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."
When the sun drops behind the Mountains
Never to rise again
When comes the Death of the starlit fountains
Never to shine again
Then the gardens show withered flowers
Never to bloom again
And the crops will enjoy their last harvest
Never to go again
Where love is gone
It has begun
The dark clouds from above
He came to claim his crown
Hear the weeping of a thousand widows
In this time of war
Where powermongers expand their wealth
Fall victim to the evil's lore
Hear the mourners come and pray
To bury their beloved
Who lost their lives in senseless wars
Where love is gone
It has begun
The dark clouds from above
He came to claim his crown
It's not the evil from down below
Never to rise again
Which creeps and lurks under the snow
Never to shine again
It's not of Satan's will we fall
Never to bloom again
It's due to the evil in us all
Never to go again
Where love is gone
It has begun
The dark clouds from above
He came to claim his crown
In our time where love is gone
The harvest of souls it has begun
Never to rise again
When comes the Death of the starlit fountains
Never to shine again
Then the gardens show withered flowers
Never to bloom again
And the crops will enjoy their last harvest
Never to go again
Where love is gone
It has begun
The dark clouds from above
He came to claim his crown
Hear the weeping of a thousand widows
In this time of war
Where powermongers expand their wealth
Fall victim to the evil's lore
Hear the mourners come and pray
To bury their beloved
Who lost their lives in senseless wars
Where love is gone
It has begun
The dark clouds from above
He came to claim his crown
It's not the evil from down below
Never to rise again
Which creeps and lurks under the snow
Never to shine again
It's not of Satan's will we fall
Never to bloom again
It's due to the evil in us all
Never to go again
Where love is gone
It has begun
The dark clouds from above
He came to claim his crown
In our time where love is gone
The harvest of souls it has begun
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
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,
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
This song is clearly about something or another; maybe it's George W. Bush. -The first stanza is describing the death of the world after nuclear holocaust, the direct result of World War III. -The second is describing our present situation -- the violence in the middle east, American imperialism, and the Religious Reich attempting to assert Biblical values on others. -The third is about the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) who spread as if harvesting souls, crushing opposition. In the end, the fog of war blankets all. The devil himself, then, takes advantage of the conflict between these groups and uses his influence over hatred to gain control. -The fourth and final stanza, then, is a warning that Satan is not the cause of the turmoil -- it is our own hatred and ignorance that brings about our ultimate destruction. Satan only capitalizes on what we ourselves have done.
Clearly, I just pulled all of that out of my ass and it's probably all wrong. I mentioned Bush because, you know, that's edgy. Maybe it'll get some conversation going.
The last bit's pretty good, though.