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."
One, two, three, go
Gonna be the bride for the hundredth time
Faded beauty eyes with some worry lines
I'm not gonna crash
Friendly skies
Tall glass of water just to stay alive
Knockout (Wanna, you wanna)
In a sea of faces
She's a walk-on (Wanna, you wanna)
See so many places
In a rocket (Wanna, you wanna)
She's filling up the spaces
A reflection (Wanna, you wanna)
And she's in the news again
Backwards, forwards, A to Z
You look for your future in a cup of tea
You made the connection and you seen the light
But you still can't seem to get it right
A knockout (Wanna, you wanna)
In a sea of faces
She's a walk-on (Wanna, you wanna)
I will sing her praises
And it's our house (Wanna, you wanna)
We make the rules
It's a reflection (Wanna, you wanna)
And she's in the news again
Climb, climb, Caroline, don't look down
The flying trapeze never hangs with clowns
The basketful of kisses that you pass around
Is like a two-car garage in a one-horse town
Knockoff (Wanna, you wanna)
In a sea of faces
In a rocket (Wanna, you wanna)
She's filling up the spaces
And it's our house (Wanna, you wanna)
We make the rules
It's a reflection (Wanna, you wanna)
One, two, three, go
Gonna be a bride for the hundredth time (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
Faded beauty eyes with some worry lines (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
I'm not gonna crash... friendly skies (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
Living on the border just to stay alive (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
Knockout (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
In a sea of faces
In a rocket (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
Seen so many phases
She's a walk-on (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
Filling up the spaces
A reflection (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
And she makes the rules
'Cause she's a knockoff (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
In a sea of faces
In a drive-by (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
We will sing her praises
In a rocket (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
She will break the rules
That's a reflection (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
But she's in the news
A drive-by (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
All the pretty faces
It's a knockoff (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
In a sea of faces
(???) (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
We will sing her praises
Going nowhere (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
And she makes the rules
She's in a movie (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
And she's not mine
And I want her (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
And I want her
And I want her (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
And she's not mine
And I want her (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
Yeah, I wanna
To be the one!
Gonna be the bride for the hundredth time
Faded beauty eyes with some worry lines
I'm not gonna crash
Friendly skies
Tall glass of water just to stay alive
Knockout (Wanna, you wanna)
In a sea of faces
She's a walk-on (Wanna, you wanna)
See so many places
In a rocket (Wanna, you wanna)
She's filling up the spaces
A reflection (Wanna, you wanna)
And she's in the news again
Backwards, forwards, A to Z
You look for your future in a cup of tea
You made the connection and you seen the light
But you still can't seem to get it right
A knockout (Wanna, you wanna)
In a sea of faces
She's a walk-on (Wanna, you wanna)
I will sing her praises
And it's our house (Wanna, you wanna)
We make the rules
It's a reflection (Wanna, you wanna)
And she's in the news again
Climb, climb, Caroline, don't look down
The flying trapeze never hangs with clowns
The basketful of kisses that you pass around
Is like a two-car garage in a one-horse town
Knockoff (Wanna, you wanna)
In a sea of faces
In a rocket (Wanna, you wanna)
She's filling up the spaces
And it's our house (Wanna, you wanna)
We make the rules
It's a reflection (Wanna, you wanna)
One, two, three, go
Gonna be a bride for the hundredth time (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
Faded beauty eyes with some worry lines (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
I'm not gonna crash... friendly skies (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
Living on the border just to stay alive (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
Knockout (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
In a sea of faces
In a rocket (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
Seen so many phases
She's a walk-on (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
Filling up the spaces
A reflection (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
And she makes the rules
'Cause she's a knockoff (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
In a sea of faces
In a drive-by (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
We will sing her praises
In a rocket (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
She will break the rules
That's a reflection (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
But she's in the news
A drive-by (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
All the pretty faces
It's a knockoff (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
In a sea of faces
(???) (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
We will sing her praises
Going nowhere (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
And she makes the rules
She's in a movie (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
And she's not mine
And I want her (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
And I want her
And I want her (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
And she's not mine
And I want her (Wanna... you wanna... you wanna... you wanna be the)
Yeah, I wanna
To be the one!
Lyrics submitted by Eamon
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings

Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction

Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental 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.

Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“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.

Somewhere Only We Know
Keane
Keane
Per the FAQ on Keane's website, Keane's drummer Richard Hughes, stated the following:
"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."
With the nostalgic sentiment and the overall tone of the song, I think Keane is attempting to express a Portuguese term known as 'saudade', which does not have a direct English translation but roughly means "that which we remember because it is gone."
weird song. i like the 1, 2, 3. actually heard it off of the thirteen soundtrack.
I love this song! Cant really understand them but it sounds awesome.. i heard it off the thirteen soundtrack too :D
This song was in one of those car commercials..hahahahaha.
I love how they steal all these great indie songs for all their commercials, and everyone's like "Man this song is cool..." yet they don't know what the song is...and go off into their own cars to listen to "The Killers" and "Ashley Simpson"...
I love this song. And the music video is so so nice. I dance just like those people in that video...KARRAZEE.
I love how the male and female vocals trade off as well....so great.
I've been hearing this song everywhere! In clubs, commercials, and movies but finally found out the band who had the song! This song is so catchy and fun, I crank it everytime in the car. Imperial Teen is the best.
I've been hearing this song everywhere! In clubs, commercials, and movies but finally found out the band who had the song! This song is so catchy and fun, I crank it everytime in the car. Imperial Teen is the best.
is this song about ivanka trump?
probably not. but, 'ivanka' is such a good name for whomever he is speaking of, and i'm sure he named the song after ivanka trump, as [i hope] no one else has that name.
This song either talks plainly about the world of prostitutes or the world of cheating teens who become prostitutes. This song is clearly presenting the views of prostitutes and their supposedely categories. For example, the ones living at the border just to stay alive reffering to master slave prostitutes, bdsm.