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'm the kid who ran away with the circus
Now I'm watering elephants
But sometimes I lie awake in the sawdust
Dreaming I'm in a suit of light
Late at night in the empty big top I'm
All alone on the high wire
Look, he's working without a net this time
He's a real death-defier
I'm the kid who always looked out the window
Failing tests in geography
But I've seen things far beyond just the schoolyard
Distant shores of exotic lands
There's the spires of the Turkish empire
It's six months since we made landfall
Riding low with the spices of India
Through Gibraltar, we're rich men all
I'm the kid who thought we'd someday be lovers
Always held out that time would tell
Time was talking, I guess I just wasn't listening
No surprise if you know me well
And as we're walking toward the train station
There's a whispering rainfall
'Cross the boulevard you slip your hand in mine
In the distance the train calls
I'm the kid who has this habit of dreaming
Sometimes gets me in trouble too
But the truth is I could no more stop dreaming
Than I could make them all come true
Now I'm watering elephants
But sometimes I lie awake in the sawdust
Dreaming I'm in a suit of light
Late at night in the empty big top I'm
All alone on the high wire
Look, he's working without a net this time
He's a real death-defier
I'm the kid who always looked out the window
Failing tests in geography
But I've seen things far beyond just the schoolyard
Distant shores of exotic lands
There's the spires of the Turkish empire
It's six months since we made landfall
Riding low with the spices of India
Through Gibraltar, we're rich men all
I'm the kid who thought we'd someday be lovers
Always held out that time would tell
Time was talking, I guess I just wasn't listening
No surprise if you know me well
And as we're walking toward the train station
There's a whispering rainfall
'Cross the boulevard you slip your hand in mine
In the distance the train calls
I'm the kid who has this habit of dreaming
Sometimes gets me in trouble too
But the truth is I could no more stop dreaming
Than I could make them all come true
Lyrics submitted by trisweb, edited by sharkycharming
The Kid Lyrics as written by Buddy Mondlock
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Mountain Song
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This is a classic Wilcox song, except he didn't write it. Buddy Mondlock did.
For me, this song isn't just about fanciful, never-fulfilled wishes. For me, the dreams in this song carry hope. A boy who dreams of the spice trade while failing his test in school may yet succeed in his adult years -- even succeed brilliantly -- as this kind of imagination cannot be taught and is a power greater than rote knowledge.
Similarly, we don't know the ending of the lovers' tale. Does she stay? or not? Perhaps she does.
This song is my namesake. "Time was talking / guess I just wasn't listening / No surprise if you know me well." That's me to a T.
The end of the lovers' tale is that was all in his imagination. When you listen to the song, the music changes mid-verse, and at the same time the lyric goes from reality to the world of imagination. Only in imagination did they get together. Great tune!!