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."
Its on and once again I come to you wit rough shit
Game to bust shit when mutha fuckers wanna fuck wit
The mastermind will bring it once I seen it in light
Awaken by the sounds of niggas screamin' at night
Cover your eyes I leave you face to face with your maker
the time taker intend your mind so now I break ya
No runnin' from it you should've ran before I done it
cause now I got this loaded twelve gage against your stomach
You scarred for life and your whole high life's invited
burned alive its all for real so tonight I ignite
and leave you all face down to die
with no will to live I can see the fear in your eyes
No warning surprise nigga I come for taking
Your soul for satan watching' every move that your making
Your sure mistaken if you a ho before I turn out
Walking away I'll heat you up and leave you burnt out-nigga
I'm hard to kill cause I refuse to die
and can't no man born of woman alive kill me
I'm Untouchable
Un-touch a-ble out here baby
(I'm untouchable)
Un-touch a-ble out here baby
(I'm unfuckable)
Un-touch a-ble out here baby
Un-touch a-ble out here baby
It's danger I'm standin' in the footsteps of danger
wit a loaded Mac 11 stripped wit rips in the chamber
The anger I aim the barrel of the hanger
deep into the mind of this mutha fuckin stranger
I change ya outlook on living and I leave ya
frozen starin' into space shakin' seizuring
I told ya the southside niggas roll deep
I showed ya the northside niggas don't sleep
Ya beat I'm coming down shootin up your section
you are now witnessing the gangster shit pure perfection
I'm old school O.G. niggas know me
from slanging' eightballs uncooked to moving whole keys
Now why these niggas wanna test my skills
I'm a killa and I chastise steel
To mix and mingle with this millionaire status
and send a mutha fucker to hell when he fuck with Brad-it's
the killer instinct that never left me
the southside still true to the game little lefty is back
wit shit that mutha fuckers can't fade
rhyming but still you mutha fuckers aint paid
So how can one try to see the unseen
Before you step your ass to the square know one thing
It's closed curtain we leavin' mutha fuckers hurtin'
It's Rap-a-Lot Mafia life we all workin'
Punk we shut you down before you get it started
You can hate it but I'm goin' get mines and that's regardless- bitch
I got these niggas boo-hooin' like hoes
Jealous of the game I obtain and I chose
to exercise to the best of my ability
It aint no mutha fuckin' kill me
I'm Untouchable
Un-touch a-ble out here baby
(I'm untouchable)
Un-touch a-ble out here baby
Un-touch a-ble out here baby
(Unfuckable)
Un-touch a-ble out here baby
Game to bust shit when mutha fuckers wanna fuck wit
The mastermind will bring it once I seen it in light
Awaken by the sounds of niggas screamin' at night
Cover your eyes I leave you face to face with your maker
the time taker intend your mind so now I break ya
No runnin' from it you should've ran before I done it
cause now I got this loaded twelve gage against your stomach
You scarred for life and your whole high life's invited
burned alive its all for real so tonight I ignite
and leave you all face down to die
with no will to live I can see the fear in your eyes
No warning surprise nigga I come for taking
Your soul for satan watching' every move that your making
Your sure mistaken if you a ho before I turn out
Walking away I'll heat you up and leave you burnt out-nigga
I'm hard to kill cause I refuse to die
and can't no man born of woman alive kill me
I'm Untouchable
Un-touch a-ble out here baby
(I'm untouchable)
Un-touch a-ble out here baby
(I'm unfuckable)
Un-touch a-ble out here baby
Un-touch a-ble out here baby
It's danger I'm standin' in the footsteps of danger
wit a loaded Mac 11 stripped wit rips in the chamber
The anger I aim the barrel of the hanger
deep into the mind of this mutha fuckin stranger
I change ya outlook on living and I leave ya
frozen starin' into space shakin' seizuring
I told ya the southside niggas roll deep
I showed ya the northside niggas don't sleep
Ya beat I'm coming down shootin up your section
you are now witnessing the gangster shit pure perfection
I'm old school O.G. niggas know me
from slanging' eightballs uncooked to moving whole keys
Now why these niggas wanna test my skills
I'm a killa and I chastise steel
To mix and mingle with this millionaire status
and send a mutha fucker to hell when he fuck with Brad-it's
the killer instinct that never left me
the southside still true to the game little lefty is back
wit shit that mutha fuckers can't fade
rhyming but still you mutha fuckers aint paid
So how can one try to see the unseen
Before you step your ass to the square know one thing
It's closed curtain we leavin' mutha fuckers hurtin'
It's Rap-a-Lot Mafia life we all workin'
Punk we shut you down before you get it started
You can hate it but I'm goin' get mines and that's regardless- bitch
I got these niggas boo-hooin' like hoes
Jealous of the game I obtain and I chose
to exercise to the best of my ability
It aint no mutha fuckin' kill me
I'm Untouchable
Un-touch a-ble out here baby
(I'm untouchable)
Un-touch a-ble out here baby
Un-touch a-ble out here baby
(Unfuckable)
Un-touch a-ble out here baby
Lyrics submitted by duck2k2
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.
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
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.
I just wanted to add some lyrics.