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."
Standing alone but feeling full
Destiny poking through my skull
Makes me belive I have no voice
It tells me he has made his choice
But who is he? and why do we?
Let him control who we will be
Let him design our lives
Afraid of when he’ll arise
From here on out
I won’t let him
Let him control where I have been
Let him control who I am
What I do is my own plan
Then one day they’ll all flow
Back to the ground as black as snow
Because they have been living upstairs
Now they’ll do more than wet your hair
And they’ll all fall down at once
They won’t stop for months
Every tear you have ever cried
Will be now why you’ve died.
Destiny poking through my skull
Makes me belive I have no voice
It tells me he has made his choice
But who is he? and why do we?
Let him control who we will be
Let him design our lives
Afraid of when he’ll arise
From here on out
I won’t let him
Let him control where I have been
Let him control who I am
What I do is my own plan
Then one day they’ll all flow
Back to the ground as black as snow
Because they have been living upstairs
Now they’ll do more than wet your hair
And they’ll all fall down at once
They won’t stop for months
Every tear you have ever cried
Will be now why you’ve died.
Lyrics submitted by longlegz1086
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Mountain Song
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