Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
I bid farewell to the state of ol' New York
My home away from home
In the state of New York I came of age
When first I started roaming
And the trees grow high in New York state
And they shine like gold in Autumn
Never had the blues from whence I came
But in New York state I caught 'em
Talk to me of Mendocino
Closing my eyes I hear the sea
Must I wait, must I follow?
Won't you say "Come with me?"
And it's on to Southbend, Indiana
Flat out on the western plain
Rise up over the Rockies and down on into California
Out to where but the rocks remain
And let the sun set on the ocean
I will watch it from the shore
Let the sun rise over the redwoods
I'll rise with it till I rise no more
Talk to me of Mendocino
closing my eyes, I hear the sea
Must I wait, must I follow?
Won't you say "Come with me?"
My home away from home
In the state of New York I came of age
When first I started roaming
And the trees grow high in New York state
And they shine like gold in Autumn
Never had the blues from whence I came
But in New York state I caught 'em
Talk to me of Mendocino
Closing my eyes I hear the sea
Must I wait, must I follow?
Won't you say "Come with me?"
And it's on to Southbend, Indiana
Flat out on the western plain
Rise up over the Rockies and down on into California
Out to where but the rocks remain
And let the sun set on the ocean
I will watch it from the shore
Let the sun rise over the redwoods
I'll rise with it till I rise no more
Talk to me of Mendocino
closing my eyes, I hear the sea
Must I wait, must I follow?
Won't you say "Come with me?"
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Talk to Me of Mendocino Lyrics as written by Kate Mcgarrigle
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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"'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."
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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."
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
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Like the Buddha, Kate McGarrigle grew up a spiritual being with everything material and not knowing how spiritual she is; and then came the Cry of the Soul; it makes us look under rocks, beyond clouds and puts our legs in motion. It drives us far and wide till we believe that all the geography will never reveal the secret. Then we can only cry, until we give up the outer search. Our surrender is the victory of the inner life, but we must still use outer symbols as artists to bring along our audience. The lapping waves of the Mendocino coast are gentle and powerful, luring and unending, like our journey. Then we must come to grips with the temptation to merge with the infinite ocean, find and obey the inner ocean of greater contentment without waves; the deepest stillest ocean, the resolve to love those who suffer with us beyond time. We must live in both worlds, and we can, and we must encourage others to have the same forbearance. New York, the beginning is always there, and all the middle and the end merges with the memories, and the end becomes an unknown memory for which we long when born anew.
@michael56h That is really beautiful. Thank you for that. It's 6 years later, and I hope you're still writing.
michael56h - you described this perfectly! Thanks so much! I am absolutely captivated by this song.
It’s just the blues she’s singing of here, and Kate boils it down to a trip across the country. She never has the blues until she catches them in NY State. Then she runs away west as far as she can, out to where “but the rocks remain.” One can infer lost love in the song mix here [“Won’t you say come with me”] but IMO the idea of Mendocino is the final destination in the singer’s search for peace. God Bless you, Kate McGarrigle.