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."
She lives in a bungalow
She kills me with rosegarden thorns
She waits for me
My love is unusual
It's painted with roses and thorns
With her I'm complete
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
Visions of Mexico seduce me
It goes to my head so carefully
Memories of candles and incense
And all of these things remember these
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She comforts me when
The candles blow out
The cake has grown mold
But the memories are sweet
The laughter's all gone
But the memories are mine
The Mexican princess
Is out of my life
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She lives by the wall
And waits at the door
She walks in the sun to me
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She kills me with rosegarden thorns
She waits for me
My love is unusual
It's painted with roses and thorns
With her I'm complete
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
Visions of Mexico seduce me
It goes to my head so carefully
Memories of candles and incense
And all of these things remember these
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She comforts me when
The candles blow out
The cake has grown mold
But the memories are sweet
The laughter's all gone
But the memories are mine
The Mexican princess
Is out of my life
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
She lives by the wall
And waits at the door
She walks in the sun to me
She lives by the wall
And waits by the door
She walks in the sun to me
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
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.
Trouble Breathing
Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio
While the obvious connections with suicide or alcoholism could be drawn easily, more subtly this song could be about someone who views the world through a negative lens constantly and how as much as the writer tries to show the beauty in the world, this person refuses to see it. It's one or another between the rope and the bottle. There is no good option for this person. They can't see it. Skiba sings it in a kind of exasperated way like He's tired of hearing this negative view constantly and just allowing that person to continue feeling the way they feel knowing he can't do anything about it. You can hear it when he says maybe you're a vampire.
Zombie
Cranberries, The
Cranberries, The
"Zombie" is about the ethno-political conflict in Ireland. This is obvious if you know anything of the singer (Dolores O'Riordan)'s Irish heritage and understood the "1916" Easter Rising reference.
"Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And the violence caused such silence
Who are we mistaken
-
Another mother's breaking
Heart is taking over"
Laments the Warrington bomb attacks in which two children were fatally injured on March 23rd, 1993. Twelve year old Tim Parry was taken off life support with permission from his mother after five days in the hospital, virtually braindead.
"But you see it's not me
It's not my family"
References how people who are not directly involved with the violence feel about it. They are "zombies" without sympathy who refuse to take action while others suffer.
Tonight my son was playing this song on the guitar and singing it. At first I thought he was singing the Sound of Music tune with a melancholy twist:
"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens"
After that the melody changes. I'm an old fogey and I don't know the Stone Temple Pilots so I pulled it up on my son't itunes.
I like them.
I agree they sound a little like Jim Morrison and the Doors.
It's a neat song, but I wouldn't call it their best. If you want to listen to STP's best, put "Core" on for a spin.
amen
Purple is their best
Tiny Music is their best lol
@creedude "Core" shows the ambition, "Purple" the artistry, "Tiny Music…" the diversity, "No. 4" the breakdown, and "Shangri-la-dee-da" the farewell. All are essential albums; the first three albums are all killers, the fourth a concept album on suffering, and SHANGRI-LA-DEE-DA the delusion of hope
about his marriage gone to shits
both of his marriages went to shits
i dont think even scott knows if hes talking about heroin or his first wife... hes just writing abotu the pain he was feeling on that day
i remember every 1 jumping on STP for sounding like Pearl Jam, and Scott said, we were aiming foor a Jim Morrison sound..... scott hit it on this one.... gives me the chills
i dont think this song sounds like jim at all
i think at the start of the song he sounds like neil diamond hahahahahaha.... But I love it anyway. I love when they make songs kinda sound lounge..<br /> <br />
Why is it called Atlanta?
because it was written in atlanta during the making of the purple album... they didnt use it on purple and didnt release it till No. 4
Incorrect. It was written in Atlanta, however in 1999, while Scott was going through a divorce with his first wife, Janina Castaneda ("the Mexican Princess is out of my life"), not during the making of Purple, which that album was written and subsequently released, in 1995 if I'm not mistaken, shortly after they married in 1994.
On further review, Scott actually married Castaneda, about 3 months after the release of Purple (Sep 94/June 94). Irrelevant, but needed to clarify.
To quote Scott is about an interstate love affair. Great song.
How were they Pearl Jam rip offs? They were together when Pearl Jam were still Mother Love Bone w/Andy Wood.
EXACTLY.... btw andy wood took better shits than eddie vedder
eddie vedder was only good in temple of the dog... where he hardly ever sung
In response to Mikalee's question about the meaning of "But what do the lyrics mean? Why does she live by the wall and waits at the door? What doe sthat mean??!!". I think Scott expresses a parallel meaning of "mexican princess" (his former wife and heroin). First, the drug waits for him as well and lives for him (he needs it to survive, it needs him). It leaves his life when he enters rehab, "the mexican princess is out of my life". Second, this wife, she waits for him to change. On an interview with Howard Stern (check out YouTube), he talks about how beautiful his wife is. She waits for him to change through impossible odds, but eventually "the candles" go out and she decides she can't live with him anymore.
their best song
absolutely... one of their epic songs