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."
"So how do we know each other?
And how do you have my number?
Well why don't you guide me
You be the driver"
Say what you want and leave your shyness home
And you should do what you want and write a little poem
Leave it for her and live another day
And you should leave it for her, the girl around the way
Write down a list of things you wanna do
And then you leave it in work because you wanna live a little
Pick up the girl in someone's borrowed Mini
Take her to dinner, use her boyfriend's money
Hey lady, put the phone down
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Your cover's blown, I wanna see you alone
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Your cover's blown
Planning a freak is such a tricky thing
Because you move through the country, she comes back again
And then you move through the city, but she goes abroad
Is she telling you something, is she getting bored?
I make a rough plan to sleep around a minaret
I need a change, I'm a lazy rat if I am honest
But my bold change of tact will fade out with the summer
I've got no appetite and all the girls are bummers
My baby doesn't look at me the way I want her to look
She doesn't comprehend
My baby's got it going on
She's got a friend in every street in this town
I want to go out but there's nobody home-
I'll go on my own
Thus starts the lonely walking
There's always too much talking
I, I, I should have stayed home
She starts her cold caressing
The kid she starts undressing
I, I, I should have stayed home
The DJ's picking up speed
That's something I just don't need
I, I, I should have stayed home
The gossip's bearing down on me
The kids are pairing up in front of me
I should have stayed home
I should have stayed home
I think I'll go home
Listen lady, put your phone down
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Your cover's blown, I need to see you alone
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Listen lady, leave your phone down
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Your cover's blown, I need to see you alone
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Hey lady, meet my mum and dad
You're a strange aberration
In this land of potted plants and boxlike houses
Where the girls like mouses
Breathe a long sigh of resignation
You resign yourself to keep on growing
Like the seeds you're sowing
You're a strange apparition in this land of grammar schools and gala days
The ladies set in their ways
You had a long conversation with a kid next door
He's a little slow but in your favour it shows
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to move out to the sticks
Listen lady, leave the boy home
Cancel all operations, tell your friends there's more to you than this
And how do you have my number?
Well why don't you guide me
You be the driver"
Say what you want and leave your shyness home
And you should do what you want and write a little poem
Leave it for her and live another day
And you should leave it for her, the girl around the way
Write down a list of things you wanna do
And then you leave it in work because you wanna live a little
Pick up the girl in someone's borrowed Mini
Take her to dinner, use her boyfriend's money
Hey lady, put the phone down
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Your cover's blown, I wanna see you alone
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Your cover's blown
Planning a freak is such a tricky thing
Because you move through the country, she comes back again
And then you move through the city, but she goes abroad
Is she telling you something, is she getting bored?
I make a rough plan to sleep around a minaret
I need a change, I'm a lazy rat if I am honest
But my bold change of tact will fade out with the summer
I've got no appetite and all the girls are bummers
My baby doesn't look at me the way I want her to look
She doesn't comprehend
My baby's got it going on
She's got a friend in every street in this town
I want to go out but there's nobody home-
I'll go on my own
Thus starts the lonely walking
There's always too much talking
I, I, I should have stayed home
She starts her cold caressing
The kid she starts undressing
I, I, I should have stayed home
The DJ's picking up speed
That's something I just don't need
I, I, I should have stayed home
The gossip's bearing down on me
The kids are pairing up in front of me
I should have stayed home
I should have stayed home
I think I'll go home
Listen lady, put your phone down
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Your cover's blown, I need to see you alone
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Listen lady, leave your phone down
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Your cover's blown, I need to see you alone
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to cool it
Hey lady, meet my mum and dad
You're a strange aberration
In this land of potted plants and boxlike houses
Where the girls like mouses
Breathe a long sigh of resignation
You resign yourself to keep on growing
Like the seeds you're sowing
You're a strange apparition in this land of grammar schools and gala days
The ladies set in their ways
You had a long conversation with a kid next door
He's a little slow but in your favour it shows
Cancel all operations, tell your friends to move out to the sticks
Listen lady, leave the boy home
Cancel all operations, tell your friends there's more to you than this
Lyrics submitted by michaelbondy, edited by strawberryabc
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Mountain Song
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Just A Little Lovin'
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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/
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How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
First of all, I've loved this song for years.
The way I interpret it is as a guy going through a messy break-up.
The song opens with him doing typical rebound/post-breakup healing activities: go out and do what you want, live a little, flirt with the girl around the way. Perhaps this is the euphoria of feeling freedom after leaving a long-term relationship.
Of course, break-ups are not always over in one fell swoop. It sounds like the guy still wants things to work in the next stanza:
Planning a break is such a tricky thing Because you move to the country, she comes back again And then you move to the city but she goes abroad Is she telling you something, is she getting bored?
It could also just be reminiscing of how the relationship started to deteriorate.
The next stanza has him back in "single and on the rebound" mode:
I'll make a rough plan to sleep around, I'm in a rut I need a change, I'm a lazy rat if I am honest My bold change of tact will fade out with the summer I've got no appetite and all the girls are bummers
Having sex with other women doesn't help him to forget about his ex. She is obviously popular and moving on:
My baby doesn't look at me The way I want her to She doesn't comprend
My baby's got it going on She's got a friend hid in every street in this town I want to go out but there's nobody home I'll go on my own
As for the chorus, I think that while going through this break-up he met a girl he was interested in. She's different than the other girls at the club and he's trying to get to know her, but she's independent and has her own thing going on. And, it seems, a very healthy social life.
Break-ups can be messy things. I think this song encapsulates those range of emotions perfectly. Even the way it's sung and the music itself sound happy and hopeful with undertones of sadness to me.