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."
With your photographs of Kitty Hawk
And the biplanes on your wall
You were always Amy Johnson
From the time that you were small
No schoolroom kept you grounded
While your thoughts could get away
You were taking off in Tiger Moths
Your wings against the brush-strokes of the day
Are you there
On the tarmac with the winter in your hair
By the empty hangar doors you stop and stare
Leave the oil-drums behind you, they won't care
Oh, are you there
Oh, you wrapped me up in a leather coat
And you took me for a ride
We were drifting with the tail-wind
When the runway came in sight
The clouds came up to gather us
And the cockpit turned to white
When I looked the sky was empty
I suppose you never saw the landing-lights
Are you there
In your jacket with the grease-stain and the tear
Caught up in the slipstream of dare
The compass rose will guide you anywhere
Oh, are you there
The sun comes up on Icarus as the night-birds sail away
And lights the maps and diagrams
That Leonardo makes
You can see Faith, Hope and Charity
As they bank above the fields
You can join the flying circus
You can touch the morning air against your wheels
Are you there
Do you have a thought for me that you can share
Oh I never thought you'd take me unawares
Just call me if you ever need repairs
Oh, are you there
And the biplanes on your wall
You were always Amy Johnson
From the time that you were small
No schoolroom kept you grounded
While your thoughts could get away
You were taking off in Tiger Moths
Your wings against the brush-strokes of the day
Are you there
On the tarmac with the winter in your hair
By the empty hangar doors you stop and stare
Leave the oil-drums behind you, they won't care
Oh, are you there
Oh, you wrapped me up in a leather coat
And you took me for a ride
We were drifting with the tail-wind
When the runway came in sight
The clouds came up to gather us
And the cockpit turned to white
When I looked the sky was empty
I suppose you never saw the landing-lights
Are you there
In your jacket with the grease-stain and the tear
Caught up in the slipstream of dare
The compass rose will guide you anywhere
Oh, are you there
The sun comes up on Icarus as the night-birds sail away
And lights the maps and diagrams
That Leonardo makes
You can see Faith, Hope and Charity
As they bank above the fields
You can join the flying circus
You can touch the morning air against your wheels
Are you there
Do you have a thought for me that you can share
Oh I never thought you'd take me unawares
Just call me if you ever need repairs
Oh, are you there
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More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
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."
This song is practically an eloquent dictionary of pre-jet travel terminology... Kittyhawk, Biplane, Amy J (on whom the song is), Tigermoth, Tarmac, Hangar, Tailwind, Runway Lights, Leather Jacket, Cockpit, Oil drums, Slipstream, Compass, Icarus, Faith+Hope+Charity. Real musical beauty for its unusual melancholic undertone.
This is a tricky one, obviesly she died,(I suppose you never saw the landing-lights) but did he die too? since he was suppose to be with her (And you took me for a ride) "The clouds came up to gather US" either way it is a beautiful song. I believe he died too, but couldnt find her , I'm trying to avoid religious terms like heaven and hell, although clearly using "Faith Hope and Charity" has a strong christian assosciation.
"Faith", "Hope" and "Charity" were the three Gloster Gladiator fighters of the Hal Far flight who alone defended Malta in 1941 until the Hawker Hurricanes arrived.
Actually, no hidden meanings here. It's Al's 'historical' song-writing. Faith Hope and Charity are a reference to the air unit that protected Malta in WWII. And Amy Johnson was a famous aviator.
alstewart.com/history/fsorcery.htm
And FWIW the words are compass ROSE, not roads....
But it IS the best song on the album! :-)
The link on Al Stewart's website has changed. The info about Amy Johnson, the inspiration for the song, is now available at alstewart.com/publicfiles/HISTORY_fsorcery.htm .
@waaayback There are many choices for the best on that album. I love most of them.
All Stewart's tribute to Amelia Earnhardt, fame aviation who disappeared while attempting to cross the Atlantic
@anna114295 Not to Amelia Earhart, but, to Amy Johnson. Amy Johnson was the first British woman to fly solo from UK to Australia. She did it with Gipsy Moth, G-AAAH "Jason". Amy Johnson died 1941 in the WWII.
@anna114295 Not to Amelia Earhart, but, to Amy Johnson. Amy Johnson was the first British woman to fly solo from UK to Australia. She did it with Gipsy Moth, G-AAAH "Jason". Amy Johnson died 1941 in the WWII.
Sorry but there are ome misinterptretations to this amazing song lyrics. "His father, Alastair MacKichan Stewart, who served as a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force volunteer reserve, died in a plane crash during a 1945 training exercise before Stewart was born." (Wikipedia). I think it is a tribute to his father. -You wrapped me up in a leather coat: a child is wrapped up in clothes. -To gather us: father and son Hope this clarifies the concept a little more.
Al described this as "a breakup song cleverly disguised as a song about airplanes." She left him and went off on her own ("When I looked the sky was empty/I suppose you never saw the landing-lights") but he would take her back in a heartbeat ("Just call me if you ever need repairs").