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."
Nervously you lit your cigarette
Hey beautiful why did you start again
You interrupt me with, "How are you doing?"
Well I love my life and the music that I'm grooving
You pause and slowly hang your head
I don't think I can take this again
Flat out it wasn't shiny and new
What's a young boy gotta do for you?
You look really good my baby I ain't gonna lie
But take one minute and shed your skin
It'll be the best thing in your life
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
I wish what I got was enough to be lovin'
Your heart's stone cold, won't let nobody in there
Not much changed and it's all too familiar
Your heart's stone cold and it's making me sadder
Just to think true love really didn't even matter
Your heart's stone cold and nothing is gonna change
Your eyes look empty, lost in the sadness
Faking a smile and it's worse than the madness
I don't need you, I'm a little bit stronger
You say it's been a while, it's gonna be a while longer
I've never seen you like this before
You asking me for more
There's no going back to yesterday
Who would want to anyway
You look really good my baby I'm not gonna lie
But take one minute and shed your skin
It'll be the best thing in your life
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
I wish what I got was enough to be lovin'
Your heart's stone cold won't let nobody in there
Not much changed and it's all too familiar
Your heart's stone cold and it's making me sadder
Just to think true love really didn't even matter
Your heart's stone cold and nothing is gonna change
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
You can't feel nothing, you can't feel nothing
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
Hey beautiful why did you start again
You interrupt me with, "How are you doing?"
Well I love my life and the music that I'm grooving
You pause and slowly hang your head
I don't think I can take this again
Flat out it wasn't shiny and new
What's a young boy gotta do for you?
You look really good my baby I ain't gonna lie
But take one minute and shed your skin
It'll be the best thing in your life
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
I wish what I got was enough to be lovin'
Your heart's stone cold, won't let nobody in there
Not much changed and it's all too familiar
Your heart's stone cold and it's making me sadder
Just to think true love really didn't even matter
Your heart's stone cold and nothing is gonna change
Your eyes look empty, lost in the sadness
Faking a smile and it's worse than the madness
I don't need you, I'm a little bit stronger
You say it's been a while, it's gonna be a while longer
I've never seen you like this before
You asking me for more
There's no going back to yesterday
Who would want to anyway
You look really good my baby I'm not gonna lie
But take one minute and shed your skin
It'll be the best thing in your life
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
I wish what I got was enough to be lovin'
Your heart's stone cold won't let nobody in there
Not much changed and it's all too familiar
Your heart's stone cold and it's making me sadder
Just to think true love really didn't even matter
Your heart's stone cold and nothing is gonna change
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
You can't feel nothing, you can't feel nothing
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
Your heart's stone cold and you can't feel nothing
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More Featured Meanings
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,
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.
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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
I absolutely love this song. the only thing I was disappointed about was that I read a few interviews with Josh McMillan, and he just seemed like such a jerk. He said he could sing better than John Mayer. ...I don't agree. but Josh is so gorgeous. one correction in these lyrics: "Nervously, you bit your cigarrette." not hit.
or maybe its lit. I don't know.
First off, I think it's "lit." That makes the most sense.
What's great about this song (besides it's irresistable chorus and music) is the theme. Not often do you hear someone sing about moving on in a relationship this way. I love the lines "I never seen you like this before, you, asking me for more, there's no going back to yesterday...", and then he immediately second guesses himself afterwards. That's real life.
it's: "You look really good my baby I ain't gonna lie..."
for the first couple choruses
for me its like a guy who likes someone, and yet he feels that his efforts was left unnoticed.