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."
Gypsy gal, the hands of Harlem
Cannot hold you to its heat
Your temperature's too hot for taming
Your flaming feet burn up the street
I am homeless, come and take me
To reach of your rattling drums
Let me know, babe, about my fortune
Down along my restless palms
Gypsy gal, you got me swallowed
I have fallen far beneath
Your pearly eyes, so fast an' slashing
An' your flashing diamond teeth
The night is pitch black, come an' make my
Pale face fit into place, ah, please
Let me know, babe, I'm nearly drowning
If it's you my lifelines trace
I been wond'rin' all about me
Ever since I seen you there
On the cliffs of your wildcat charms I'm riding
I know I'm 'round you but I don't know where
You have slayed me, you have made me
I got to laugh halfways off my heels
I got to know, babe, will you surround me?
So I can tell if I'm really real
Cannot hold you to its heat
Your temperature's too hot for taming
Your flaming feet burn up the street
I am homeless, come and take me
To reach of your rattling drums
Let me know, babe, about my fortune
Down along my restless palms
Gypsy gal, you got me swallowed
I have fallen far beneath
Your pearly eyes, so fast an' slashing
An' your flashing diamond teeth
The night is pitch black, come an' make my
Pale face fit into place, ah, please
Let me know, babe, I'm nearly drowning
If it's you my lifelines trace
I been wond'rin' all about me
Ever since I seen you there
On the cliffs of your wildcat charms I'm riding
I know I'm 'round you but I don't know where
You have slayed me, you have made me
I got to laugh halfways off my heels
I got to know, babe, will you surround me?
So I can tell if I'm really real
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Marvellous little song - it's easy to picture this wildcat described in the first verse and how after their encounter in the second verse (probably the most explicitly vague erotics he's ever written) and how he's completely lost in her memory in the third, the exhilirating and terrifying feelings from a hot one-night-stand when you don't know if you'll ever see her again.
Your flaming feet are burnin up the street.
Let me know, babe, I'm nearly drowning, If it's you my lifelines trace.
I got to know, babe, eh, will you surround me? So I can know if I am really real.
I've heard this has to do with Dylan's self-consciousness about being a white boy playing the blues and how he's also attracted to the fiery black women of Harlem. "the night is pitch black, come and make my pale face fit into place ah please". also in other songs, he often depicts his woman as a soulful "junkyard angel"... a real bluesy kinda dame. i dunno
Just so you all know, spanish harlem is an area in New York consisting predominately of hispanics. They're mostly puerto rican, but its a mix of everything - it is often used as a symbol of the mix of their original cultures and US culture.-- it has nothing to do with harlem; not black people
this is one of my favorite bob dylan songs. almost unknown, that's why i like it. so beautiful.
i never thought this song to be unknown, it's always been a favorite of mine (like so many others). i think a lot of songmeanings users have been heavily drinking lately, which explains lack of posts on a lot of good songs.
i dont know, but it always makes me think of the first girl i loved, being a lesbian and she being straight i could never say anything. and she was a beautiful gypsie type hippie. and the anguish in my heart!! i could probably write my own song about her!! not a bad idea!
I think Dylan recent ammitted that even he couldn't connect a meaning to the song.
Well Bob's also an obsessive compulsive liar lol...even if he says the song meant nothing to him, that might not even be true.
Anyway, in my opinion, it sounds like Joan Baez might've been the influence behind this. I dont know why, but shes the first woman that comes to mind when I hear these lyrics.
What I get from this song..... is seeing a woman from a totally different world and being absolutely infactuated with her. Dylan is so good at expressing vulnerability in a very cool way. I've been there many times. I love this song.
man it depresses me to see such few comments especially on such a well written song i like the idea of joan baez being the inspiration for this song, especially since bobby was still young when he wrote this and though he was wise beyond his years this song proves that even he doesnt know how to fully understand and express his feelings toward women
the lyrics are wrong, ....it's let me know babe-i'm nearly drowning..... and will you surround me so i can know if i am really real .. at the end of the 2 verses. sdfjjlsf. this song is beautiful.
I think everyone so far has been a bit off on this Dylan song...although I don't believe Bob Dylan doesn't know what this song is about.<br /> <br /> It's pretty simple: it's about a man who goes to a fortune teller in Spanish Harlem and gets his palm read. In the intimacy of that moment, touching hands, he feels erotic lust, love and mysterious curiosity for her.<br /> <br /> The song is much easier to understand if you don't assume it's in chronological order (this is Bob Dylan, after all)<br /> <br /> In the first verse, he's describing her in poetic language: she's so freaking hot, she even heats up the pavement of steamy Spanish Harlem (Harlem is no comparison to how hot you are, two meanings for the word "heat.") He convinces her to read his fortune "let me know, babe, about my fortune, all along my restless palms." <br /> <br /> The second verse is him really falling for her when she touches his face and hands. It seems to me that he really doesn't buy the fortune telling, he just wants to be with her in a dark room and watch her talk. "Let me know babe, I got to know babe, if it's you my lifelines trace." He wants to know if she's in his future, and he really doesn't care about anything else.<br /> <br /> The third verse is actually the moment he first sees her (this is the beginning chronologically). "I been wonderin' all about me, ever since I seen you there". He says, "will I be touching you, so I can tell if I'm really real?" and "I know I'm 'round you but I don't know where" (he can feel her presence in Spanish Harlem, but he doesn't know exactly where she is at that moment). That's when he decides to visit her and get his palm read.<br /> <br /> That's the main story in the song. There are also echoes of vulnerability (weakness) and some self-consciousness (she is not white, which is why his pale skin is significant) as pointed out by other posters.
eh, your reading too much into it