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."
Verse One: Phife Dawg
Went to Carvel to get a milk shake
This honey ripped me off of my loot case
The car oh yeah there's money in my jacket
Somebody broke into my ride and cold macked it
Yo tip I tell you man the devil's trying it
But I'm goin to stay strong cause I ain't bying it
Tonight I'm taking Sherry out
I don't have jack to wear
You know I've got to look dipped in the freshest gear
Cool I found something so I ironed it
I think I caught up on the phone
Oh shit I'm trying it
Will someone tell me what did I do to deserve this?
I think I'll pull out my super ? and serve this
My little brother wants Barney, cool I'm getting it
Took him down to Kay-Bee, they ain't sellin it
Here we go with the crying, yo he's throwing fits
My blood pressure blowing up, I can't take this shit
Finally got what he wanted now he's good to go
Again the robers smashed, were's my radio?
One time the car was in the shop I had to borrow see...
They had no mercy on the car oh you he'll kill me
Where the hell can Nicki be? I'm goin to smack her up
I got the tickets for the Knicks and she cold stood me up
I need to hit a hunny off yo drill pas me the phone
Pulled out my hooker hoes, oh yo Sheela's home
Steady smiling like a mother yo I'm wrecked to bone
Went down on hun, she's in the red zone
Stressed out more than one could ever be
Forever trying to clear the sample for my new LP
With all these trials and tribulations yo I've been affected
And to top it off, Starks got ejected
Refrain
Verse Two: Phife Dawg
Just last week my girl was stressing me
Now her best friend be underssing me
Well I was lovin her by the moon lit
Now I'm tricking on her like Kinte'
Bought a bag of izm from the smoke shop
Walking towards the car, here come the damn cops
Now I'm station bound for the thai sticks
I bought it for my man, I don't believe this shit
Coach sat me down from the ball team
Cause I was breakin niggaz on the inseams
Some niggas cross town was trying to stick me
All I had was shorts, a dollar fifty
Picked up this gir in the hoopty
Just because of her rhymes she tried to soup me
Pay for this and pay for that loot for nails and hair
Who the hell do you think I am, Mr. Belvedere?
Go and get a bloddy job then can we look cute
Even if you get me boots, you'll neva see my loot
She wasn't even all of that just anothe hooker
Took the journey that ass way, quick like Chucky Booker
Sometimes you got put the hoes in their freakin place
Just move from in front me with your botty face!
My man Mohammed in the house, huh [come on, come on]
Zulu Nation in the house, huh [come on, come on]
Sub Rock is in the house, huh [come on, come on]
My man Skeff is in the house, huh [come on, come on]
Jarobi White is in the house, huh [come on, come on]
Bob Power in the house, huh [come on, come on]
My man Eric in the house, huh [come on, come on]
My man Lytcha in the house, huh [come on, come on]
[help me, help me, help me, help me, help me, help me........MUHAMMAD!!]
Went to Carvel to get a milk shake
This honey ripped me off of my loot case
The car oh yeah there's money in my jacket
Somebody broke into my ride and cold macked it
Yo tip I tell you man the devil's trying it
But I'm goin to stay strong cause I ain't bying it
Tonight I'm taking Sherry out
I don't have jack to wear
You know I've got to look dipped in the freshest gear
Cool I found something so I ironed it
I think I caught up on the phone
Oh shit I'm trying it
Will someone tell me what did I do to deserve this?
I think I'll pull out my super ? and serve this
My little brother wants Barney, cool I'm getting it
Took him down to Kay-Bee, they ain't sellin it
Here we go with the crying, yo he's throwing fits
My blood pressure blowing up, I can't take this shit
Finally got what he wanted now he's good to go
Again the robers smashed, were's my radio?
One time the car was in the shop I had to borrow see...
They had no mercy on the car oh you he'll kill me
Where the hell can Nicki be? I'm goin to smack her up
I got the tickets for the Knicks and she cold stood me up
I need to hit a hunny off yo drill pas me the phone
Pulled out my hooker hoes, oh yo Sheela's home
Steady smiling like a mother yo I'm wrecked to bone
Went down on hun, she's in the red zone
Stressed out more than one could ever be
Forever trying to clear the sample for my new LP
With all these trials and tribulations yo I've been affected
And to top it off, Starks got ejected
Refrain
Verse Two: Phife Dawg
Just last week my girl was stressing me
Now her best friend be underssing me
Well I was lovin her by the moon lit
Now I'm tricking on her like Kinte'
Bought a bag of izm from the smoke shop
Walking towards the car, here come the damn cops
Now I'm station bound for the thai sticks
I bought it for my man, I don't believe this shit
Coach sat me down from the ball team
Cause I was breakin niggaz on the inseams
Some niggas cross town was trying to stick me
All I had was shorts, a dollar fifty
Picked up this gir in the hoopty
Just because of her rhymes she tried to soup me
Pay for this and pay for that loot for nails and hair
Who the hell do you think I am, Mr. Belvedere?
Go and get a bloddy job then can we look cute
Even if you get me boots, you'll neva see my loot
She wasn't even all of that just anothe hooker
Took the journey that ass way, quick like Chucky Booker
Sometimes you got put the hoes in their freakin place
Just move from in front me with your botty face!
My man Mohammed in the house, huh [come on, come on]
Zulu Nation in the house, huh [come on, come on]
Sub Rock is in the house, huh [come on, come on]
My man Skeff is in the house, huh [come on, come on]
Jarobi White is in the house, huh [come on, come on]
Bob Power in the house, huh [come on, come on]
My man Eric in the house, huh [come on, come on]
My man Lytcha in the house, huh [come on, come on]
[help me, help me, help me, help me, help me, help me........MUHAMMAD!!]
Lyrics submitted by Ice
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Mountain Song
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Just A Little Lovin'
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Amazing
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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
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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.
Somewhere Only We Know
Keane
Keane
Per the FAQ on Keane's website, Keane's drummer Richard Hughes, stated the following:
"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."
With the nostalgic sentiment and the overall tone of the song, I think Keane is attempting to express a Portuguese term known as 'saudade', which does not have a direct English translation but roughly means "that which we remember because it is gone."
Phife Dawg does some of the most incredible lyric/rhyme/ballad work in this song. I love the things that Tribe came up with. Besides being a great story, the rhymes are all really really good and Tribe has an incredible talent at making the lyrical structure and the backbeat operate as one unit. The beat doesn't simply pump away in the back. See the beginning of the second verse: "Just last week my girl was stressing me/Now her best friend be undressing me." It's the first time in the entire song that Phife reduces his syllables to fit simplistically to match the beat. Otherwise he's all over the place. Hard to believe that this song was done so early in A Tribe Called Quest's career, as they already have it together, in some ways better than anything on Beats, Rhymes and Life.