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."
"There's something between us"
"There's nothing beneath us, and there's nothing above"
"Oh I know, but it's just that love may never find a way home"
"Are you knees getting weak, because the things we've seen may never find a way to our hearts"
"When this sky recedes, you'll see the best side of me and the only thing I have left to say is not what you haven't heard a thousand times before"
"I thought I have"
"You had, but be glad I never I had a word with you"
"And I could find a way.. To make you happy"
"Well you're too late, because if there was still fate left in this placid hope of a broken dream I could smile again"
"Isn't this beautiful though, the way everyone's gone and it's almost as if they never existed. and the more I listen to what you say, is the more I'm captivated to feel the same way"
and time and time again I find I'm an iconoclast in this chalkboard rebellion, and I have to ask 'what am I fighting for?'. I don't know how much longer I will last fighting a lost cause that fades away with the coming days. isn't it a shame how emptiness fills our open hands? and maybe I'm the one to blame; but this is fate. this is fate my dear.
"please don't say my name like that.. I'm so afraid you just may be what I want.. but what I want and what I need are two separate things.. and the more I'm with you is the more that line blurs."
"and this is why your voice lures me to hanging myself on everything you say"
"you have such a way with words, and maybe if I hadn't learned the brilliance underneath the sky, then this fire would burn brighter than these stars only we see."
"I found no beauty here. this world's a broken glass and we filled it up halfway with tears. we fought for individualism and fell victim to indolency, and never realized we are but a single entity."
"wed spark a fire in they're eyes if they could see us now. and how wrong they were to think that they would live forever."
and on this sky, I've written the worlds flaws. (our god failed). the sun is a martyr, and we are the hostage. The self-inflicted affliction makes us feel alive. so prey on aesthetics as if it were our god. (our god failed) (were so close to perfection). our dreams of rhetoric are empty analogies, to better color our nihilistic anatomies.
"and for the first time I can safely say dawn.. dawn is but a cancer.."
"well I wish I knew the answer that we've all been seeing"
"and in these walls we'll redefine passion"
"but only if you can show me how to escape the politics of fashion"
"it's but design's rational thought that has brought us here"
Save me....
"aren't we beautiful when were on dancing on destruction?"
Save me from this travesty I call home.
=
"I love you more than you'll ever know."
="Well all I know is that this romance bleeds and burns more everyday"
-"So come dance with me at the end of the world?"
="I wish I could but my legs are broken from someone other than you"
-"..And I'm afraid that I'm the only ambulance that's left"
="And its too late to save me now.'"
"There's nothing beneath us, and there's nothing above"
"Oh I know, but it's just that love may never find a way home"
"Are you knees getting weak, because the things we've seen may never find a way to our hearts"
"When this sky recedes, you'll see the best side of me and the only thing I have left to say is not what you haven't heard a thousand times before"
"I thought I have"
"You had, but be glad I never I had a word with you"
"And I could find a way.. To make you happy"
"Well you're too late, because if there was still fate left in this placid hope of a broken dream I could smile again"
"Isn't this beautiful though, the way everyone's gone and it's almost as if they never existed. and the more I listen to what you say, is the more I'm captivated to feel the same way"
and time and time again I find I'm an iconoclast in this chalkboard rebellion, and I have to ask 'what am I fighting for?'. I don't know how much longer I will last fighting a lost cause that fades away with the coming days. isn't it a shame how emptiness fills our open hands? and maybe I'm the one to blame; but this is fate. this is fate my dear.
"please don't say my name like that.. I'm so afraid you just may be what I want.. but what I want and what I need are two separate things.. and the more I'm with you is the more that line blurs."
"and this is why your voice lures me to hanging myself on everything you say"
"you have such a way with words, and maybe if I hadn't learned the brilliance underneath the sky, then this fire would burn brighter than these stars only we see."
"I found no beauty here. this world's a broken glass and we filled it up halfway with tears. we fought for individualism and fell victim to indolency, and never realized we are but a single entity."
"wed spark a fire in they're eyes if they could see us now. and how wrong they were to think that they would live forever."
and on this sky, I've written the worlds flaws. (our god failed). the sun is a martyr, and we are the hostage. The self-inflicted affliction makes us feel alive. so prey on aesthetics as if it were our god. (our god failed) (were so close to perfection). our dreams of rhetoric are empty analogies, to better color our nihilistic anatomies.
"and for the first time I can safely say dawn.. dawn is but a cancer.."
"well I wish I knew the answer that we've all been seeing"
"and in these walls we'll redefine passion"
"but only if you can show me how to escape the politics of fashion"
"it's but design's rational thought that has brought us here"
Save me....
"aren't we beautiful when were on dancing on destruction?"
Save me from this travesty I call home.
=
"I love you more than you'll ever know."
="Well all I know is that this romance bleeds and burns more everyday"
-"So come dance with me at the end of the world?"
="I wish I could but my legs are broken from someone other than you"
-"..And I'm afraid that I'm the only ambulance that's left"
="And its too late to save me now.'"
Lyrics submitted by DarkerShadeofWinter
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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.
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
You asked for critique so:
Be less concerned with sounding poetic, and more with pure self expression.