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."
They usually come around about 10 o'clock
You can hear them
You can tell them by the way they knock
Somebody said the other one had a badge
Who told ya, Who told ya
How bout if I stay and you run away
We'll come back and try again some other day
Well somebody's gonna do it again
Gonna make me turn against all of my friends
So you better have something damn worthy to say
They're growin dope everywhere around the block
You can smell it
You can tell by the way they talk
Somebody stole five for gasoline
Who told ya, Who told ya
How bout if I stay and you run away
We'll come back and try again some other day
Well somebody's gonna do it again
Gonna make me turn against all of my friends
So you better have something damn worthy to say
I'll never do it again (No I wont)
Lets settle it (We dont)
I can't afford my life cause I'm spending it
Since you got just what you wanted
We never do anything anymore
One on the telephone, one on the door
Somebody said revenge was served sweeter cold
I told ya, I told ya
They're growing dope everywhere around the block
You can smell it you can tell it by the way they talk
Somebody stole five for gasoline
Who told ya, Who told ya
How bout if I stay and you run away
We'll come back and try again some other day
Well somebody's gonna do it again
Gonna make me turn against all of my friends
So you better have something damn worthy to say
I'll never do it again (No I wont)
Let's settle it (We dont)
I can't afford my life cause I'm spending it
Since you got just what you wanted
I'll never do it again (No I won't)
Praise myself (I don't)
I can't afford my life cause I'm spending it
Since you got just what you wanted
What you wanted
You can hear them
You can tell them by the way they knock
Somebody said the other one had a badge
Who told ya, Who told ya
How bout if I stay and you run away
We'll come back and try again some other day
Well somebody's gonna do it again
Gonna make me turn against all of my friends
So you better have something damn worthy to say
They're growin dope everywhere around the block
You can smell it
You can tell by the way they talk
Somebody stole five for gasoline
Who told ya, Who told ya
How bout if I stay and you run away
We'll come back and try again some other day
Well somebody's gonna do it again
Gonna make me turn against all of my friends
So you better have something damn worthy to say
I'll never do it again (No I wont)
Lets settle it (We dont)
I can't afford my life cause I'm spending it
Since you got just what you wanted
We never do anything anymore
One on the telephone, one on the door
Somebody said revenge was served sweeter cold
I told ya, I told ya
They're growing dope everywhere around the block
You can smell it you can tell it by the way they talk
Somebody stole five for gasoline
Who told ya, Who told ya
How bout if I stay and you run away
We'll come back and try again some other day
Well somebody's gonna do it again
Gonna make me turn against all of my friends
So you better have something damn worthy to say
I'll never do it again (No I wont)
Let's settle it (We dont)
I can't afford my life cause I'm spending it
Since you got just what you wanted
I'll never do it again (No I won't)
Praise myself (I don't)
I can't afford my life cause I'm spending it
Since you got just what you wanted
What you wanted
Lyrics submitted by lemonie_fresh
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
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.
Indigo
Of Mice & Men
Of Mice & Men
This track is about is about questioning why the sky would choose to be blue if it had the choice to be anything else, “blue also meaning sad,” states frontman Aaron Pauley. “It's about comforting a loved one in a time of loss by telling them you feel blue, too.”
This song has an amazing tune and beat plus great lyrics. It's taken me forever to find the name of this song but it was worth it. They're obviously doing something illegal (Oo) but in the vidoe they just skateboard illegally... I thought different but oh well. It is a great song!
I think that the vidoe could have been beter but it's still a great song!
Great song. Nuff said.
Damn, this song is good! Excellent groove. To all those who doubt Nickelback and pass them off as simply the latest trend in rock, this song (as well as most of their old ones) will convince you of their raw talent and power as one of the only true rock bands around today.
what u mean they are doing nothing illegal the guys are selling drugs and it fits the song because it is about the kid being forced by the pigs (cops) to rat out his friends "Gonna make me turn against all of my friends "
"They're growing dope everywhere around the block."
Obviously about drugs. I seen Nickelback live 2 nights ago and they talked about how good our local green is. They were also in the high times before and the drummer (as you've probably already noticed) sometime uses a marijuana leaf drum head.
I think the lyric is
We never do anything anymore One EYE the telephone, one EYE on the door
it IS like that, what on the telephone,one on the door????? this has an obvious meaning, drugs cool song
I think it is one eye on the telephone, one on the door.
The song is about drugs, specifically marijuana. It's about how life as a dealer traps you, changing your life into a constant paranoia.
"Somebody's gonna do it again, gonna make me turn against all of my friends, so you better have somethin damn worthy to say" - sounds to me like he's talking to one of his downline - saying I'm not here to be your friend - because when you live a life of secrecy, you can't have any true friends.
i had this album 4 years and 2day this song became my current fav nickelback song