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."
The night is black, without a moon
The air is thick and still
The vigilantes gather on
The lonely torchlit hill
Features distorted in the flickering light
Faces are twisted and grotesque
Silent and stern in the sweltering night
The mob moves like demons possessed
Quiet in conscience, calm in their right
Confident their ways are best
Oh
Oh
The righteous rise
With burning eyes
Of hatred and ill-will
Madmen fed on fear and lies
To beat and burn and kill
They say there are strangers who threaten us
Our immigrants and infidels
They say there is strangeness to danger us
In our theaters and bookstore shelves
That those who know what's best for us
Must rise and save us from ourselves
Quick to judge
Quick to anger
Slow to understand
Ignorance and prejudice
And fear walk hand in hand
The air is thick and still
The vigilantes gather on
The lonely torchlit hill
Features distorted in the flickering light
Faces are twisted and grotesque
Silent and stern in the sweltering night
The mob moves like demons possessed
Quiet in conscience, calm in their right
Confident their ways are best
Oh
Oh
The righteous rise
With burning eyes
Of hatred and ill-will
Madmen fed on fear and lies
To beat and burn and kill
They say there are strangers who threaten us
Our immigrants and infidels
They say there is strangeness to danger us
In our theaters and bookstore shelves
That those who know what's best for us
Must rise and save us from ourselves
Quick to judge
Quick to anger
Slow to understand
Ignorance and prejudice
And fear walk hand in hand
Lyrics submitted by shed27, edited by TheGreatSkeeve, rcurtis0517
Witch Hunt Lyrics as written by Gary Lee Weinrib Neil Elwood Peart
Lyrics © OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT LP
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Mountain Song
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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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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“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.
Another Love
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Tom Odell
I think the meaning is pretty clear. This person got really burned in a previous relationship, and because of this is unable to love and show care in his present one, even though he so badly wants to. It's lovely song, and very sad. You can really feel how defeated and frustrated he is with himself.
ive always been a casual rush fan growing up in the 80s..always liked the classics, subdivision, limelight tom sawyer, etc...i saw rush live for the first time on snakes and arrows and liked it but was a long show...well i saw them 3 weeks ago at jones beach and i have become obsessed...i have not listened to anything but rush since...i have listened downloaded and learned many of the songs and i must say that "Witch Hunt" has come to be my absolute favorite...i feel sad i did not follow this band more when i had the chance to see them live in the 80s..it mustve been fantastic...the lyrics to this song and its darkening music is incomparable...
The concept of Witch Hunt is how manipulators can use fear to "possess" the "ignorant" masses to their liking, much like the Salem townspeople during the Witch Hunts. Instrumentally, the song fades in at the beginning, but ends on a strong climactic crescendo thus signaling the end of the trilogy, even though this song was recorded first in the sequence.
At the beginning of this part, the "mob sounds" were in fact the band layering sounds they made while drinking outside the studio in the snowy winter. It was recorded the night John Lennon died on December 8, 1980.
the "black hat" just adds to the feeling that this song is trying to deliver. That of mob mentality with ugly results. And thats where it succeeds. And the ugliness in their voices / faces just reflect that of their actions. It is after all about witch hunt, they burned people then. Now this is the tale - an extreme one, its not to be taken literally for todays situation, if thats what you were after. If not, think of it as a tale. A tale must have its dramatizion.
When I first heard the song I wasn't really fond of it. Then it grew on me quickly. It's such an underrated and overlooked song. Very meaning ful, as well. Its about how people let a fear of something new drive them to commit horrendus acts in the pursuit of preserving the way of life they know, the one they think is best.
Hi, folks! Great song!!!
I believe there's an error. It's not "They say there is strangeness to danger us". It is
"They say there is strangeness too dangerous"
all about how people are blindly scared of what they don't know. heavy, slow, and pounding, much darker than other Rush songs.
part 3 of the Fear saga
I'm surprised no one else commented on this..and in such a long time. I think the meaning is pretty obvious..it's always been true, but I think now it's really something that should be thought about, at least in America. People need to wake up..
The Fear songs just keep getting better...part 4 (freeze) isn't listed on SM yet, though.
Obviously the premise for this is the Salem Witch Trials, but the conclusion is warning people about judging situations they don't understand and jumping to conclusions before they understand.
I really like the way the lyrics describe happenings in the little details "Features distorted in the flickering light, Faces are twisted and grotesque."
The intro tells as much as the lyrics, and musically it works really well. it kinda alternates between dark and disordered then .. clear, smooth, clean