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."
[Intro]
Glorious be to the most high, Jah, Rastafari
Oh, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nigh
Hey, you see Sly and Robbie
[Chorus]
A just Selassie send them, well
Play music fi heathen, well
Si di Christian we call them, yeh
Dut just di devil control them, Sly
A Selassie send dem, well
Cause music a fi play them, yeh
Mr. Robbie him bass them, well
Taxi Gang come tell them that
[Verse 1]
Well Mr. Sly, well
Music we al play an we a trample over jungle
trample down a TG, rema man we a talk to
All rema man unuh fi cool an unuh fi humble
Put down all di guns an leave di chain an all di bangle
Cause Selassie, well we ready fi di people
All rastaman an bogo man we all a talk to
Sly them a play, we licking out di devil
Come Taxi Gang come play fi di people
[Chorus]
[Verse 2]
Long time we a tell them fi louh all di band
Dem want mix rastaman in them Bachanal
Chu Missa Sly him a foundation
thats why we play di music fi each and everyone
[Verse 3]
Music we a play yes a we run di route
Music we a play fi all them down a south
Easy Mr. Sly and Taxi Gang run di route
Yuh nuh hear music them a bawl out
Mission Impossible and a teach people
Play fi all di dumb, di deaf, di blind and all di cripple
Oh Mr. Sly how yuh humble, nah rumble
Because we too comfortable so we tell them
[Chorus]
[Verse 4]
Well, trample di Christian, di beast a albashan
Dis rastaman don't yuh know seh yuh ever wrong
Mr. Sly play di music from 19 how long
Dem a play fi Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, how much
How them fi dis we when yuh know seh we nuh nervous
A foundation, a we dig di land
A wi set di plan, an a wi buy, oh na
[Chorus]
[Verse 5]
Dis yah one yah pass January morning
From now mi a give out di warning
Some bwoy a fi try do some farming
Mr. Sly a music wi playing
Well from now bad man I talking
Well Taxi Gang don't you know them run di tune
And don't yuh know sehh a we have di engine
Well follow Beenie Man and sing
Glorious be to the most high, Jah, Rastafari
Oh, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nigh
Hey, you see Sly and Robbie
[Chorus]
A just Selassie send them, well
Play music fi heathen, well
Si di Christian we call them, yeh
Dut just di devil control them, Sly
A Selassie send dem, well
Cause music a fi play them, yeh
Mr. Robbie him bass them, well
Taxi Gang come tell them that
[Verse 1]
Well Mr. Sly, well
Music we al play an we a trample over jungle
trample down a TG, rema man we a talk to
All rema man unuh fi cool an unuh fi humble
Put down all di guns an leave di chain an all di bangle
Cause Selassie, well we ready fi di people
All rastaman an bogo man we all a talk to
Sly them a play, we licking out di devil
Come Taxi Gang come play fi di people
[Chorus]
[Verse 2]
Long time we a tell them fi louh all di band
Dem want mix rastaman in them Bachanal
Chu Missa Sly him a foundation
thats why we play di music fi each and everyone
[Verse 3]
Music we a play yes a we run di route
Music we a play fi all them down a south
Easy Mr. Sly and Taxi Gang run di route
Yuh nuh hear music them a bawl out
Mission Impossible and a teach people
Play fi all di dumb, di deaf, di blind and all di cripple
Oh Mr. Sly how yuh humble, nah rumble
Because we too comfortable so we tell them
[Chorus]
[Verse 4]
Well, trample di Christian, di beast a albashan
Dis rastaman don't yuh know seh yuh ever wrong
Mr. Sly play di music from 19 how long
Dem a play fi Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, how much
How them fi dis we when yuh know seh we nuh nervous
A foundation, a we dig di land
A wi set di plan, an a wi buy, oh na
[Chorus]
[Verse 5]
Dis yah one yah pass January morning
From now mi a give out di warning
Some bwoy a fi try do some farming
Mr. Sly a music wi playing
Well from now bad man I talking
Well Taxi Gang don't you know them run di tune
And don't yuh know sehh a we have di engine
Well follow Beenie Man and sing
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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Yo La Tengo
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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,
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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.
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“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.
LOVE THIS SONG,AND THE ALBUM IS GREAT!!!