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."
(A-wa) o kodwa you zo-nge li-sa namhlange
(A-wa a-wa) si-bona kwenze ka kanjani
(A-wa a-wa) amanto mbazane ayeza
She's a rich girl
She don't try to hide it
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
He's a poor boy
Empty as a pocket
Empty as a pocket with nothing to lose
Sing ta na na
Ta na na na
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Ta na na
Ta na na na
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
People say she's crazy
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Well that's one way to lose these
Walking blues
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
She was physically forgotten
Then she slipped into my pocket
With my car keys
She said you've taken me for granted
Because I please you
Wearing these diamonds
And I could say ooh ooh ooh
As if everybody knows
What I'm talking about
As if everybody would know
Exactly what I was talking about
Talking about diamonds on the soles of her shoes
She makes the sign of a teaspoon
He makes the sign of a wave
The poor boy changes clothes
And puts on after-shave
To compensate for his ordinary shoes
And she said, "Honey take me dancing"
But they ended up by sleeping
In a doorway
By the bodegas and the lights on
Upper Broadway
Wearing diamonds on the soles of their shoes
And I could say ooh ooh ooh
As if everybody here would know
What I was talking about
I mean everybody here would know exactly
What I was talking about
Talking about diamonds
People say I'm crazy
I got diamonds on the soles of my shoes
Well that's one way to lose
These walking blues
Diamonds on the soles of our shoes
(A-wa a-wa) si-bona kwenze ka kanjani
(A-wa a-wa) amanto mbazane ayeza
She's a rich girl
She don't try to hide it
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
He's a poor boy
Empty as a pocket
Empty as a pocket with nothing to lose
Sing ta na na
Ta na na na
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Ta na na
Ta na na na
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
People say she's crazy
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Well that's one way to lose these
Walking blues
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
She was physically forgotten
Then she slipped into my pocket
With my car keys
She said you've taken me for granted
Because I please you
Wearing these diamonds
And I could say ooh ooh ooh
As if everybody knows
What I'm talking about
As if everybody would know
Exactly what I was talking about
Talking about diamonds on the soles of her shoes
She makes the sign of a teaspoon
He makes the sign of a wave
The poor boy changes clothes
And puts on after-shave
To compensate for his ordinary shoes
And she said, "Honey take me dancing"
But they ended up by sleeping
In a doorway
By the bodegas and the lights on
Upper Broadway
Wearing diamonds on the soles of their shoes
And I could say ooh ooh ooh
As if everybody here would know
What I was talking about
I mean everybody here would know exactly
What I was talking about
Talking about diamonds
People say I'm crazy
I got diamonds on the soles of my shoes
Well that's one way to lose
These walking blues
Diamonds on the soles of our shoes
Lyrics submitted by dank, edited by Heofpeanut, GrungyBeatle
Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes Lyrics as written by Joseph Shabalala Paul Simon
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Just A Little Lovin'
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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:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Although a valient effort by Sir Larrikin, I don't think people have looked deep enough here, or perhaps they are looking too deep. This song is about what almost every song is about - Love. "as if everybody knows what I'm talking about... talking about diamonds on the soles of her shoes." Who knows what diamonds on the soles of a person shoes means? Everybody knows love.
As his entire Graceland albulm, this song is heavily influenced by the South African culture Simon observed while working there. He choses the perfect metaphore to describe the polar opposite positions of being in and out of love; the diamond trade. The diamond trade in S Africa created apartheide, setting up two of the most diametricaly opposed socio-economic classes in the modern world. As Sir Larrikin picked up on, this theme heavily influences the song. And while simon uses this metaphor for wealth, he means wealth of love.
He starts by identifying our two characters, the rich girl and the poor boy. The rich girl has diamonds on the soles of her shoes. To pick this apart, we physically interact with our world most frequently with our feet. Everywhere we go, our feet are the part of us that have constant contact, that provide the most constant source of interaction with our physical envronment. If one has diamonds as the filter to their environment, it is like saying you see the world with rose colored glasses. Everywhere you go, your interaction is done through the diamonds on your shoes, and diamonds as a symbol of wealth, happiness and love mean you are interacting with your world through a constant 'happy' filter, you have a skip to your step, you are happy.
Constrast this with the poor boy who is emptry as a pocket. he has nothing, saying he is empty as a pocket doesnt only imply that he is poor of material value, but that he is poor of spirit, of soul, of love.
'People say shes crazy/ she's got diamonds on the soles of her shoes/ well thats on way to lose these walking blues/ diamonds on the soles of your shoes.' now of course its easy to say that being right will get you through the 'walking blues', but also think of how it feels to be in love. being in love makes you happier, the birds chirp, the shines. The feeling of being love can make you 'walking blue' go away, to give you a vibrancy to life that is hard to achieve otherwise. Also note the term 'walking' blues - walking as an interaction medium, this means you have the blues with what you are interactiing with, in this case life.
The pocket and the cars keys, leading to 'youve taken me for granted/ because i please you/ wearing these diamonds'. The man who poor in love has taken advantage of his relationship with this women, becuase she loves him, will sacrifice for him, and he does not appreciate or reciprocate the feeling.
The teaspoon and the wave are referances to opposites again, but of volume (in re: to water, teaspoon small, wave=ocean=large). changes clothes, puts on afteshave, to compensate for his ordinary shoes. This works too - he has to cover up and componsate when the two of them go out because he is not in love with her, and needs to put on an act or project the image that he is.
here's the homerun: "And she said honey take me dancing But they ended up by sleeping In a doorway By the bodegas and the lights on Upper Broadway Wearing diamonds on the soles of their shoes "
They go out dancing, glitzy, fun, extravagent, but then end up completely broken down by 'sleeping in a doorway', but this build up to breakdown has created a new situation in the song "Wearing diamonds on the soles of THEIR shoes". This build up to breakdown journey has left them both in love, the boy has fallen in love with the girl, and they are ultimately happy because they are content to sleep in a doorway, like a common homeless man in new york city.
He then ties it back to himself 'people say im crazy/ ive got diamonds on the soles of my shoes'. Perhaps this is a personal story of one his relationships, the journey one goes on in the endeavor of love. I believe his repeating 'as if everyone would know what im talking about' is strong evidence, as everyone does know about love to some extent, but who has ever walked with diamonds on the soles of their shoes?
Those are my thoughts, perhaps this is the only paul simon song i feel comfortable discussion, but it is also one of my favorites because the metaphore is rich and deep, but this one i feel as if i understand.
It was interesting to read your interpretation, almost everything you said I believed before I read it, so it was interesting to hear someone explain something exactly the way I understood it.
@JForsythe62 I think that there is a lot in what you say and I have thought of it in a similar way, but being South African, I also thought it could have been to do with Paul Simon's relationship to the county of S.A. and how it ha the superficial attractions of "diamonds" but, depending on your skin colour, you could feel very much like a poor boy. More the opposite of what you thought. I agree that there is reconciliation in the end.<br />