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."
Little Bruce:
I got Now and Later, bubble gum and sour candies
With a trunk load of cookies like Amos and Andy
Got the bud from Hershey and Mr. M&M
And me and Willy Wonka is old school friends
It's the american dream
On the triple beam
Little Bruce got the bomb ass cookies and cream
And I'm servin' more kids than Chuck E. Cheese
And a german chocolate cake'll cost you 16 G's
B-Legit:
It's the big time billa
Sucka side killa
Real about the fetti
No Ben baby??
Got a truck load baby for the hillside ride
Bombbay all the way from the Bay we slide
Through your hood
Gettin' off our goods
Fiendin' for a knot
We put it in the box
We got a brand new batch
And we put in the smash
Better get it 'cuz we sellin' out fast
Chorus:
You gotta buy dope from us
You gotta buy dope from us
You gotta buy dope from us
If you wanna ball please
If you wanna stack cheese
You gotta buy dope from us
B-Legit:
I got variety packs
Hits so fat
And that's platinum status
I'ma let you have it
It's on for a little bit or nathin' at all
I'm going wholesale
I needs mail from all
C-Bo:
Suitcase full of G's
400SC
It's the candy man with all the cream
I put the candy on the triple beam
The ziplock baggies
Distributin' to the nation to have your whole crew cavied
Now fools want to blast me because I'm ballin'
'Cuz got more cream than 31 flavors at Baskin Robbins
Slangin' thangs for 16 9 for half
Got ya flyin' to the Westside to double up your cash
Little Bruce:
I'm playin' chase with the FEDS
And got the DA's pissed
They raided my spot
Shot both my Pits'
While I was in Atlanta smokin Swisher Sweets loungin'
Countin' hundred thousand in the Lexus clowin'
Chorus
You gotta buy dope from us
You gotta buy dope from us
You gotta buy dope from us
If you wanna ball please
If you wanna stack cheese
You gotta buy dope from us
Answering Machine:
What's happening?
You reached Sik Wid It slash Jive.
Leave your name and number at tone.
I'll get writ back at you.
Playa, we at the All-Star game in San Antonio.
You and Bruce meet us here and don't to forget to bring it.
Little Bruce:
I hit the All-Star game with a thang my back pack
And on no train we rollin' nice ass Cadillacs
The north star system on 100 spoke Daytons
I smokes big with Reider and Gary Payton
Behind the back door where ballers be livin'
Transactions on nation-wide television
C-Bo:
I'm down to make cheese
Slangin' straight cream
In the land of milk and honey
On a mission about the money
Breakin' down in quarters
Saran wrappin' acorss the border
In my 500 Ben behind the '96 Explorer
B-Legit:
I pull the keys out my pocket
And I started to G
Bo-Loc back seat strapped down with heat
Track after track
Unit after unit
Runnin' straight through it
It ain't nothin' to it
It's kind of like me sprung out on doves
And when you buy dope you better but it from us
Chorus:
You gotta buy dope from us
You gotta buy dope from us
You gotta buy dope from us
If you wanna ball please
If you wanna stack cheese
You gotta buy dope from us
I got Now and Later, bubble gum and sour candies
With a trunk load of cookies like Amos and Andy
Got the bud from Hershey and Mr. M&M
And me and Willy Wonka is old school friends
It's the american dream
On the triple beam
Little Bruce got the bomb ass cookies and cream
And I'm servin' more kids than Chuck E. Cheese
And a german chocolate cake'll cost you 16 G's
B-Legit:
It's the big time billa
Sucka side killa
Real about the fetti
No Ben baby??
Got a truck load baby for the hillside ride
Bombbay all the way from the Bay we slide
Through your hood
Gettin' off our goods
Fiendin' for a knot
We put it in the box
We got a brand new batch
And we put in the smash
Better get it 'cuz we sellin' out fast
Chorus:
You gotta buy dope from us
You gotta buy dope from us
You gotta buy dope from us
If you wanna ball please
If you wanna stack cheese
You gotta buy dope from us
B-Legit:
I got variety packs
Hits so fat
And that's platinum status
I'ma let you have it
It's on for a little bit or nathin' at all
I'm going wholesale
I needs mail from all
C-Bo:
Suitcase full of G's
400SC
It's the candy man with all the cream
I put the candy on the triple beam
The ziplock baggies
Distributin' to the nation to have your whole crew cavied
Now fools want to blast me because I'm ballin'
'Cuz got more cream than 31 flavors at Baskin Robbins
Slangin' thangs for 16 9 for half
Got ya flyin' to the Westside to double up your cash
Little Bruce:
I'm playin' chase with the FEDS
And got the DA's pissed
They raided my spot
Shot both my Pits'
While I was in Atlanta smokin Swisher Sweets loungin'
Countin' hundred thousand in the Lexus clowin'
Chorus
You gotta buy dope from us
You gotta buy dope from us
You gotta buy dope from us
If you wanna ball please
If you wanna stack cheese
You gotta buy dope from us
Answering Machine:
What's happening?
You reached Sik Wid It slash Jive.
Leave your name and number at tone.
I'll get writ back at you.
Playa, we at the All-Star game in San Antonio.
You and Bruce meet us here and don't to forget to bring it.
Little Bruce:
I hit the All-Star game with a thang my back pack
And on no train we rollin' nice ass Cadillacs
The north star system on 100 spoke Daytons
I smokes big with Reider and Gary Payton
Behind the back door where ballers be livin'
Transactions on nation-wide television
C-Bo:
I'm down to make cheese
Slangin' straight cream
In the land of milk and honey
On a mission about the money
Breakin' down in quarters
Saran wrappin' acorss the border
In my 500 Ben behind the '96 Explorer
B-Legit:
I pull the keys out my pocket
And I started to G
Bo-Loc back seat strapped down with heat
Track after track
Unit after unit
Runnin' straight through it
It ain't nothin' to it
It's kind of like me sprung out on doves
And when you buy dope you better but it from us
Chorus:
You gotta buy dope from us
You gotta buy dope from us
You gotta buy dope from us
If you wanna ball please
If you wanna stack cheese
You gotta buy dope from us
Lyrics submitted by Ice
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
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,
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Somewhere Only We Know
Keane
Keane
Per the FAQ on Keane's website, Keane's drummer Richard Hughes, stated the following:
"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."
With the nostalgic sentiment and the overall tone of the song, I think Keane is attempting to express a Portuguese term known as 'saudade', which does not have a direct English translation but roughly means "that which we remember because it is gone."