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."
He looked funny
The children called him the scarecrow
An old raincoat
And baggy trousers and sneakers
he found at the dump
Oh, but if you bothered to look
There was something behind the rags
Oh there was a look in his eyes
It was something you'd never forget
He lived badly
A broken shack on the railway
An old moggy
The only one who replied
When he talked to the walls
Oh we didn't understand
We were fooled by the dirt on his face
Oh we were human then
We were searching behind his disgrace
Why don't you leave me alone
Why don't you go to your homes
Why don't you keep to yourselves
I'm tellin you
Why don't you leave me alone
You're never gonna realise
When all you do is criticise
You're never gonna make it work
You never seem to get enough
You crumble when its getting rough
You're never gonna make it work
I'm tellin' you there'll come a day
You're gonna blow yourselves away
It's wrong that I should interfere
I just get in the way
Why don't you leave me alone
Why don't you go to your homes
Why don't you keep to yourselves
I'm tellin you
Why don't you leave me alone
Deep into the night
He was working by the light
of the candle by his bed
on the theory in his head
He was building from the junk
that he rescued from the dump
And when he turned the power on
There was a sound and he was gone
Oh in the gray of the dawn
We discovered the thing he was working on
Oh we didn't understand
The future was Old Mister Time
Future was Old Mister Time
Future was Old Mister Time
Future was Old Mister Time
Old Mister Time (Mister Time, Mister Time....)
Old Mister Time (Mister Time, Mister Time....)
Old Mister Time (Mister Time, Mister Time....)
The children called him the scarecrow
An old raincoat
And baggy trousers and sneakers
he found at the dump
Oh, but if you bothered to look
There was something behind the rags
Oh there was a look in his eyes
It was something you'd never forget
He lived badly
A broken shack on the railway
An old moggy
The only one who replied
When he talked to the walls
Oh we didn't understand
We were fooled by the dirt on his face
Oh we were human then
We were searching behind his disgrace
Why don't you leave me alone
Why don't you go to your homes
Why don't you keep to yourselves
I'm tellin you
Why don't you leave me alone
You're never gonna realise
When all you do is criticise
You're never gonna make it work
You never seem to get enough
You crumble when its getting rough
You're never gonna make it work
I'm tellin' you there'll come a day
You're gonna blow yourselves away
It's wrong that I should interfere
I just get in the way
Why don't you leave me alone
Why don't you go to your homes
Why don't you keep to yourselves
I'm tellin you
Why don't you leave me alone
Deep into the night
He was working by the light
of the candle by his bed
on the theory in his head
He was building from the junk
that he rescued from the dump
And when he turned the power on
There was a sound and he was gone
Oh in the gray of the dawn
We discovered the thing he was working on
Oh we didn't understand
The future was Old Mister Time
Future was Old Mister Time
Future was Old Mister Time
Future was Old Mister Time
Old Mister Time (Mister Time, Mister Time....)
Old Mister Time (Mister Time, Mister Time....)
Old Mister Time (Mister Time, Mister Time....)
Lyrics submitted by Ice
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Mountain Song
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