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."
Silver moon, these eyes are watching the water
More romantic than the sound of jazz bleeding through these walls
The illusion of a wine running down our throats
To get to the end of the night without any injuries
We've got the answers swimming in our blood, swimming
Sleep with our socks on, we never know how cold it gets in this room
I can see my breath but tell me, why can't I see yours
Watching the lights dim, watching my fingers moving, bleeding
Be her eyes, leave her alone
Wake up and stand tall
They're waiting outside of your door
We can't stop
If we slow down now, we'll never get there
And that's fine
This X marks the spot not where a life begins but where a life begins to matter
Be her eyes, leave her alone
More romantic than the sound of jazz bleeding through these walls
The illusion of a wine running down our throats
To get to the end of the night without any injuries
We've got the answers swimming in our blood, swimming
Sleep with our socks on, we never know how cold it gets in this room
I can see my breath but tell me, why can't I see yours
Watching the lights dim, watching my fingers moving, bleeding
Be her eyes, leave her alone
Wake up and stand tall
They're waiting outside of your door
We can't stop
If we slow down now, we'll never get there
And that's fine
This X marks the spot not where a life begins but where a life begins to matter
Be her eyes, leave her alone
Lyrics submitted by PLANES, edited by iamthenightstars
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
When We Were Young
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Blue
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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.
Trouble Breathing
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While the obvious connections with suicide or alcoholism could be drawn easily, more subtly this song could be about someone who views the world through a negative lens constantly and how as much as the writer tries to show the beauty in the world, this person refuses to see it. It's one or another between the rope and the bottle. There is no good option for this person. They can't see it. Skiba sings it in a kind of exasperated way like He's tired of hearing this negative view constantly and just allowing that person to continue feeling the way they feel knowing he can't do anything about it. You can hear it when he says maybe you're a vampire.
Somewhere Only We Know
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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."
Penfold is one of my favourite bands, and this is one of my favourite songs of the band, I dont want to try to figure out what this means because I like the mystery of not knowing what it means, makes it more beautiful to me.
This song best identifies the growth penfold has undergone between their older six song ep and the new album. The Sound of Jazz is a beautifully structurized track that opens with a digital delay dream-like sound that best describes the lyrics given throughout. What really captivates me about the sound of jazz however, are the lyrics upon the climax of the song in which Carley sings "wake up and stand tall, they're waiting outside of your door. we can't stop if we slow down now we'll never get there. that's fine, x marks the spot not where a life begins, but where a life begins to matter..." then sums chorus up and reviews upon the purpose "be her eyes/leave her alone" You can feel it and penfold can deliver once again. Feeding your ears with audio beauty and lyrical honesty. Pure emotion once again. One of the more amazing tracks the band has and that might be an understatement.
i reeeeeally love this song... its beautiful... it reminds me of someone close to me who is a drug addict. they really dont have much of a life. no job, dropped out of school, depends on other people for their responsibities. its truly very sad. "x marks the spot not where a life begins, but where a life begins to matter." i find myself writing that line all the time.. whether its typing it to people online, or just jotting it down in a notebook when im bored in History class, that line definitely stands out in my head.