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."
Got a racecar grin and a calculation
And every gun for a secret agent
Defunct that timebomb at the space station
Hey, Secret Agent X-9, why don't you drop me a line?
And say, would it cost you your job
To say what was in that gold box?
So why did they give you that job?
And why can they give you that job?
You'd think this guy was on a permanent vacation
But no, he's not, he's a secret agent
And every gun for a secret agent
Defunct that timebomb at the space station
Hey, Secret Agent X-9, why don't you drop me a line?
And say, would it cost you your job
To say what was in that gold box?
So why did they give you that job?
And why can they give you that job?
You'd think this guy was on a permanent vacation
But no, he's not, he's a secret agent
Lyrics submitted by numb
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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.
Midnight
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms.
“Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.
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.
yeah. i was just reading cats cradle and i realized that they got this song from that book. One of the greatest books ever written, read it
Hey just dropping by to clarify things sort of.
The comic book "Secret Agent X-9" predates the book "Cat's Cradle" by Vonnegut. One of the characters (James Hoenikker) in Cat's Cradle is nicknamed Secret Agent X-9 because, when is school, he was very secretive and was always going somewhere (seemingly like he was always on a "mission"). the lines "So why did they give you that job? And why can they give you that job?" refer to the job James gets because of his connections to the fictional father of the atomic bomb. the line "You'd think this guy was on a permanent vacation" refers to where his new job is located, the fictional tropical island of San Lorenzo. the "timebomb" line and the line "To say what was in that gold box?" refer to the doomsday that he and his siblings share. The song seems to have no connection to Isaac's father, its just a fun little song about a fictional Vonnegut character :)
It's Frank, not James Hoenikker.<br /> Also, I think the lines "So why did they give you that job? And why can they give you that job?" relate to the fact that he gave "Papa" his piece of Ice-nine, which is why he got the job at San Lorenzo.
This song makes me want to dance... David sings like mr.Brock.
People aren't what you think..
the title of this song is also the title of chapter 10 in kurt vonnegut's book 'cat's cradle'.. this name is given as a joke in reference to a kid who acts all secretive and anti-social and stuff.. the book is about the end of the world because of nukes and stuff.. i still don't understand this song completely, but yeah.. look into that chapter in vonnegut's book and see what you can make of it.. both the song and the book are great!
uhhh... cool, havn't heard the song... yet
yeah the book and song fucking rock, not sure about the meaning though
quote uhhh... cool, havn't heard the song... yet
you probably shouldnt post here then
i truly love this song, now i guess i need to read 'the cat's cradle'
Uh, Secret Agent X-9 was a British comic strip. Vonnegut probably got the idea from that.
PREJUDICES. don't go and think you know everything about everyone. people around you hide a lot of things. and yeah, people arent exactly who you think they are.
great song. Love you Isaac Brock