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."
(Fuck all you hoes! Get a grip, motherfucker!)
Yeah, this album is dedicated
To all the teachers that told me I'd never amount to nothin'
To all the people that lived above the buildings that I was hustlin' in front of
Called the police on me when I was just tryin' to make some money to feed my daughter (it's all good)
And all the niggas in the struggle
You know what I'm sayin'? It's all good, baby baby
It was all a dream, I used to read Word Up! magazine
Salt-n-Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine
Hangin' pictures on my wall
Every Saturday Rap Attack, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl
I let my tape rock 'til my tape popped
Smokin' weed in Bambu, sippin' on Private Stock
Way back, when I had the red and black lumberjack
With the hat to match
Remember Rappin' Duke? Duh-ha, duh-ha
You never thought that hip-hop would take it this far
Now I'm in the limelight 'cause I rhyme tight
Time to get paid, blow up like the World Trade
Born sinner, the opposite of a winner
Remember when I used to eat sardines for dinner
Peace to Ron G, Brucie B, Kid Capri
Funkmaster Flex, Lovebug Starski
I'm blowin' up like you thought I would
Call the crib, same number, same hood
It's all good (it's all good)
And if you don't know, now you know, nigga
You know very well
Who you are
Don't let 'em hold you down
Reach for the stars
You had a goal
But not that many
'Cause you're the only one
I'll give you good and plenty
I made the change from a common thief
To up close and personal with Robin Leach
And I'm far from cheap
I smoke skunk with my peeps all day
Spread love, it's the Brooklyn way
The Moët and Alizé keep me pissy
Girls used to diss me
Now they write letters 'cause they miss me
I never thought it could happen, this rappin' stuff
I was too used to packin' gats and stuff
Now honeys play me close like butter play toast
From the Mississippi down to the East Coast
Condos in Queens, indo for weeks
Sold-out seats to hear Biggie Smalls speak
Livin' life without fear
Puttin' five karats in my baby girl's ear
Lunches, brunches, interviews by the pool
Considered a fool 'cause I dropped out of high school
Stereotypes of a black male misunderstood
And it's still all good
And if you don't know, now you know, nigga
You know very well
Who you are
Don't let 'em hold you down
Reach for the stars
You had a goal
But not that many
'Cause you're the only one
I'll give you good and plenty
Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis
When I was dead broke, man, I couldn't picture this
50-inch screen, money-green leather sofa
Got two rides, a limousine with a chauffeur
Phone bill about two G's flat
No need to worry, my accountant handles that
And my whole crew is loungin'
Celebratin' every day, no more public housin'
Thinkin' back on my one-room shack
Now my mom pimps a Ac' with minks on her back
And she loves to show me off of course
Smiles every time my face is up in The Source
We used to fuss when the landlord dissed us
No heat, wonder why Christmas missed us
Birthdays was the worst days
Now we sip Champagne when we thirsty
Uh, damn right, I like the life I live
'Cause I went from negative to positive
And it's all (It's all good, nigga)
And if you don't know, now you know, nigga
You know very well
Who you are
Don't let 'em hold you down
And if you don't know, now you know, nigga
Reach for the stars
You had a goal
But not that many
'Cause you're the only one
And if you don't know, now you know, nigga
I'll give you good and plenty
Representin' B-Town in the house
Junior Mafia, mad flavor
Uh, uh, yeah, aight
You know very well
Who you are
Don't let 'em hold you down
Reach for the stars
You had a goal
But not that many
'Cause you're the only one
I'll give you good and plenty
Biggie Smalls, it's all good, nigga
Junior Mafia, it's all good, nigga
Bad Boy, it's all good, nigga
It's all good
That's right, '94
And on and on, and on and on
You know very well
Who you are
Don't let 'em hold you down
Reach for the stars
Yeah, this album is dedicated
To all the teachers that told me I'd never amount to nothin'
To all the people that lived above the buildings that I was hustlin' in front of
Called the police on me when I was just tryin' to make some money to feed my daughter (it's all good)
And all the niggas in the struggle
You know what I'm sayin'? It's all good, baby baby
It was all a dream, I used to read Word Up! magazine
Salt-n-Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine
Hangin' pictures on my wall
Every Saturday Rap Attack, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl
I let my tape rock 'til my tape popped
Smokin' weed in Bambu, sippin' on Private Stock
Way back, when I had the red and black lumberjack
With the hat to match
Remember Rappin' Duke? Duh-ha, duh-ha
You never thought that hip-hop would take it this far
Now I'm in the limelight 'cause I rhyme tight
Time to get paid, blow up like the World Trade
Born sinner, the opposite of a winner
Remember when I used to eat sardines for dinner
Peace to Ron G, Brucie B, Kid Capri
Funkmaster Flex, Lovebug Starski
I'm blowin' up like you thought I would
Call the crib, same number, same hood
It's all good (it's all good)
And if you don't know, now you know, nigga
You know very well
Who you are
Don't let 'em hold you down
Reach for the stars
You had a goal
But not that many
'Cause you're the only one
I'll give you good and plenty
I made the change from a common thief
To up close and personal with Robin Leach
And I'm far from cheap
I smoke skunk with my peeps all day
Spread love, it's the Brooklyn way
The Moët and Alizé keep me pissy
Girls used to diss me
Now they write letters 'cause they miss me
I never thought it could happen, this rappin' stuff
I was too used to packin' gats and stuff
Now honeys play me close like butter play toast
From the Mississippi down to the East Coast
Condos in Queens, indo for weeks
Sold-out seats to hear Biggie Smalls speak
Livin' life without fear
Puttin' five karats in my baby girl's ear
Lunches, brunches, interviews by the pool
Considered a fool 'cause I dropped out of high school
Stereotypes of a black male misunderstood
And it's still all good
And if you don't know, now you know, nigga
You know very well
Who you are
Don't let 'em hold you down
Reach for the stars
You had a goal
But not that many
'Cause you're the only one
I'll give you good and plenty
Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis
When I was dead broke, man, I couldn't picture this
50-inch screen, money-green leather sofa
Got two rides, a limousine with a chauffeur
Phone bill about two G's flat
No need to worry, my accountant handles that
And my whole crew is loungin'
Celebratin' every day, no more public housin'
Thinkin' back on my one-room shack
Now my mom pimps a Ac' with minks on her back
And she loves to show me off of course
Smiles every time my face is up in The Source
We used to fuss when the landlord dissed us
No heat, wonder why Christmas missed us
Birthdays was the worst days
Now we sip Champagne when we thirsty
Uh, damn right, I like the life I live
'Cause I went from negative to positive
And it's all (It's all good, nigga)
And if you don't know, now you know, nigga
You know very well
Who you are
Don't let 'em hold you down
And if you don't know, now you know, nigga
Reach for the stars
You had a goal
But not that many
'Cause you're the only one
And if you don't know, now you know, nigga
I'll give you good and plenty
Representin' B-Town in the house
Junior Mafia, mad flavor
Uh, uh, yeah, aight
You know very well
Who you are
Don't let 'em hold you down
Reach for the stars
You had a goal
But not that many
'Cause you're the only one
I'll give you good and plenty
Biggie Smalls, it's all good, nigga
Junior Mafia, it's all good, nigga
Bad Boy, it's all good, nigga
It's all good
That's right, '94
And on and on, and on and on
You know very well
Who you are
Don't let 'em hold you down
Reach for the stars
Lyrics submitted by spliphstar
Juicy Lyrics as written by Sean Combs Christopher Wallace
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, MTUME MUSIC PUBLISHING, Reservoir Media Management, Inc., Cloud9
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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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,
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
" I think theres something strange about this song... i thought buggie died in 97 a few weeks after tupac??? but on this hes talking about the world trade blowing up which was in 2001 some explain this please!!!"
The World Trade Centre was attacked by a car bomb in 1993. It's quite common knowledge...
All the people arguing about eastside westside etc need to take a step back and actually listen to the music. The eastside westside bravado was just that, an act. Do you honestly think 2pac or Biggie would dislike someone cos of where they were from? it's just one of those things guys do with their friends,. act tough for no reason. You have to remember 2pac and biggie were best mates before, and the beef was because they fell out, not because of where they were from.
Good rap is good rap, regardless of where it came from, and the very fact they made diss raps and stuff showed they had respect for each other, so to dismiss one so readily is to go against the whole point of it.
This Song, respect and Suicidal thoughts aka hold ya head really got me started on biggie who is arguably the best rapper of all time. This song talks about growing up poor like lots of rappers then become big and famous "Now im in the lime light cus i rhyme tight"
It's about how Biggie foudn a more positive thing, his rapping talents and it made him big and he didn't have to sell drugs and steal and all that negative shit. Shows people can make themselves better if they try.
I totally cosign with that sammySam dude. This is all about Biggie rise and falls since he keeps going back and forth between his rough days and his brand new lavish lifestyle.
Quote someone saying, Biggie referred to 1993 World Trade Center attack with his "Time to get paid blow up like the world trade" punchline but as far as i am concerned he is referring to international trades which went through an agressive expansion from 1980's fall.
Was too young back then but international trades were necessarily all up in the news back in 1994 first months when Biggie wrote his song "juicy" - he reporteadly wrote all "ready to die" radio-friendly song in 1994 - cause of the Marakech agreements and the World Trade Organization project. International trades litterally blown up whereas the World Trade Center suffered a serious attack but wasn't blown out of it.....
This being said how do you guys interpret the end of the hook when those Total girls sing "cause you're the only one, i'll give you good and plenty".
I know they kinda shout out to Mtume's tune but i feel like it doesn't fit to the rest of the hook. I mean it makes sense on "juicy fruit" cause shorty sings about how special her man his saying "you're the only love/that gives me good and plenty" and - until someone proves me the opposite - it doesn't in Biggie's "Juicy"
Still a great tune though, east coast rap saviour.
uh.. so this means that BG has ceom up from the world and bitch-slapped everyone who says he wasn't going to be shit... and now he's pimping and living the good life...
Throughout various verses in the song, Biggie Smalls reveals how people did not believe in him, and how he made the change to become a better person. In the introduction of the song, he describes how people saw him in a negative aspect.<br /> Yeah, this album is dedicated to all the teachers that told me <br /> I'd never amount to nothin', to all the people that lived above the <br /> buildings that I was hustlin' in front of that called the police on <br /> me when I was just tryin' to make some money to feed my daughters<br /> Apparently, when he was younger, he was engulfed in negative surroundings; many adults also looked down at him. In the first line of the song, he dedicates the entire piece to people who thought he would not ever become anything in life. Biggie Smalls also explains that he only "hustled," because he needed money to support his children.<br /> <br /> <br /> When analyzing the song, one can interpret the deeper meaning sung about. My interpretation of the song is that as a child, Biggie Smalls lived a tough life; however, he became prosperous as his rapping career took off."We used to fuss when the landlord dissed us, No heat, wonder why Christmas missed us, Birthdays was the worst days"(NOTORIOUS B.I.G.). This verse describes the childhood of Biggie Smalls and how his early life was a struggle. In the first line, "We used to fuss when the landlord dissed us," implies that most times there was a shortage of money and they could not afford the rent payments. They also did not have the money to pay for necessities, like heat; they also did not have extra money for celebrations, like Christmas and birthdays.<br /> <br /> <br />
I also feel like rappers today took the wrong message from this song. It wasn't about showing off that he was rich and all the nice things you get when you're rich, but about overcoming obstacles in your life to achieve a better one, despite a negative atmosphere growing up, which he was able to do against the odds.
hell yeah, this song is the ishhhhh...i also love the REAL song "juicy fruit" by Mtume...check it out...ridiculous
hell yeah, this song is the ishhhhh...i also love the REAL song "juicy fruit" by Mtume...check it out...ridiculous
Biggie is the fuckin man
this song got me hooked on biggie. RIP nigga