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."
Your golden lies feed my role
In this forgotten space race under my control
Who's returned from the dead?
Who remains?
You know I don't want you
And I never did
I don't want you
And I never will
You wanted more than I was worth
And you think I was scared, yeah
And you needed proof
Who really cares anymore?
Who restrains?
You know I don't love you
And I never did
I don't want you
And I never will
In this forgotten space race under my control
Who's returned from the dead?
Who remains?
You know I don't want you
And I never did
I don't want you
And I never will
You wanted more than I was worth
And you think I was scared, yeah
And you needed proof
Who really cares anymore?
Who restrains?
You know I don't love you
And I never did
I don't want you
And I never will
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Mountain Song
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Plastic Bag
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“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“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.
lol STRONG christians get friggen old... they always push you to be part of their religion when all theyre doing is pushing you away... im a catholic and it makes me sick when people do that.. i used to be athiest and everyone thought i was TOTALLY WRONG! and it was so stupid. so i know what youre all talking about. but hey... dont hate ALL christians.. some arent bad! lol. but yeah this song is really good to listen to full blast when the world has turned its back on you.
@StrongstManInThWrld what the fuck are you trying to say
I can link this song with religion, even though its probably nothing to do with it. I think its about him trying to explain to sombody about Christianity and the person is unaccepting and denies everything he has said. The singer is getting frustrated "i dont want you and i never did", whats the point of explaining when the guy isnt going to listen? He didnt ask to explain things to him anyway... this is just the way ive always taken it, i dont think its obvious because i definetley dont get a strong meaning from it.
I hate listening to this song when I'm thinking about "the guy". It makes me depressed. The "You know that I don't want you and I never will" bit. I'm like, 'Shut up Matt'
Two months after i bought this album, i dumped my girlfriend using the lyrics to the chorus. i felt like such a twat and still do. But i meant nothing to her, she deserved it.
I completely agree with Ferahgo, with one small adjustment: I think it is about someone who has been raised believing in a religion and begins to question it. Having been fed "golden lies" all their life, they now feel a sense of revelation in being free and can spit in God's face (essentially). They may even realise that they never really believed it all in the first place ("I don't love you, and I never did") and this song is the ultimate 'severing ties' song. Also, after "Who remains?" and "Who restrains?", the segue to the chorus (sounds like ch. ch. ch. ch. ch. ch.) actually says "Just to spit it in your face!" So, one could interpret that as the release of all the unease and tension abotu rejecting religion over the years; now it is a joyful experience.
i think its just about a relationship gone bad, "you wanted more than i was worth" and "i dont love you and i never did" he is saying the woman here, or maybe the man, (he may be singing from a womans point of view after all, ) wants too much out of the relationship and it is breaking him down!
I can understand what this song means in a way, but its great to listen to it really loud on your MD/CD player when walking through a croud of people that get in your way. especialy at an airport. Get me through my day at work too! ^_^
Well, in fact i always understood it similar to you all, but focussed on society. "golden skies" and "space race" just seem to me to mean the ideals society tries to dictate on us, but he doesn`t want that but at the same time feels "not worth", which shows, that society already fucked up with him.....
well might be this, might be something compleatly else - I just find it intresting, how everybody here finds basically similar explanatories, but which always seem to be according to the situation of the writer.... kinda shows how subjective all those interpreting is.... smile
This is one of those songs that seems to have more then one meaning which makes a lot of sense. My own personal view is that its about the breaking down of a relationship but I do think the idea of the ideas of todays society is a fancinating meaning.
i think itrs about war. Aftre it is over and all lkife befoer it has been forgotten. maybe he survived or is some kind of ghost under the golden sun. talking about the tkme of the war and what the army/society required of him. he did not love them enough to die for. Or something like that, probably wrong tho and anyway has many many meanings