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."
Adapted from ‘Lully lulley, lully lulley! Þe fawcon hath born my mak away’ in Richard Hill’s Commonplace Book, anonymous, c. 1500
The hern flew east, the hern flew west,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay.
She bore her o’er the fair forest:
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
She bore her o’er the meadows green,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
All to espy what might be seen.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
Oh, then she saw an orchard fair,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
Where grow’th the apple and the pear.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
And in that orchard stands a hall,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
Was clad all o’er with purple and pall.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
And in that hall there stands a bower,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
Was covered o’er with periwink flower.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
Beneath that bower there stands a bed,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
With silken sheets of gold so red.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
And in that bed there lies a knight,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
Whose wounds do bleed both day and night.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
Under that bed there runs a flood,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
One half runs water, the other runs blood.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
By the bedside there stands a stone,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
A leal maiden was sat thereon.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
With silver needle and silken thread,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
She stems the wounds where they do bleed.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
The hern flew east, the hern flew west,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay.
She bore her o’er the fair forest:
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
She bore her o’er the meadows green,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
All to espy what might be seen.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
Oh, then she saw an orchard fair,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
Where grow’th the apple and the pear.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
And in that orchard stands a hall,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
Was clad all o’er with purple and pall.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
And in that hall there stands a bower,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
Was covered o’er with periwink flower.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
Beneath that bower there stands a bed,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
With silken sheets of gold so red.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
And in that bed there lies a knight,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
Whose wounds do bleed both day and night.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
Under that bed there runs a flood,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
One half runs water, the other runs blood.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
By the bedside there stands a stone,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
A leal maiden was sat thereon.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
With silver needle and silken thread,
Lully-lullay, lully-lullay,
She stems the wounds where they do bleed.
The falcon hath borne my mate away.
Lyrics submitted by Anomalocaris
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Here’s the original Middle English poem from c. 1500:
He bare hym vp, he bare hym down, He bare hym in to an orchard brown. Lully, lulley, lully, lulley! Þe fawcon hath born my mak away.
In þat orchard þer was an hall, Þat was hangid with purpill & pall; Lully, lulley, lully, lulley! Þe fawcon hath born my mak away.
And in þat hall þer was a bede, Hit was hangid with gold so rede; Lully, lulley, lully, lulley! Þe fawcon hath born my mak away.
And yn þat bed þer lythe a knyght, His wowndis bledyng day & nyght; Lully, lulley, lully, lulley! Þe fawcon hath born my mak away.
By þat bedis side þer kneleth a may, & she wepeth both nyght & day; Lully, lulley, lully, lulley! Þe fawcon hath born my mak away.
& by þat beddis side þer stondith a ston, “Corpus Christi” wretyn þer-on. Lully, lulley, lully, lulley! Þe fawcon hath born my mak away.