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."
Life is but a dream
Drifting on a stream
A stream
Consciously it seems
All of what remains
Ego brain
Man-made shame
Shame, love after it rains
You see my pain is real
Watch my world dissolve
And pretend that none of us see the fall
As I turned to sand
You took me by the hand
And declared, that love prevails over all
I am just a man
Fighting other man
For land, for land
While I turn to sand
In spite of the pain
Ego brain
Man-made shame
Shame love after it rains
You see my pain is real
Watch my world dissolve
And pretend that none of us see the fall
As I turned to sand
You took me by the hand
And declared, that love prevails over all
All of what remains
Ego brain
Man-made shame
Shame love after it rains
You see my pain is real
Watch my world dissolve
And pretend that none of us see the fall
As I turned to sand
You took me by the hand
And declared, that love prevails over all
(Love after it rains)
Drifting on a stream
A stream
Consciously it seems
All of what remains
Ego brain
Man-made shame
Shame, love after it rains
You see my pain is real
Watch my world dissolve
And pretend that none of us see the fall
As I turned to sand
You took me by the hand
And declared, that love prevails over all
I am just a man
Fighting other man
For land, for land
While I turn to sand
In spite of the pain
Ego brain
Man-made shame
Shame love after it rains
You see my pain is real
Watch my world dissolve
And pretend that none of us see the fall
As I turned to sand
You took me by the hand
And declared, that love prevails over all
All of what remains
Ego brain
Man-made shame
Shame love after it rains
You see my pain is real
Watch my world dissolve
And pretend that none of us see the fall
As I turned to sand
You took me by the hand
And declared, that love prevails over all
(Love after it rains)
Lyrics submitted by forbiddenbeat
Ego Brain Lyrics as written by Shavo Odajian Daron Malakian
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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“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.
i think ''i am just a man fighting other man for land while i turn to sand'' is all about war. Where do the bodies of the dead soldiers go after they die? They sometimes get buried and therefore turn to sand... There is a minor mistake in the lyrics, instead of:
Ego brain That makes shame, shame love after it rains
Its: Ego Brain Man-made shame.
War is nothing but egocentric. It is created from fear... fear of loss of money, power, obsession. The system teaches us that we are nothing without money. I think the first verse is a very important teaching
Life is but a dream Drifting on a stream, a stream Consciously it seems
The many minds that are dominated by the system, believe that life is real. But what is reality and how can we tell real from fake? If anybody has deeply analysed 'The Matrix' then they might understand what im talking about. The verse:
You see my pain is real Watch my world dissolve and pretend that none of us see the fall
could possibly be about the pain created once an individual realises the fabrication of the world. Pretending that "none of us see the fall" is about the way people live their lives pretending to know what life is all about. I dont know the purpose of our existence and i honestly dont know what keeps my alive but im probably just insane. Oh and one more thing, if serj believes life is a dream, then when are we awake? When we die?....hmmm....interesting.
I really like your interpretation of the song. Serj seems to have some strong political views that often intertwine with his symbolism in songs. SOAD is great in the way that you can have so many different perspectives on their songs and still feel pretty justified in your viewpoint. I think to add on to what you say about "life is but a dream drifting on a stream, a stream consciously it seems" he could also mean that we make our own perception of what life is and live in our own fantasy, and as we live with our own views in our little bubbles that we are seemingly conscious of our life path and with what is real and what isnt, but when it comes down to it we arent really in control of our lifes and what is happening to us, and many of have skewed views on what really matters most and on reality. You may just think im a crazy person haha. I really enjoyed your view on this though, its made me see the song differently in a good way 8).