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."
Summer's here, the sunlight greets the day
The winters gone, there's no more rain today
And if I could, I'm sure that I would take your breath away
So ain't it funny how, after trying to find my way home
I'm in the middle now and I won't get lost again
Cause in the winter time, when everything is grey
And in the summer time, into the month of May
I get a feeling that it's all so temporary
And that's the feeling that can take my blues away
Tired of the way that I'm feeling everyday
And I feel it in my head
Tired of the way that I'm feeling everyday
And I feel it in my head now, my head now
It's beautiful, the way it's meant to be, beautiful, but it 'don't do shit' for me
So peel away a little skin and choke upon the bone
And ain't it funny how, after trying to find my way home,
I'm in the middle now, and I won't get lost again.
But you don't know, how or when it's gonna go
You don't know.
The winters gone, there's no more rain today
And if I could, I'm sure that I would take your breath away
So ain't it funny how, after trying to find my way home
I'm in the middle now and I won't get lost again
Cause in the winter time, when everything is grey
And in the summer time, into the month of May
I get a feeling that it's all so temporary
And that's the feeling that can take my blues away
Tired of the way that I'm feeling everyday
And I feel it in my head
Tired of the way that I'm feeling everyday
And I feel it in my head now, my head now
It's beautiful, the way it's meant to be, beautiful, but it 'don't do shit' for me
So peel away a little skin and choke upon the bone
And ain't it funny how, after trying to find my way home,
I'm in the middle now, and I won't get lost again.
But you don't know, how or when it's gonna go
You don't know.
Lyrics submitted by Sonty, edited by Trink3nb3rg
Stagnant Lyrics as written by Dickon James Hinchliffe Stuart Ashton Staples
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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.
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.
I don't think he is literally talking about the seasons. I think he is comparing the different moods to seasons. Summer is happiness, winter is depression, etc. I am bipolar, and I wrote a poem once that compared the seasons changing to mood shifts.
The way Devin writes his music makes it incredibly flexible for it's meaning. Anyone could listen to a song of his, and apply it to a point in their life, giving the song a special meaning for that person. Honestly, it's beautiful. Anyway, when I listen to this song, it reminds me of all the times I have risen up from a depression, finally escaping it. The winter was gone, there was no more rain. Those times were only temporary, for now the summer was here, and the sunlight greeted the day. Therefore, this song sounds like one man realizing he was tired of the way he was feeling everyday, and was finally able to escape the rut he was trapped within.
This song, to me is about Devin's experiences living with with Bi-Polar disorder. Some people with this disorder are really affected by the seasons. Their moods seem to shift from happy to sad depending on the ammount of sunlight they get. Being affected by the same seasonal disorder I could go alot more in depth with explaining the lyrics but read up on it.
this is all about realizing, that a new dwn is coming, but you still feel the bad thingfs in your mind, but at the same time these worrying things are passing by.. and you feel, like never being able to realize, why you in the middle now.. but you wont get lost again...
A very uplifting song, compared to the past two (Nobody's Here and Tiny Tears). Near the end of the song there are some backwards lyrics that say something along the lines of "Well, ladies and gentlemen, you've reached the end of another album..."
There was one summer I spent painting my dad's girlfriend's house in the dullest, most white-bread suburb imaginable. I adopted Terria as my personal soundtrack for that summer, and this song summed everything up for me. It was a very depressing summer for me, and I did a lot of growing up during those few months. So to me, the song is kind of about doing a little bit of growing up and figuring things out for yourself.
This song is about the vapidity of pop music in general. I think this line sums it up pretty well...
It's beautiful, the way it's meant to be...beautiful, but it 'don't do shit' for me...
The beginning is "typical pop" lyrically, and the track is full of cliches. Even the chorus delivery ("oo-oo-OO-oo-oo-aa--ee") is a play on pop runs.