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."
The children of the summer's end
Gathered in the dampened grass,
We played Our songs and felt the London sky
Resting on our hands
It was God's land.
It was ragged and naive.
It was Heaven.
Touch, we touched the very soul
Of holding each and every life.
We claimed the very source of joy ran through.
It didn't, but it seemed that way.
I kissed a lot of people that day.
Oh, to capture just one drop of all the ecstasy that swept that afternoon,
To paint that love upon a white balloon,
And fly it from the toppest top of all the tops that man has pushed beyond his
Brain.
Satoria must be something just the same.
We scanned the skies with rainbow eyes and saw machines of every shape and size.
We talked with tall Venusians passing through.
And Peter tried to climb aboard but the Captain shook his head
And away they soared,
Climbing through the ivory vibrant cloud.
Someone passed some bliss among the crowd.
And we walked back to the road, unchained.
"The Sun Machine is coming down, and we're gonna have a party."
"The Sun Machine is coming down, and we're gonna have a party."
"The Sun Machine is coming down, and we're gonna have a party."
"The Sun Machine is coming down, and we're gonna have a party."
"The Sun Machine is coming down, and we're gonna have a party."
Gathered in the dampened grass,
We played Our songs and felt the London sky
Resting on our hands
It was God's land.
It was ragged and naive.
It was Heaven.
Touch, we touched the very soul
Of holding each and every life.
We claimed the very source of joy ran through.
It didn't, but it seemed that way.
I kissed a lot of people that day.
Oh, to capture just one drop of all the ecstasy that swept that afternoon,
To paint that love upon a white balloon,
And fly it from the toppest top of all the tops that man has pushed beyond his
Brain.
Satoria must be something just the same.
We scanned the skies with rainbow eyes and saw machines of every shape and size.
We talked with tall Venusians passing through.
And Peter tried to climb aboard but the Captain shook his head
And away they soared,
Climbing through the ivory vibrant cloud.
Someone passed some bliss among the crowd.
And we walked back to the road, unchained.
"The Sun Machine is coming down, and we're gonna have a party."
"The Sun Machine is coming down, and we're gonna have a party."
"The Sun Machine is coming down, and we're gonna have a party."
"The Sun Machine is coming down, and we're gonna have a party."
"The Sun Machine is coming down, and we're gonna have a party."
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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,
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
The song refers to a free concert and festival that David and friends put on at Beckenham in London on Saturday 16th August 1969. It was around the time his Father passed away. Friends of David's report him being in a bad mood (Understandably) that day and were surprised when he recorded the song about it. It was around this time he started to go out with Angie.
Satori, zen enlightenment, not "Satoria", whatever that is.
I think this song captures the wondrous feeling of hanging out with your mates at a summer festival from a distant youth so well. Magical.
Is it really "unchained" - or does he say "unchanged"?
@imrazor tou are right, it is unchanged. Bowie is not Eddie Van Halen.
“Sun Machine”????? This lyric is Song Machine.
i think this is about a drug orgy but then theres the slight possiblity that i am absolutely stupidly wrong.. yet i'm honored to be the first person to comment this song and humor appart i'd like to add that this is one of my more beloved hymns and damn it i don't know why,
I think it sounds so good because he really felt whatever he's trying to say. I mean that he felt, deep in his bones, was the experience he's expressing in the song and that is why the music resonates, he was expressing his truth, in other words, and one's truth always resonates, comes through, even though we can't understand many times. We can feel it, what they felt, in a way, in the way it infiltrates our emotional wiring, or whatever. If it is some universal truth an artist has expressed, and we can only feel the message, as we grow and hear the song/work in new ways, we can eventually learn of the truth they were expressing, I believe. And besides learn many other things maybe the artist, even, had no idea he/she was saying. fun stuff!