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."
I was 21 years when I wrote this song
I'm 22 now but I won't be for long
People ask me "when will you grow up to be a man?"
But all the girls I loved in school are already pushing prams
I loved you then as I love you still
Though I put you on a pedestal, they put you on the pill
I don't feel bad about letting you go
I just feel sad about letting you know
I don't want to change the world
I'm not looking for a New England
I'm just looking for another girl [x2]
I loved the words you wrote to me
But that was bloody yesterday
I can't survive on what you send
Everytime you need a friend
I saw two shooting stars last night
I wished on them
But they were only satallites
And wrong to wish on space hardware
I wish, I wish, I wish you'd care
I don't want to change the world
I'm not looking for a New England
I'm just looking for another girl [x2]
Looking for another girl...
I'm 22 now but I won't be for long
People ask me "when will you grow up to be a man?"
But all the girls I loved in school are already pushing prams
I loved you then as I love you still
Though I put you on a pedestal, they put you on the pill
I don't feel bad about letting you go
I just feel sad about letting you know
I don't want to change the world
I'm not looking for a New England
I'm just looking for another girl [x2]
I loved the words you wrote to me
But that was bloody yesterday
I can't survive on what you send
Everytime you need a friend
I saw two shooting stars last night
I wished on them
But they were only satallites
And wrong to wish on space hardware
I wish, I wish, I wish you'd care
I don't want to change the world
I'm not looking for a New England
I'm just looking for another girl [x2]
Looking for another girl...
Lyrics submitted by Mopnugget
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
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."
What I find really poignant about this song is how cold and brutally honest he is. "I don't feel bad about letting you go I just feel sad about letting you know" - he knows it's going to be painful but he feels no guilt. And also the "I'm just looking for another girl". Imagine saying that to someone when you broke up!
That "I'm twenty-two now but I won't be for long" is lifted from a Simon and Garfunkel song, probably one of Bragg's folk-y influences. The origins of that lyric are from "The Leaves That Are Green".
"Though I put you on a pedestal, they put you on the pill" From the first verse, I don't think he is wanting to have children as he hasn't fully grown up himself, so her being on birth-control would be a non-issue. I interpret the pill he is referring to is something for their mental state; he thinks the world of them, but everyone else thinks they are crazy. Just my interpretation, obviously.
Beautiful song.
just a transcription correction:
"all the girls i loved in school are already pushing prams..."
"pram" is a british term for baby-carriage.
cheers.
Politics or love? 'I don't want to change the world I'm not looking for a New England I'm just looking for another girl' Ones obsession with politics can be a turn off to those you fancy and can ruin the development of a relationship. Billy Bragg clearly wanted to change the world and was looking for a new England. However, when push came to shove, he was amenable to jacking in the politics for the love. This feeling, of course, may well have gripped him only momentarily.
This songs rocks! Billy lyrics are great. People need to care more.
just beautiful.
I'm glad other people appreciate this song, it really is brilliant.
YES! i love it, even though i havent heard the real one, just the one by the ataris, its really good lyrics though
the line actually goes "is it wrong to wish on space hardware" not "And wrong to wish on space hardware"