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."
[Verse 1]
They told me I would never make it, I would never achieve it
Reality is nourishment, but people don't believe it
I guess its hard to stomach the truth like a bulimic
It's a dirty game and nobody is willing to clean it
But this is for the paraplegic people dreamin' of runnin'
Ladies married to men who don't please 'em, dreamin' of comin'
Verbally murderous like David Berkowitz when I'm gunnin'
Some cowards on the internet didn't think I would sell
Scared to talk shit in person, cuz they stuck in a shell
And couldn't understand the pain of being stuck in a cell
Hell is not a place you go, if you're not a Christian
It's the failure of your life's greatest ambition
It's a bad decision to blindly follow any religion
I don't see the difference in between the wrong and the wrong
Soldiers emptyin' the clips at little kids and they moms
Are just like a desperate motherfucker strapped to a bomb
Humanity's gone, smoked up in a gravity bong
By a Democrat-Republican Cheech and Chong
Immortal Technique, you never heard me preach in a song
I'm not controversial, I'm just speakin' the facts
Put your hands in the air like you got the heat to your back
And shake your body like a baby born addicted to crack
And since life's a gamble like the craps tables at Vegas
I freestyle my destiny, it's not written in pages
[Verse 2]
I hate it when they tell us how far we came to be
As if our people's history started with slavery
Painfully I discovered the shit they kept us secret
This is the exodus like the black Jews out of Egypt
I keep it reality based with the music I make
Blow up the truth in your face with the style I run with
Like the navy missile that shot down flight eight hundred
I'm like the Africans who came here before Columbus
And from the 1500s until after the morrow
I watch Latin America get raped in the sorrow
You see the Spaniards never left despues de Colon
And if you don't believe me, you can click on Univision
I never seen so much racism in all of my life
Every program and newscaster, all of them white
It's like Apartheid with ten percent ruling the rest
That type of stress will make me put the fucking tool to your chest
Step in my way nigga, I wouldn't wanna be ya
I burn slow like pissing drunk with gonorrhea
I'll do a free show in North Korea, burning the flag
While J. Edgar Hoover politicians dress up in drag
Try to confuse you, makin' it hard to follow this:
Capitalism and democracy are not synonymous
You swallow propaganda like a birth control pill
Sellin' your soul to the eye on the back of the dollar bill
But that will never be me, cuz I'm leavin' the past
Like an abused wife with the kids, leavin' your ass
Like a drug addict clean and sober, leavin' the stash
Unbreakable Technique, leavin' the plane crash
I'm out with the black box and I refuse to return
I spit reality, instead of what you usually learn
And I refuse to be concerned with condescending advice
Cuz I 'm the only motherfucker that could change my life
[Ending]
Some people think I won't make it, but I know that I will
Escape the emptiness cuz that shit is slow and it kills
The flow and the skill, I made y'all believe that it last
You can make the future, but it starts with leaving the past
They told me I would never make it, I would never achieve it
Reality is nourishment, but people don't believe it
I guess its hard to stomach the truth like a bulimic
It's a dirty game and nobody is willing to clean it
But this is for the paraplegic people dreamin' of runnin'
Ladies married to men who don't please 'em, dreamin' of comin'
Verbally murderous like David Berkowitz when I'm gunnin'
Some cowards on the internet didn't think I would sell
Scared to talk shit in person, cuz they stuck in a shell
And couldn't understand the pain of being stuck in a cell
Hell is not a place you go, if you're not a Christian
It's the failure of your life's greatest ambition
It's a bad decision to blindly follow any religion
I don't see the difference in between the wrong and the wrong
Soldiers emptyin' the clips at little kids and they moms
Are just like a desperate motherfucker strapped to a bomb
Humanity's gone, smoked up in a gravity bong
By a Democrat-Republican Cheech and Chong
Immortal Technique, you never heard me preach in a song
I'm not controversial, I'm just speakin' the facts
Put your hands in the air like you got the heat to your back
And shake your body like a baby born addicted to crack
And since life's a gamble like the craps tables at Vegas
I freestyle my destiny, it's not written in pages
[Verse 2]
I hate it when they tell us how far we came to be
As if our people's history started with slavery
Painfully I discovered the shit they kept us secret
This is the exodus like the black Jews out of Egypt
I keep it reality based with the music I make
Blow up the truth in your face with the style I run with
Like the navy missile that shot down flight eight hundred
I'm like the Africans who came here before Columbus
And from the 1500s until after the morrow
I watch Latin America get raped in the sorrow
You see the Spaniards never left despues de Colon
And if you don't believe me, you can click on Univision
I never seen so much racism in all of my life
Every program and newscaster, all of them white
It's like Apartheid with ten percent ruling the rest
That type of stress will make me put the fucking tool to your chest
Step in my way nigga, I wouldn't wanna be ya
I burn slow like pissing drunk with gonorrhea
I'll do a free show in North Korea, burning the flag
While J. Edgar Hoover politicians dress up in drag
Try to confuse you, makin' it hard to follow this:
Capitalism and democracy are not synonymous
You swallow propaganda like a birth control pill
Sellin' your soul to the eye on the back of the dollar bill
But that will never be me, cuz I'm leavin' the past
Like an abused wife with the kids, leavin' your ass
Like a drug addict clean and sober, leavin' the stash
Unbreakable Technique, leavin' the plane crash
I'm out with the black box and I refuse to return
I spit reality, instead of what you usually learn
And I refuse to be concerned with condescending advice
Cuz I 'm the only motherfucker that could change my life
[Ending]
Some people think I won't make it, but I know that I will
Escape the emptiness cuz that shit is slow and it kills
The flow and the skill, I made y'all believe that it last
You can make the future, but it starts with leaving the past
Lyrics submitted by MrMojoRisin5552, edited by mntecky, AnonymousKid
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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,
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
I like your much-more-correct version, with a couple of edits. They're small compared to the corrections you made to the original up top, but they stood out to me: