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."
I said, yeah (I said, yeah)
Listen what I say (listen what I say)
I said hear me now (I said, yeah)
Listen what I say (listen what I say)
I said, "Stick it up, mister"
Hear what I say, sir
Get your hands in the air, sir
Then you will get no hurt mister, ah
Do what I say, sir, ah
Just what I mean sir
Get your hands in the air, sir
Then you will get no hurt, no
I said, yeah (I said, yeah)
Listen what I say (listen what I say)
I said hear me now (I said, yeah)
Listen what I say (listen what I say)
Second thing they say, I must join the office
Third thing they say, "Son, give me your number now"
He say, "What's your number?", I don't answer
He say, "What's your number, man?", I don't answer
He say, "What's your number now?"
He say "What's your number now?"
I said, "Fifty-four, forty-six, that's my number", whoa
Fifty-four, forty-six, that's my number, one more time
Fifty-four, forty-six, that's my number, whoa
Fifty-four, forty-six, that's my number
I said, yeah (I said, yeah)
Listen what I say (listen what I say)
I said hear me now (I said, yeah)
Listen what I say (listen what I say)
Ba-da-da, dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee, dee, da-da-dee-da
Ba-da, dai-dai, day-day, day-da-da-dee-da
Dee-da-dai-da, day-da-day-da, day-da-day-da, day-da-day-da
Da-da-da, dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee, de-dee-dee
Dee-da-da-da-da, dai-da-da-da-da
Dee-da-da-da-da-da
I said, yeah (I said, yeah)
Listen what I say (listen what I say)
I said, yeah (I said, yeah)
Listen what I say (listen what I say)
Stick it up, mister
Hear what I say, sir
Get your hands in the air, sir
You will get no hurt, sir, me say
Turn out your left pocket
Ah, give me a clean shirt, sir
Take off your shirt, sir
I not want no racket now
Stick it up, mister (I said, yeah)
Hear what I say, sir (I said, yeah)
Get your hands in the air, sir (I said, yeah)
Then you will get no hurt, mister, oh oh (I said, yeah)
Yeah (I said, yeah)
Whoa, yeah, yeah, yeah (I said, yeah)
Stick it up, mister now (I said, yeah)
Hear what I say, sir
Listen what I say (listen what I say)
I said hear me now (I said, yeah)
Listen what I say (listen what I say)
I said, "Stick it up, mister"
Hear what I say, sir
Get your hands in the air, sir
Then you will get no hurt mister, ah
Do what I say, sir, ah
Just what I mean sir
Get your hands in the air, sir
Then you will get no hurt, no
I said, yeah (I said, yeah)
Listen what I say (listen what I say)
I said hear me now (I said, yeah)
Listen what I say (listen what I say)
Second thing they say, I must join the office
Third thing they say, "Son, give me your number now"
He say, "What's your number?", I don't answer
He say, "What's your number, man?", I don't answer
He say, "What's your number now?"
He say "What's your number now?"
I said, "Fifty-four, forty-six, that's my number", whoa
Fifty-four, forty-six, that's my number, one more time
Fifty-four, forty-six, that's my number, whoa
Fifty-four, forty-six, that's my number
I said, yeah (I said, yeah)
Listen what I say (listen what I say)
I said hear me now (I said, yeah)
Listen what I say (listen what I say)
Ba-da-da, dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee, dee, da-da-dee-da
Ba-da, dai-dai, day-day, day-da-da-dee-da
Dee-da-dai-da, day-da-day-da, day-da-day-da, day-da-day-da
Da-da-da, dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee, de-dee-dee
Dee-da-da-da-da, dai-da-da-da-da
Dee-da-da-da-da-da
I said, yeah (I said, yeah)
Listen what I say (listen what I say)
I said, yeah (I said, yeah)
Listen what I say (listen what I say)
Stick it up, mister
Hear what I say, sir
Get your hands in the air, sir
You will get no hurt, sir, me say
Turn out your left pocket
Ah, give me a clean shirt, sir
Take off your shirt, sir
I not want no racket now
Stick it up, mister (I said, yeah)
Hear what I say, sir (I said, yeah)
Get your hands in the air, sir (I said, yeah)
Then you will get no hurt, mister, oh oh (I said, yeah)
Yeah (I said, yeah)
Whoa, yeah, yeah, yeah (I said, yeah)
Stick it up, mister now (I said, yeah)
Hear what I say, sir
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
54-46 That's My Number Lyrics as written by Frederick Hibbert
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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.
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.
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.
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.