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."
It's always darkest before it goes
Completely black
I'm older now so I should know
You never can look back
But the scars of childhood memories
Dominate my head
The inner pain I've vowed to keep
Until the day I'm dead
You can't see, the life I was forced to lead
What it's like to die daily
You can't feel, the thoughts I've learned to steal
Survival is my reality
When I was young I lived in fear
The hands of doom forever drawing near
I wonder how I learned to persevere
As time advanced deceit was my life's truth
Spurred on by the peace I never knew
Time does not heal
The scars that burned me in my youth
Time does not heal
The pain that carved in me the truth
Time does not heal
The torture struck upon my past
Time does not heal
The scars that were left and meant to last
Over the many years I've tried
To bury deep my past
Attempting to cope with what's inside
My wastelands of regret
But defeated before I began
To join the human race
Indelibly I've felt the brand
Of scars I can't erase
I was the fool, subversive and overrulled
Into my abyss I was pulled
The ways of hate, constantly agitate
The scars as they'd eviscerate
Inside my head desolation forms
Shadows grasping my mind through its storm
I couldn't see that I was being forewarned
That anguish was to take my life's controls
And rake it's wounds forever into my soul
Time does not heal
The scars that burned me in my youth
Time does not heal
The pain that carved in me the truth
Time does not heal
The torture struck upon my past
Time does not heal
The scars that were left and meant to last
I have learned to live alone, it's meant to be
Endless lies and emptiness fulfilling me
Life's there to decieve the truth you'll never see
Understand that I am dying to be free
Images have haunted me since I was young
Chilling were the arms of fear I was among
What were once just nightmares now have since become
Real atrocities which I can't escape from...
It's always darkest before it goes
Completely black
I've realized now that it's impossible
Surviving their attack
Through duress I'm borne, a past that's brought me scorn
And when I'm dead, will I be mourned?
The scars I've worn, the mental flesh I've shredded and torn
Time does not heal
The scars that burned me in my youth
Time does not heal
The pain that carved in me the truth
Time does not heal
The torture struck upon my past
Time does not heal
The scars that were left and meant to last
Completely black
I'm older now so I should know
You never can look back
But the scars of childhood memories
Dominate my head
The inner pain I've vowed to keep
Until the day I'm dead
You can't see, the life I was forced to lead
What it's like to die daily
You can't feel, the thoughts I've learned to steal
Survival is my reality
When I was young I lived in fear
The hands of doom forever drawing near
I wonder how I learned to persevere
As time advanced deceit was my life's truth
Spurred on by the peace I never knew
Time does not heal
The scars that burned me in my youth
Time does not heal
The pain that carved in me the truth
Time does not heal
The torture struck upon my past
Time does not heal
The scars that were left and meant to last
Over the many years I've tried
To bury deep my past
Attempting to cope with what's inside
My wastelands of regret
But defeated before I began
To join the human race
Indelibly I've felt the brand
Of scars I can't erase
I was the fool, subversive and overrulled
Into my abyss I was pulled
The ways of hate, constantly agitate
The scars as they'd eviscerate
Inside my head desolation forms
Shadows grasping my mind through its storm
I couldn't see that I was being forewarned
That anguish was to take my life's controls
And rake it's wounds forever into my soul
Time does not heal
The scars that burned me in my youth
Time does not heal
The pain that carved in me the truth
Time does not heal
The torture struck upon my past
Time does not heal
The scars that were left and meant to last
I have learned to live alone, it's meant to be
Endless lies and emptiness fulfilling me
Life's there to decieve the truth you'll never see
Understand that I am dying to be free
Images have haunted me since I was young
Chilling were the arms of fear I was among
What were once just nightmares now have since become
Real atrocities which I can't escape from...
It's always darkest before it goes
Completely black
I've realized now that it's impossible
Surviving their attack
Through duress I'm borne, a past that's brought me scorn
And when I'm dead, will I be mourned?
The scars I've worn, the mental flesh I've shredded and torn
Time does not heal
The scars that burned me in my youth
Time does not heal
The pain that carved in me the truth
Time does not heal
The torture struck upon my past
Time does not heal
The scars that were left and meant to last
Lyrics submitted by Bobo192
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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."
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