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."
Something in the moonlight catches my eye
The shadow of a lover goes dancing by
Looking for a little bit of love to grow, so
Give me love, give me heart and soul
You never let me cross to the other side now
I'm tied to the hope that you will somehow
Hard on the heels of something more
But I lost your love, heart and soul
The tear in my heart as you walk on by
I feel so low and your head is high
Everything you do convinces me more
Please, give me love, give me heart and soul
Looking to the day when I saw your face
I wasn't in the running, I wasn't in the race
You move in a way that I've known before
Now I want your love, heart and soul
Leaving you ain't easy now
Loving you's the harder part
You never want me for myself
I've needed you right from the very start
Oh won't you even try to
Give a little bit of heart and soul
Give a little bit of love to grow
Give a little bit of heart and soul
Don't you make me beg for more
Give a sign, I need to know
A little bit of heart and soul
Walking on the water, walking on the air
That was the heart of the love we shared
Do you keep secret left untold
Can't give love, heart or soul
I used to have a lover with a Midas touch
I turned to gold but he turned to dust
Left me for another, I turned to stone
Now I want your love, heart and soul
Living in a fantasy
There's never any room to breathe
Hoping every waking hour
You gonna turn around and say that we can start
Oh won't you even try to
Give a little bit of heart and soul
Give a little bit of love to grow
Give a little bit of heart and soul
Don't you make me beg for more
Give a sign, I need to know
A little bit of heart and soul
Somehow, I lost my way
Looking to see something in your eyes
But love will never compromise
Now this is the politics of life, yeah
Give a little bit of heart and soul
Give a little bit of love to grow
Give a little bit of heart and soul
Don't you make me beg for more
Give a sign, I need to know
A little bit, little bit
Give a little bit of heart and soul
Give a little bit of love to grow
Give a little bit of heart and soul
Don't you make me beg for more
Give a sign, I need to know
A little bit of heart now want your soul?
The shadow of a lover goes dancing by
Looking for a little bit of love to grow, so
Give me love, give me heart and soul
You never let me cross to the other side now
I'm tied to the hope that you will somehow
Hard on the heels of something more
But I lost your love, heart and soul
The tear in my heart as you walk on by
I feel so low and your head is high
Everything you do convinces me more
Please, give me love, give me heart and soul
Looking to the day when I saw your face
I wasn't in the running, I wasn't in the race
You move in a way that I've known before
Now I want your love, heart and soul
Leaving you ain't easy now
Loving you's the harder part
You never want me for myself
I've needed you right from the very start
Oh won't you even try to
Give a little bit of heart and soul
Give a little bit of love to grow
Give a little bit of heart and soul
Don't you make me beg for more
Give a sign, I need to know
A little bit of heart and soul
Walking on the water, walking on the air
That was the heart of the love we shared
Do you keep secret left untold
Can't give love, heart or soul
I used to have a lover with a Midas touch
I turned to gold but he turned to dust
Left me for another, I turned to stone
Now I want your love, heart and soul
Living in a fantasy
There's never any room to breathe
Hoping every waking hour
You gonna turn around and say that we can start
Oh won't you even try to
Give a little bit of heart and soul
Give a little bit of love to grow
Give a little bit of heart and soul
Don't you make me beg for more
Give a sign, I need to know
A little bit of heart and soul
Somehow, I lost my way
Looking to see something in your eyes
But love will never compromise
Now this is the politics of life, yeah
Give a little bit of heart and soul
Give a little bit of love to grow
Give a little bit of heart and soul
Don't you make me beg for more
Give a sign, I need to know
A little bit, little bit
Give a little bit of heart and soul
Give a little bit of love to grow
Give a little bit of heart and soul
Don't you make me beg for more
Give a sign, I need to know
A little bit of heart now want your soul?
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More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
I'm thinking it's about being emotionally cut off everytime they try to talk about to the other about their broken relationship.
I always loved this song (I actually bought the album at the time, so I could hear more of their stuff than just the one song).
Here is the album version of the song, in which the lyrics do match.
"Something in the moonlight catches my eye The shadow of a lover goes dancing by Looking for a little bit of love to grow, so Give me love, give me heart and soul You never let me cross to the other side now I'm tied to the hope that you will somehow Hard on the heels of something more But I lost your love, heart and soul
The tear in my heart as you walk on by (more than an ocean) I feel so low and your head is high Everything you do convinces me more (keeps us apart) Please, give me love, give me heart and soul Looking to the day when I saw your face (I feel a tearing in half of my heart) I wasn't in the running, I wasn't in the race You move in a way that I've known before Now I want your love, heart and soul
Tired eyes, tears that dried (leaving you ain't easy now) On the bed, on the pillow, where the love has died (loving you's the harder part) A turn of the key, through the door you go (you never want me for myself) Don't look back, to hurt me more (now I've needed you right from the very start) Everything you said was to the point Can't you try to (oh won't you even try to)
Give a little bit of heart and soul (give a little bit of heart and soul) Give a little bit of love to grow Give a little bit of heart and soul (give a little bit of heart and soul) And don't you make me beg for more (must I beg you) Give a sign, I need to know A little bit of heart and soul
Walking on the water, walking on the air (a walk on the water) That was the heart of the love we shared Do you keep secret left untold (is all that I need) Can't give love, heart or soul I used to have a lover with a Midas touch (but miracles are not happening) I turned to gold but he turned to dust Left me for another, I turned to stone Now give me love, heart and soul
Tired eyes, tears that dried (living in a fantasy) On the bed, on the pillow, where you told your lies (there's never any room to breathe) A turn of the key, my blood runs cold (hoping every waking hour) Don't look back to hurt me more (you'll turn around and say that we can start) Everything you did just said it all Can't you try to (oh won't you even try to)
Give a little bit of heart and soul (give a little bit of heart and soul)
Give a little bit of love to grow Give a little bit of heart and soul (give a little bit of heart and soul) And don't you make me beg for more (must I beg you) Give a sign, I need to know A little bit of heart and soul
Somehow, I lost my way Looking to see something in your eyes But love will never compromise Now this is the politics of life, yeah!
Give a little bit of heart and soul (give a little bit of heart and soul) Give a little bit of love to grow Give a little bit of heart and soul (give a little bit of heart and soul) And don't you make me beg for more (must I beg you) Give a sign, I need to know A little bit, little bit
Give a little bit of heart and soul (give a little bit of heart and soul) Give a little bit of love to grow Give a little bit of heart and soul (give a little bit of heart and soul) And don't you make me beg for more (must I beg you) Give a sign, I need to know A little bit, little bit
Give a little bit of heart and soul (give a little bit of heart and soul) Give a little bit of love to grow Give a little bit of heart and soul (give a little bit of heart and soul) And don't you make me beg for more (must I beg you) Give a sign, I need to know, whoooah! Give a little bit of heart and soul Give a little bit of heart and soul"
@Major Valor omg ty!!! i've been looking for this comment..... God- ty so much
@Major Valor omg ty!!! i've been looking for this comment..... God- ty so much
I cant' beleive that no one has poted a comment on this 'One Hit Wonder'....I can still remember listening to it on 98.7 KissFM in Greensboro, NC.....anyway...awesome song....and I love it....
Carol Decker, the lead singer, said she thought this song did well in the US because it was the birthplace of rap, and the 'spoken' elements of the song are her version of a rap. 'China in your Hands' is the song that topped the charts on the UK side of the pond.
The lyrics above are probably from the CD liner, which was printed with lyrics from an earlier version of the song. As such, they don't match the song as recorded. On the other hand, considering there are two layers of lyrics going on, it might be somewhat difficult to actually write down these lyrics.
This song seems to suggest a 'just friends' type of relationship. She's really in love with a man who is oblivious to it. She still hopes he will one day actually show some love (heart and soul).
@mdwyer I'm totally with you. I don't know how anyone can see any other meaning. Just look at some of the lyrics:<br /> <br /> "You never let me cross to the other side now/I'm tied to the hope that you will somehow" - Wants to go from friends to lovers.<br /> <br /> "Looking to the day when I saw your face/I wasn't in the running, I wasn't in the race" - Feels like she's never had a chance to be his lover.<br /> <br /> "living in a fantasy/there's never any room to breathe/hoping every waking hour/you'll turn around and say that we can start" - Need any more be said?<br /> <br /> I think we've all been there at some point in our lives.
I just found songmeanings, and my youngest was only 7 months when this first came out and she is 19 now. I didnt buy the cassestte at the time as we were moving across country and so on. Then years later I started to try to find the lyrics to it and until this week I have not found it on the net. I never did give up tho, as you can see. So sad that one would need to beg for love, but when it came out there I was in a relationship where this song fit to a t. thank you Majior Valor for putting the complete song on.
Glad I could be of any help 2flowers.
I've listened to this song at least twice a week for the past six months. It's so freaking awesome. The layering of the two melodies and words is so cool. And catchy. It has great replay value, anyway.
Missing an entire verse! And there is a few typos. Great song,Carol Decker was a great singer,loved them on American Bandstand back in the day. :)
This song has a whole new meaning after the Black Mirror episode "San Junipero"!
Pathetic girl who doesn’t realize her love interest is not that into her. She is probably way less attractive than him. She’s practically a stalker, with no self esteem. He probably thinks she looks like a horror film spooky doll. She needs to find someone as creepy looking as her. What a waste of her energy.
That said, the song mix itself was unique, although the video was low quality and blurry.
He should have gotten a Restraining a Order. Fatal Attraction (except she wasn’t attractive).
Even if she WAS attractive, her desperation would have turned any man off. The man should do the pursuing.