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."
You won't belong to me, I let you down
I walk around 'n' see your night skyline
I feel the light but you don't want to stay
So lonely now, just let me off downtown
Sad and free, sad and free
Sad and free, sad and free
When I said it was over, you aimed at my heart
Won't be long for I'm leaving all my love
But I'll feel it forever, no sounds in my life
You can call that no livin' on my own, so free
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody)
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody)
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody)
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody)
You took me easy and then let me go
I never was, you see, that cheatin' kind
You feel all right, you never looked for me
So long, it's time, I've gotta get on by
Sad and free, sad and free
Sad and free, sad and free
When I said it was over, you aimed at my heart
Won't be long for I'm leaving all my love
But I'll feel it forever, no sounds in my life
You can call that no livin' on my own, so free
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody) Oh, everybody
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody) Oh, everybody
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody) Everybody, oh everybody
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody) Everybody
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody) Oh, everybody
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody) Oh, everybody
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody) Everybody, oh everybody
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody) Everybody
I walk around 'n' see your night skyline
I feel the light but you don't want to stay
So lonely now, just let me off downtown
Sad and free, sad and free
Sad and free, sad and free
When I said it was over, you aimed at my heart
Won't be long for I'm leaving all my love
But I'll feel it forever, no sounds in my life
You can call that no livin' on my own, so free
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody)
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody)
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody)
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody)
You took me easy and then let me go
I never was, you see, that cheatin' kind
You feel all right, you never looked for me
So long, it's time, I've gotta get on by
Sad and free, sad and free
Sad and free, sad and free
When I said it was over, you aimed at my heart
Won't be long for I'm leaving all my love
But I'll feel it forever, no sounds in my life
You can call that no livin' on my own, so free
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody) Oh, everybody
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody) Oh, everybody
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody) Everybody, oh everybody
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody) Everybody
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody) Oh, everybody
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody) Oh, everybody
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody) Everybody, oh everybody
(Everybody, everybody, everybody, everybody) Everybody
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More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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.
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
semiotext(e)/ disco-bolo / T.A.Z (temporary autonomous zone / islands of intensity / the siren song of the eternal black queen / spades & clubs / vistas of urban sadness seen in passing through a car window / something I lost, found, and lost again forever in the early 1990's / woe to those who hear too much in a cheap dance tune
I love this song - the original one.
The Anonymous Disco Diva of Empyrean Epiphanies, the Queen of Spades and the Mother of Kushite Soul-Mamas placed the black box here after it was taken from the depths where the wreckage of the plane was found by sonar in the Indian Ocean ...
connecthook.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/black-box-recovered/