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."
I remember a jet slowly scraping
Low and heavy across a sky of slate
I remember the angle of your elbow
As it doubled back
In the crack of fists across a face
I remember the suck of boots in mud
Guttural, sexual, in those clandestine woods
Down at the river's edge
Below the concrete bed
The smell of lilac in your hair
Where the stinging nettles grow
The the lonely rushes blow
I left you in a culvert there
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
Buildings and dreams dissolve into rust
Now all the flowers are turning brown
'Cause the circus is coming to town
'Cause the circus is coming to town
I remember dying to cry out
But throat-stuck with briars and stones
As your ruddy lips grew much ruddier
Step you lightly now
We must keep our voices down
The dogs of remorse
Follow close on the wind
Take your face off, don't be shy
They can't hunt you with their eyes
But surely they know the scent of sin
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
Buildings and dreams dissolve into rust
Now all the flowers are turning brown
'Cause the circus is coming to town
'Cause the circus is coming to town
I remember falling, falling back
Into that tangled bed: a mesh of twigs
Deflowered like a virgin bride
In the ground swell of spring
Underneath that deciduous canopy
Propped up with jagged scaffolding
Is that a train or thunder coming?
Is that a train or thunder?
Low and heavy across a sky of slate
I remember the angle of your elbow
As it doubled back
In the crack of fists across a face
I remember the suck of boots in mud
Guttural, sexual, in those clandestine woods
Down at the river's edge
Below the concrete bed
The smell of lilac in your hair
Where the stinging nettles grow
The the lonely rushes blow
I left you in a culvert there
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
Buildings and dreams dissolve into rust
Now all the flowers are turning brown
'Cause the circus is coming to town
'Cause the circus is coming to town
I remember dying to cry out
But throat-stuck with briars and stones
As your ruddy lips grew much ruddier
Step you lightly now
We must keep our voices down
The dogs of remorse
Follow close on the wind
Take your face off, don't be shy
They can't hunt you with their eyes
But surely they know the scent of sin
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
Buildings and dreams dissolve into rust
Now all the flowers are turning brown
'Cause the circus is coming to town
'Cause the circus is coming to town
I remember falling, falling back
Into that tangled bed: a mesh of twigs
Deflowered like a virgin bride
In the ground swell of spring
Underneath that deciduous canopy
Propped up with jagged scaffolding
Is that a train or thunder coming?
Is that a train or thunder?
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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,
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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Remind me of nick Cave's "Where The wild Roses Grow"
Which is always a good thing