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."
Images of sorrow, pictures of delight
things that go to make up a life
endless days of summer longer nights of gloom
just waiting for the morning light
scenes of unimportance like photos in a frame
things that go to make up a life
As we relive our lives in what we tell you
things that go to make up a life
endless days of summer longer nights of gloom
just waiting for the morning light
scenes of unimportance like photos in a frame
things that go to make up a life
As we relive our lives in what we tell you
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
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,
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
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.
if anyone's wondering why this one's so short it's the second half of home by the sea which makes it 11 minutes long for some reason.
Home by the Sea was done just at the time the big long songs were fading out of sight, and it's one of the last done. So people don't get bored of it nowadays, they split in two and the second part is mostly instruments and acoustics.
It is a pretty good song if you manage to listen to it for nearly 12 minutes, and rather than the people on the first half's comments, I'm gonna be blunt.
IT'S ABOUT A HAUNTED HOUSE THAT SOME IDIOT BURGLAR BREAKS INTO AND GETS TRAPPED IN. THE SHADOWS/GHOSTS DECIDE TO BORE HIM TO NOT-QUITE-DEATH BY TELLING HIM STORIES OF LIFE BEFORE THEY GOT TRAPPED.
I mean, you can tell half that just by looking at this verse!
Quite right!
Lyrics for second home by the sea only
Images of sorrow, pictures of delight Things that go to make up a life Endless days of summer longer nights of gloom Just waiting for the morning light Scenes of unimportance like photos in a frame Things that go to make up a life As we relive our lives in what we tell you
What a spectacular song! More instrumental than the initial half, but still captivating :-). As for the two above me, don't say "This is what the song is about" when it is up to the audience to take whatever they want from the piece, and don't squabble on a lyrics site. Its no competition. You won't get a medal for having your view put forth stronger. Leave the fighting for the playground Kindy-Kids.
Songfacts.com confirms what Typhoon says about the ghosts. However, it contradicts him on what he said about the living being a burglar.
But that's about Home By The Sea. This track is Second Home By The Sea. It has no original lyrics, and very few lyrics at all. So I'm guessing it is the details of the stories the ghosts are telling.
About 3 minutes into the song there's this catchy guitar line. Someone once told me that that is supposed to be a whale. I don't know where he got that from, but the association does seem fitting. So everytime I hear it, I imagine a whale, and now everytime you hear it, you'll think of a whale :)
I always thought of a more obvious meaning.
A group of old people in a home (or maybe even asylum?) waiting to die telling the same old stories eadch day..
Rather than let any of you believe the above tripe, I'm also going to be blunt.
The song is NOT about a damn haunted house. What's the point of a burglar breaking into a haunted house with ghosts that want to bore him to death? Sounds to me like you're talking out your ass.
The thing to keep in mind with Genesis songs (that isn't a love song) is that they have deep lyrics about straightforward concepts. This is going to be a song about something simple like a prisoner in Alcatraz but eloquently described. This isn't going to be about a lame haunted house. If they wanted to do that, they'd have written "Ghostbusters"...and Ray Parker Jr. beat them to it.
The point is, you can speculate but until Phil Collins plunks you down in a chair and says to your face what the song means, you can't put in all caps that "this is what it is about."
Is a burglar going to care who/what lives in a house he's about to try and rob? He's more interested in what they own that he can sell!!
For people who've read the comments on Home by the Sea, rather than just jumped at the chance to have a go at somebody, Phil Collins has said that this song is about the supernatural. So I can write what I wrote, smartass.
Also for ghosts trapped somewhere for ages, what else are they going to talk about? The view out the windows? From their point of view their lives prior to getting stuck somewhere would be the most interesting thing they could talk about.
Finally, who the heck knows what people are going to write songs about? People think of all kinds of different things and turn them into songs, some that don't even have words.
overreacted here. for the full story, read the home by the sea lyrics, because I can't be bothered to write it again.