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."
Take me down
I'm feeling now
And if I move on
I admit you're gone
I ain't ready
I'll hold steady
I'll hold you in my arms
You're locked inside my heart
Your melody's an art
I won't let the terror in, I'm stealing time
Through the eye of the needle
Step and repeat
Tears fall to the beat
Smile through pain
Feel the acid rain
I ain't ready
I'll hold steady
I'll hold you in my arms, in my arms, in my arms
You're locked inside my heart
Your melody's an art
I won't let the terror in, I'm stealing time
Through the eye of the needle
My bags heavy
Been filled by me
They weigh me down
Carry them round
It's all mine all mine
I am blinded by the eye of the needle
You're locked inside my heart
Your melody's an art
I won't let the terror in, I'm stealing time
Through the eye of the needle
You're locked inside my heart
Your melody's an art
I won't let the terror in, I'm stealing time
Through the eye of the needle
I'm feeling now
And if I move on
I admit you're gone
I ain't ready
I'll hold steady
I'll hold you in my arms
You're locked inside my heart
Your melody's an art
I won't let the terror in, I'm stealing time
Through the eye of the needle
Step and repeat
Tears fall to the beat
Smile through pain
Feel the acid rain
I ain't ready
I'll hold steady
I'll hold you in my arms, in my arms, in my arms
You're locked inside my heart
Your melody's an art
I won't let the terror in, I'm stealing time
Through the eye of the needle
My bags heavy
Been filled by me
They weigh me down
Carry them round
It's all mine all mine
I am blinded by the eye of the needle
You're locked inside my heart
Your melody's an art
I won't let the terror in, I'm stealing time
Through the eye of the needle
You're locked inside my heart
Your melody's an art
I won't let the terror in, I'm stealing time
Through the eye of the needle
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by KaiyaM
Eye of the Needle Lyrics as written by Sia Kate Furler Christopher Braide
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
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Yes the song is about the pain of separation at the end of a relationship. But more specifically I feel the song is about that painful transitional period.
Fact: Sia's boyfriend Dan passed away in London in a traffic accident when they were on their way to meet each other for a vacation. For the next 10 years she became dependent on alcohol and drugs.
I believe that this song is about her transitional period from getting clean and moving on with her current fiancée. Not just letting go of Dan , but also of the person she turned into thereafter. Moving on from depending on the numbness that the alcohol and drugs provided.
I think this song is about a relationship that has just ended, or is ending. She says she's not ready to move on, so she doesn't wanna get over him. She still loves him no matter what. He always has that place in her heart. I dunno. Just what I got from the lyrics.
She had someone so wonderful that they are on a pedestal. They were wonderful and she cares so deeply for him. She cares so much that she is having trouble letting go, or even believing that it's over. She is looking through the tiny hole in the needle as if it is the tiny window to a small beacon of hope that she can keep him. She is beginning to feel the pain but wants to hold onto him, she's stealing time by ignoring the problem and trying to keep out the pain instead of dealing with it.
Then finally it all hits her at once. She realizes that her baggage is too heavy to keep carrying, so all these strong emotions are coming out at once. She knows that it's her fault and that it's holding her back from other people.