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."
This ain't a twenty minute town no more
It don't look the same
Red lights, bars, streets, too much concrete
I don't recognize a thing
Ain't a twenty minute call no more
No, you don't call me at all
Outside, a rain falls, curtains half drawn
I'm here, talking to the walls
All the time and the whiskey I've wasted
That I ain't ever getting back
And I've tried to find the courage just to face it
But I can't, I can't
And I'm tired of you feeling like a stranger
Over and over again
Oh, when everything around me keeps changing
But I can't, I can't, I can't
If feels impossible to move sometimes
Like you're still in the room
Smoke on my breath, chains on my chest
Damn, you won't cut me loose
I just gotta get out of here (I gotta get out of here)
Get up off the floor
Find my senses 'cause you meant it
You're not coming back no more
All the time and the whiskey I've wasted
That I ain't ever getting back
Oh, I've tried to find the courage just to face it
But I can't, I can't
And I'm tired of you feeling like a stranger
Over and over again
Oh, when everything around me keeps changing
But I can't (I can't), I can't (I can't), I can't
Oh, I can't, I can't
All the time and the whiskey I've wasted
That I ain't ever getting back
I've tried to find the courage just to face it
But I can't, I can't
And I'm tired of you feeling like a stranger
Over and over again (over and over again)
Oh, when everything around me keeps changing
But I can't (I can't), I can't (I can't), I can't
(As hard as I try, as hard as I try)
I can't, I can't
(As hard as I try, as hard as I try)
I can't, I can't, I can't
Oh (As hard as I try, as hard as I try) I can't
I can't
(As hard as I try, as hard as I try)
It don't look the same
Red lights, bars, streets, too much concrete
I don't recognize a thing
Ain't a twenty minute call no more
No, you don't call me at all
Outside, a rain falls, curtains half drawn
I'm here, talking to the walls
All the time and the whiskey I've wasted
That I ain't ever getting back
And I've tried to find the courage just to face it
But I can't, I can't
And I'm tired of you feeling like a stranger
Over and over again
Oh, when everything around me keeps changing
But I can't, I can't, I can't
If feels impossible to move sometimes
Like you're still in the room
Smoke on my breath, chains on my chest
Damn, you won't cut me loose
I just gotta get out of here (I gotta get out of here)
Get up off the floor
Find my senses 'cause you meant it
You're not coming back no more
All the time and the whiskey I've wasted
That I ain't ever getting back
Oh, I've tried to find the courage just to face it
But I can't, I can't
And I'm tired of you feeling like a stranger
Over and over again
Oh, when everything around me keeps changing
But I can't (I can't), I can't (I can't), I can't
Oh, I can't, I can't
All the time and the whiskey I've wasted
That I ain't ever getting back
I've tried to find the courage just to face it
But I can't, I can't
And I'm tired of you feeling like a stranger
Over and over again (over and over again)
Oh, when everything around me keeps changing
But I can't (I can't), I can't (I can't), I can't
(As hard as I try, as hard as I try)
I can't, I can't
(As hard as I try, as hard as I try)
I can't, I can't, I can't
Oh (As hard as I try, as hard as I try) I can't
I can't
(As hard as I try, as hard as I try)
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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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
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.
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this is one of my favorite songs on her cd. my favorite part of the song is: Don't dare tell me that I'm not good enough, Cause he told me I was, He told me I was.