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."
Now if the aim in your life is to settle me down,
I couldn't change my point of view;
I got a lady in red at the back of my head,
But the woman in white is you.
Do you want to be the only one,
Fade away in the morning sun?
I could love you all of my life;
You are my wife; haven't I let you know?
We don't need no buried treasure,
No buried treasure; we don't need it.
We don't stand on ceremony,
But life is phony in spite of it.
You can never be all you want to be
When you're searching for gold;
We don't need no buried treasure;
I've still got you, still got you, still got you;
I've still got you in my soul.
Well, it's a long way down, and you've got to get up,
You've got to figure on a master plan;
You couldn't do it; if you don't get ready,
You'll be beaten by the other man.
Do you want to be the last one in;
Play the game that you just don't win?
I can see me making you cry, saying goodbye,
But I could never let you go.
We don't need no buried treasure,
No buried treasure; we don't need it.
We don't stand on ceremony,
But life is phony in spite of it.
You can never be all you want to be
When you're searching for gold;
We don't need no buried treasure;
I've still got you, still got you, still got you;
I've still got you in my soul.
Well, you've taken my life in the palm of your hand â??
Make you mine for another day;
There ain't nobody that doesn't need anybody
When the good times turn away.
I don't want to be the lonely one,
Fade away in the evening sun;
I could love you all of my life;
You are my wife; haven't I told you so?
We don't need no buried treasure,
No buried treasure; we don't need it.
We don't stand on ceremony,
But life is phony in spite of it.
You can never be all you want to be
When you're searching for gold;
We don't need no buried treasure;
I've still got you, still got you, still got you;
I've still got you in my soul.
We don't need it, we don't need it
We don't need no buried treasure,
No buried treasure; we don't need it.
We don't stand on ceremony,
But life is phony in spite of it.
You can never be all you want to be
When you're searching for gold;
We don't need no buried treasure;
I've still got you, still got you, still got you;
I've still got you in my soul.
I couldn't change my point of view;
I got a lady in red at the back of my head,
But the woman in white is you.
Do you want to be the only one,
Fade away in the morning sun?
I could love you all of my life;
You are my wife; haven't I let you know?
We don't need no buried treasure,
No buried treasure; we don't need it.
We don't stand on ceremony,
But life is phony in spite of it.
You can never be all you want to be
When you're searching for gold;
We don't need no buried treasure;
I've still got you, still got you, still got you;
I've still got you in my soul.
Well, it's a long way down, and you've got to get up,
You've got to figure on a master plan;
You couldn't do it; if you don't get ready,
You'll be beaten by the other man.
Do you want to be the last one in;
Play the game that you just don't win?
I can see me making you cry, saying goodbye,
But I could never let you go.
We don't need no buried treasure,
No buried treasure; we don't need it.
We don't stand on ceremony,
But life is phony in spite of it.
You can never be all you want to be
When you're searching for gold;
We don't need no buried treasure;
I've still got you, still got you, still got you;
I've still got you in my soul.
Well, you've taken my life in the palm of your hand â??
Make you mine for another day;
There ain't nobody that doesn't need anybody
When the good times turn away.
I don't want to be the lonely one,
Fade away in the evening sun;
I could love you all of my life;
You are my wife; haven't I told you so?
We don't need no buried treasure,
No buried treasure; we don't need it.
We don't stand on ceremony,
But life is phony in spite of it.
You can never be all you want to be
When you're searching for gold;
We don't need no buried treasure;
I've still got you, still got you, still got you;
I've still got you in my soul.
We don't need it, we don't need it
We don't need no buried treasure,
No buried treasure; we don't need it.
We don't stand on ceremony,
But life is phony in spite of it.
You can never be all you want to be
When you're searching for gold;
We don't need no buried treasure;
I've still got you, still got you, still got you;
I've still got you in my soul.
Lyrics submitted by tantalumtelluride
Buried Treasure Lyrics as written by Maurice Ernest Gibb Barry Gibb
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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,
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
This song was written by the brothers Gibb. My favorite version is from the Barry Gibb demos (all songs that Kenny Rogers eventually recorded for his Eyes That See in the Dark album). I highly recommend those demos, which don't have the 80s gloss of the Kenny Rogers versions.
I think the song means that people spend too much of their lives looking for something better than what they've already got, when if they just stop and value the relationship they have, it will be more precious. Kind of like "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."