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."
Always at the foot of the photograph, that's me there
Snug as a thug in a mugshot pose, a foul-mouthed rogue
Owner of this corner and not much more
Still these days I'm better placed to get my just rewards
I'll pound out a tune and very soon
I'll have too much to say and a dead stupid name
Though I ought to be learning I feel like a veteran
Of "oh I like your poetry but I hate your poems"
Calendars crumble I'm knee deep in numbers
I've turned twenty one, I've twist, I'm bust and wrong again
Rubbing shoulders with the sheets till two
Looking at my watch and I'm half-past caring
In the lap of luxury it comes to mind
Is this headboard hard? Am I a lap behind?
But to face doom in a sock-stenched room all by myself
Is the kind of fate I never contemplate
Lots of people would cry though none spring to mind
Though I ought to be learning I feel like a veteran
Of "oh I like your poetry but I hate your poems"
Calendars crumble I'm knee deep in numbers
I've turned 21, I've twist, I'm bust and wrong again
Know what it's like
To sigh at the sight of the first quarter of life?
Ever stopped to think and found out nothing was there?
They laugh to see such fun
I'm playing blind man's bluff all by myself
And they're chanting a line from a nursery rhyme
"Ba ba bleary eyes - have you any idea?"
Years of learning I must be a veteran
Of "oh I like your poetry but I hate your poems"
And the calendar's cluttered with days that are numbered
I've turned twenty, I've twist, I'm bust and wrong again
Ought to be learning
Twist, I'm bust and wrong again
Feel like a veteran
Twist, I'm bust and wrong again
Calendar's cluttered
With days that are numbered
And I know what it's like
To sigh at the sight
Of the first quarter of life
Snug as a thug in a mugshot pose, a foul-mouthed rogue
Owner of this corner and not much more
Still these days I'm better placed to get my just rewards
I'll pound out a tune and very soon
I'll have too much to say and a dead stupid name
Though I ought to be learning I feel like a veteran
Of "oh I like your poetry but I hate your poems"
Calendars crumble I'm knee deep in numbers
I've turned twenty one, I've twist, I'm bust and wrong again
Rubbing shoulders with the sheets till two
Looking at my watch and I'm half-past caring
In the lap of luxury it comes to mind
Is this headboard hard? Am I a lap behind?
But to face doom in a sock-stenched room all by myself
Is the kind of fate I never contemplate
Lots of people would cry though none spring to mind
Though I ought to be learning I feel like a veteran
Of "oh I like your poetry but I hate your poems"
Calendars crumble I'm knee deep in numbers
I've turned 21, I've twist, I'm bust and wrong again
Know what it's like
To sigh at the sight of the first quarter of life?
Ever stopped to think and found out nothing was there?
They laugh to see such fun
I'm playing blind man's bluff all by myself
And they're chanting a line from a nursery rhyme
"Ba ba bleary eyes - have you any idea?"
Years of learning I must be a veteran
Of "oh I like your poetry but I hate your poems"
And the calendar's cluttered with days that are numbered
I've turned twenty, I've twist, I'm bust and wrong again
Ought to be learning
Twist, I'm bust and wrong again
Feel like a veteran
Twist, I'm bust and wrong again
Calendar's cluttered
With days that are numbered
And I know what it's like
To sigh at the sight
Of the first quarter of life
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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."
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
"I must be a veteran of 'oh I like your poetry but I hate your poems.'" Somehow that really hits home for me... I think it's all about feeling like you're getting older and you haven't accomplished what you wanted... feeling like another face in the crowd, hence the title "Obscurity Knocks"
Everything.
You missed a line : snug as a thug in a mugshot pose, a foul-mouthed rogue.
The song I think is about getting older and realizing your ideals are not exactly realized..The "quarter life crisis".
I think the line "a foul-mouthed rogue" should be "above my cloak", depicting a graduation photo or sth, which brought back memories of youth.
BTW, today was the release date of the song, as their debut single back in 1990. Check their official facebook entry here: goo.gl/bpFoM