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."
Hey little girl is your daddy home
Did he go away and leave you all alone, mmm mmm
I got a bad desire
Oh, ho ho, I'm on fire
Tell me now baby is he good to you
And can he do to you the things that I do, oh no
I can take you higher
Oh, ho ho, I'm on fire
Sometimes it's like someone took a knife baby edgy and dull
And cut a six inch valley through the middle of my skull
At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet
And a freight train running through the middle of my head
Only you, can cool my desire
Oh, ho ho, I'm on fire
Oh, ho ho, I'm on fire
Oh, ho ho, I'm on fire
Woo ooo ooo
Woo ooo
Ooo ooo ooo
Woo ooo ooo
Woo ooo ooo
Did he go away and leave you all alone, mmm mmm
I got a bad desire
Oh, ho ho, I'm on fire
Tell me now baby is he good to you
And can he do to you the things that I do, oh no
I can take you higher
Oh, ho ho, I'm on fire
Sometimes it's like someone took a knife baby edgy and dull
And cut a six inch valley through the middle of my skull
At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet
And a freight train running through the middle of my head
Only you, can cool my desire
Oh, ho ho, I'm on fire
Oh, ho ho, I'm on fire
Oh, ho ho, I'm on fire
Woo ooo ooo
Woo ooo
Ooo ooo ooo
Woo ooo ooo
Woo ooo ooo
Lyrics submitted by leaneys, edited by bobjank, supremetaco
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
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.
Midnight
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms.
“Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.
Somewhere Only We Know
Keane
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."
Sunglasses at Night
Corey Hart
Corey Hart
In the 1980s, sunglasses were a common fashion for people who wanted to adopt a "tough guy" persona (note all the cop shows from that era -- Simon & Simon, Miami Vice, etc. -- where the lead characters wore shades). So I think this song is about a guy who wears shades as a way of hiding his insecurity after learning that his girlfriend is cheating on him. He's trying to pretend that he's a "tough guy" to hide the fact that his girlfriend's affair is disturbing him.
This song is a sexy ass song...and it's not about pedophedilia in my opinion...that would be taking it to the complete literal sense, which is usually not the case with music...there's always somethin much more profound in it...I mean come on, so then every time we see the word "baby" used in a song we all assume that we're talking about a child? No...
Here's what I think:
It's what us guys go thru at least once in our lives when we see or know a girl that we're just completely infatuated with and never get to have...and it takes us to that level of, man, I wish I had her, ya know...its a good song...It's one of those songs you listen to when you fantasize about the girl you want, but can't have, starin up at the ceiling just wishin and hopin...
@Captlpunk But there's a TON of sexualization of teenage girls throughout the history of rock and roll. At least white classic rock that I'm accustomed to. We should come to terms with it.
@Captlpunk
Wow! a lot of comments on this one!
I think it's about a teenage boy who wants a girl who is already commited to someone else. No pedophelia here. "Daddy" refers to that person she's involved with. The "6 inch valley" and "Sheets soakin' wet" represent the psychological torture he feels at times knowing he can't have her. Great song.
I'll paraphrase Nick Cave, "Why do love, desire, and sex always have to be pure in music? Can't they be dark, dirty, and scary sometimes?"
Barack Obama said that this was one of his favorite songs. here is a link to the complete top ten npr.org/templates/story/story.php
I sincerely doubt that this song is about paedophilia, as some people seem to be suggesting. When referring to the girl's "daddy", he's obviously not talking about her actual father, but her partner. Especially in light of the lyrics "Tell me now baby, is he good to you / Can he do to you the things that I'll do". Bruce singing about incest and paedophilia in one song, that'd be a first.
To me, the song is pretty straightforward in its meaning: a man (or maybe a horny teenage boy) passionately lusting after a woman who's already committed to someone else, losing sleep and his mind over it. Bruce's "screams" at the end are fantastic expressions of this agonizing frustration.
RE: part "Sometimes it's like someone took a knife baby-Edgy and dull and cut a six-inch valley-Through the middle of my soul" I see depth here than other comments. I don't know how deep, but I'm sure the night sweats and the intense heat and could be literal. I know from personal experience and others I know that have gone through this, especially as a boy begins adolescence.
The knife is figurative of course. Everyone has a personal view of where the soul is within them. Some figure the soul radiates from the center of their torso, thus the torment seems to rip through their body.
Think about if anytime you've witnessed someone die accidentally or when you've gotten news that someone you know has died unexpectedly. For me, my immediate reaction is helplessness, a painful emptiness in my stomach, a shock reaction that is of dimmed vision and lightheadedness, a chill throughout my body, a weakness in my torso and gut [eg OJ gutting me figuratively].
Huskyduck@msn.com<br /> Right on analogy!
@RonSh the lyric is clearly "SKULL" not soul, he even pronounces the K, the chromatics version uses soul, but he is talking about the pain in his head that will not go away as he longs for this girl so much..
I heard this song on the radio when I was missing someone and it was perfect......it was so mellow which fit my mood.....you seem to like songs more when they fit your mood.
this song is so beautiful. perfect picture of a boy's longing.
My interpretation of this song is as follows: The singer is in love with a woman who has a boyfriend already, maybe even a husband. This husband/boyfriend is probably not good to her, perhaps he even treats her as if he were her father instead of her lover. The singer wants to step in and be her lover.
I believe this song is about a man in love with a woman he cannot have. Being on fire and the burning desire are his love and lust for the woman. Second verse he is just stating that he believes he can love her more completely then the man she is with. Best verse is the third one. Were I believe the knife is his lust/love and his impulse to act on it but not being able to puts the knife through his skull. Skull meaning heart and soul. The knife both edgy and dull because it hurts him in more then one way that he cannot have her. fourth verse is clear no need to explain it. And for anyone that thinks this is a song of pedophilia maybe you should see a psychiatrist to talk about that with.