart of this long summer feeling
All the history of wars I invent in my head
Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John
All the history of wars I invent in my head
Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John
What a waste, I could've been your lover
What a waste, I could've been your friend
What a waste, I could've been your friend
Perfect love is like a blossom that fades so quick
When it's blowing up a storm in May
Travel south until your skin turns, woman
Travel south until your skin turns brown
Put a language in your head and get on a train
And then come back to the one you love
Yeah you're great, you're just part, of this lifetime of dreaming
That extends to the heart of this long summer feeling
Quiet night, you see the TV's glowing
Quiet night, you hear the walls are awake
Me and you are getting out of the party crowd
Can I see what's underneath your bed?
Can I stay until the milkman's working?
Can I stay until the cafe awakes?
Do you hate me in the light?
Did you get a fright?
When you looked across from where you lay
Yeah you're great, you're just part, of this lifetime of dreaming
That extends to the heart of this long summer feeling
All the history of wars I invent in my head
Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John
All the history of wars I invent in my head
Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John
What a waste, I could've been your lover
What a waste, I could've been your friend
Lyrics submitted by bunnychiuchiu, edited by steve11494, emilierein, Undert0ad, middledistancerunner
Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John Lyrics as written by Christopher Geddes Bob Kildea
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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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,
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Not just about the prolonging of a one night stand... it's far more heartbreaking than that. She has invented her lover completely.
She imagines the two of them out; she imagines she has gone home with him and coyly seduced him by asking about the contents of his bedroom.
But he's entirely just another dream, and having imagined the encounter, she imagines how it might end: he's shocked at her ugliness.
Which is kind of devastating, given it's HER dream. And devastating that this sort of dream has happened over and over, to the point where she's given her dreams nicknames and personalities.
That's her life. What a waste. What a song. Excuse my while I go off and have a tear.
What drunkenrivers says sounds super interesting and raises the song's grade for sure. steve11494 I agree, is about one-night-stand lost loves! Norah sings the emotional part and interestingly this part is aware that this is a dream, a long summer feeling. She begins in her room: "Quiet night, you see the TVs glowing Quiet night, you hear the walls are awake"
Then moves to a party: "Me and you are getting out of the party crowd"
And finally to his place: "Can I see what's underneath your bed?"
She realises she's fallen in love, and tries to extend the moment, looking under the bed, stay more time with guy, maybe until the milkman's working or the café' awakes. She doesn't understand why she has to wake up from this great dream, why this awesome feeling can last longer. So in this metaphor the guy is waking her up, and again she asks why so much love in the dark and so much indifference ("hate") in the light, a contrast is brought up with Suart's voice. Stuart sing a different point of view, not the guy's point of view, but rather her point of view but from a zoomed-out perspective, perhaps more rational or colder.
There's another album with the same idea but not only on a single track but the whole concept of the album is a "Teen Dream", from Beach House. Another excellent song is Gotan Project's "Érase una vez", which basically says the same thing but in electrotango.
Comments greatly appreciated!
I think "Travel south until your skin turns, woman" should be "Travel south until your skin turns warmer"
I don't know if this is right, or how it bears on the other lyrics, but I'm wondering if the title characters refer to some of Stuart's heroes? Possible Lou Reed, Jack Kerouac and John Lennon? Just a guess.
P.S. I'm a big B&S fan but I can't say I love this MOR track.
i also think there's some wrong lyrics in here<br /> <br /> not "cry at night" but "quiet night" (in both verses)<br /> not "woman" but "warmer"<br /> not "until the café's awake" but "until the café awakes"
This song is about lost loves and one-night stands.
The protagonist invents a past for people they met at parties and had sex with, they wish they could have spent longer with these partners instead of parting in the morning.
One of the best songs on the new album! Great melody;
I like this verse:
"Cry at night, you see the tv's glowing"
i guess it's not "cry at night", but "quiet night"
This song is soooooooo good ♥
fixed!
"All the history of wars" should be "All the history of boys". Then the lines start to make sense.