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."
Passion and love, sex, money,
Violence, religion, injustice, death
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Girls, boys, arts, pleasure
Girls, boys, arts, pleasure
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Food, cars, travel, food, cars, travel, travel
(Travel travel)
New York, New York, New York,
New York
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Armani, Armani, A-A-Armani, Versace, Cinque
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Armani, Armani, A-A-Armani, Versace, Cinque
Paninaro (ro ro), Paninaro, oh oh oh (oh)
Paninaro (ro ro), Paninaro, oh oh oh (oh)
(I don't like Country & Western.
I don't like rock music.
Ehm, I don't like, I don't like Rockabilly.
Rock'n'roll in particular
I don't like much, really, do I?
But what I do like, I love passionately)
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
You! You're my lover,
You're my hope, you're my dreams, my life
My passion, my love, my sex, my money,
Violence, religion, injustice and death
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, (I don't like much, really, do I?)
Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, (But what I do like, I love passionately)
Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, oh oh oh
Violence, religion, injustice, death
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Girls, boys, arts, pleasure
Girls, boys, arts, pleasure
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Food, cars, travel, food, cars, travel, travel
(Travel travel)
New York, New York, New York,
New York
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Armani, Armani, A-A-Armani, Versace, Cinque
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Armani, Armani, A-A-Armani, Versace, Cinque
Paninaro (ro ro), Paninaro, oh oh oh (oh)
Paninaro (ro ro), Paninaro, oh oh oh (oh)
(I don't like Country & Western.
I don't like rock music.
Ehm, I don't like, I don't like Rockabilly.
Rock'n'roll in particular
I don't like much, really, do I?
But what I do like, I love passionately)
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
You! You're my lover,
You're my hope, you're my dreams, my life
My passion, my love, my sex, my money,
Violence, religion, injustice and death
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, (I don't like much, really, do I?)
Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, (But what I do like, I love passionately)
Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, Paninaro, oh oh oh
Paninaro, oh oh oh
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More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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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,
When We Were Young
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Magical
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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
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The story goes that Pet Shop Boys were shopping in Milan and they bought an Avirex G1 Jacket (the same one used in Top Gun by Tom Cruise), which was one of the many brands used by Paninari. After that they went to a fast food in the city and when someone saw them and recognized the jacket, they yelled "Fkng Paninaro", but the Pet Shop Boys had no idea why they were yelling or what that meant, until someone explained to them what a Paninaro was and their movement. From there, they decided to make a song dedicated to Paninari. The video was shot in Milan, and the people used in the video are actual Italian Paninari of that time who used to hang out in San Babila Square, their meeting place. The song is nothing but a mix of things related to Paninari's clothing style and lingo.