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."
I come from a land of wide open spaces
Where the world turns around us and we just follow suit
There's heat in the air and peace reigns supreme
Got white flags on the clothes lines and the deals are new
In the wind, the ashes fly
The poison crown, the charcoal ground
And if you can't see the smile in me
That's where I want to be
There's only God, There's only Christ
Think I'll lie down, for just a while
So watch and check them out and listen as we learn
Throw the pearls before the swine, ebb and flow and turning tide
Yes we watch and catch them down no matter how they jump
The pigs will have to come to ground,we've got to make it happen now
It's not really that new, try and make it happen now
What are we to do, maybe there's a chance for you
All around, an eerie sound
Their dreams a cloud, their world in shrouds
In the wind, the ashes fly
Not much time, but time to try
And if you can't see the smile in me, that's where I want to be
I want to be here at the, I have to be here at the end
Where the world turns around us and we just follow suit
There's heat in the air and peace reigns supreme
Got white flags on the clothes lines and the deals are new
In the wind, the ashes fly
The poison crown, the charcoal ground
And if you can't see the smile in me
That's where I want to be
There's only God, There's only Christ
Think I'll lie down, for just a while
So watch and check them out and listen as we learn
Throw the pearls before the swine, ebb and flow and turning tide
Yes we watch and catch them down no matter how they jump
The pigs will have to come to ground,we've got to make it happen now
It's not really that new, try and make it happen now
What are we to do, maybe there's a chance for you
All around, an eerie sound
Their dreams a cloud, their world in shrouds
In the wind, the ashes fly
Not much time, but time to try
And if you can't see the smile in me, that's where I want to be
I want to be here at the, I have to be here at the end
Lyrics submitted by Chris_Gough
Maralinga Lyrics as written by Martin Rotsey James Moginie
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This song really rattles me. Maralinga was the site for British Atomic Tests in the 50s and 60s, and it appalls me to think of the damage that was wreaked by a programme that was eventually to prove pointless.
It was reported by scientists on the site that when they went to investigate Ground Zero for many tests, they discovered Aborigines camping in the craters caused by the explosions codenamed "Kittens" "Rats" "Vixens" or "Tims".
For further information on testing Britain's bomb, I recommend the book "Fields of Thunder" by Denis Blakeway and Sue Lloyd-Roberts.
Thank god for bands like Midnight Oil
Couldn't have said it better myself. One of Midnight Oil's saddest, most beautiful and yet haunting songs.