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."
Will you tear it down? Will you decide?
We put up a fight for the other side
Raise up our arms to show we're strong
They may break our bones, but we'll carry on
All that you see
Do you wanna be
Adversity?
All that you see
Do you wanna be
You and me
Adversity?
Oh, the call to move it in
Oh, we're all so new to it
All that you see
Do you wanna be
Adversity?
All that you see
Do you wanna be
You and me
Adversity?
All that you see
Adversity
All that you see
You and me
All that you see
Adversity
All that you see
You and me
Adversity
We put up a fight for the other side
Raise up our arms to show we're strong
They may break our bones, but we'll carry on
All that you see
Do you wanna be
Adversity?
All that you see
Do you wanna be
You and me
Adversity?
Oh, the call to move it in
Oh, we're all so new to it
All that you see
Do you wanna be
Adversity?
All that you see
Do you wanna be
You and me
Adversity?
All that you see
Adversity
All that you see
You and me
All that you see
Adversity
All that you see
You and me
Adversity
Lyrics submitted by alltheships
Adversity Lyrics as written by John Felix Baptiste Pena James Dustin Payseur
Lyrics © JOHN E. SLAMM PENA MUSIC, Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
I adore this, I think it may be one of my favourite songs. I spent a whole summer listening to it, it always brings back so many good memories :-)
Same thing for me, oceanic. I LOVE Beach Fossils, and this is definitely one of my favorite songs off the "What a Pleasure" EP.
On a personal note, everything seems to be encapsulated in these two lines:
"Oh, the clouds are moving in / Oh, we're all so new to this"
Inexperienced, caught up in the novelty and excitement of love. Fighting to make something work, but it proves to be futile for whatever reason. The difficulties and pain overshadow everything else that once seemed blissful. There is a refusal to let go because it's all you know (which can seem frightening), yet you realize that it's the only viable option as things seem to get worse the tighter you cling.
The end of the song seems to me like a sort of peaceful/melancholy resignation.
I think is like one of those moments when you realize that we are missing what's all around us and what that means, there's no need to set things apart, to create adversity.
This song brings peace in a very catchy way... good
Will you tear it down Will you decide We put up a fight for the other side We raise up our arms to show we're strong Then we break our bones, but we'll carry on
Really Beautiful lyrics, and the harmony is enchanting during these first few lines of the song.
These first few lines almost remind me of Romeo and Juliet and the idea of star-crossed love. it's devastating but the final line "we break our bones, but we'll carry on" shows some sort of optimism for feeling like you're on the side of love in a world cloaked in hate, greed, evil, etc.