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."
Twilight army coming home
Armor made of stone
He who recollects, forgive us
On the way down, we understand what it means to break down
On the way out you decide to believe that on the way out its too late
It's the same
All lines you all used to know
It's the same
Trembling with no limbs, crow skin; a perpetual startled breed
The ache, no one to find
The writing was still traced and shy and never really aimed to show you
Still watching you rolling on whats good for
Mistaken but you were always once before you know.
Armor made of stone
He who recollects, forgive us
On the way down, we understand what it means to break down
On the way out you decide to believe that on the way out its too late
It's the same
All lines you all used to know
It's the same
Trembling with no limbs, crow skin; a perpetual startled breed
The ache, no one to find
The writing was still traced and shy and never really aimed to show you
Still watching you rolling on whats good for
Mistaken but you were always once before you know.
Lyrics submitted by phroot
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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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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.
Plastic Bag
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“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.
I think this is an argument against death bed conversions. I think AG has a problem with non-religous people living their lives and then when they are "on their way out", they pledge undying allegiance and subordination to a god. The fear people feel when they are close to their death (or some other difficult time) leads them to forget their own beliefs (or lack thereof), and choose to believe something that will give them closure or hope. Cowardly, IMO.
see: there are no atheists in foxholes.
what does 'atheists in foxholes' mean?
I think Anthony is making fun of how so many Christians aren't really Christian, they just needed something to comfort them when their lives aren't going great.
"On the way out you decide to believe but on the way out it's too late, it's the same" This means like a self-proclaimed Atheist/Agnostic who really has no idea what religion is - which means they also cannot acknowledge the lack thereof - starts coming toward the end of his life and thinks, "what if all that God shit is true? I'm going to Hell!" and then he starts going to church and thinks that he's set and he's going to Heaven when he dies, but he isn't really a true Christian, he just settled for God when there was nothing else. The religion of Christianity contains millions of these idiots.
"Twilight army, with armor made of stone" I think this means we all have the capability to be good people [angels], but we're weighed down by temptation and fright of what may come out of our next action. Like you know, the typical image of an angel bears wings? With armor of stone, the wings would be useless, and we ultimately become useless as well. We become human.
"Perpetual startled breed" I think this refers how everyone is afraid of dying. All people care about is if good things happen to them. They want their life to be as good as possible, without consideration to others' feelings or situation. Either that or we are afraid to believe/not believe because we feel either we'll get bashed for our beliefs or we won't be saved when we die.
"The writing was still traced and shy and never really aimed to show you" Kinda makes me think that whoever put us on this planet didn't really WANT us to know who he was or what we are supposed to do or become on Earth. We are God's playthings, and we're being watched over and laughed at while we think these trivial things through. All he ever wanted to do is to see what we'd do.
Hmm. Sounds like a religious song to me. Twilight army means angels? Armor made of stone. When we're "on the way down" we have fallen from the sky to this place called Earth. We live and make mistakes but it was fate for us to flaw. "Mistaken but you were always once before you know."
Well the title of the song, is about forgiving plot holes and inconsistencies so you can just enjoy a piece, so maybe this isn't supposed to make any sense, or the song is about suspesion of disbelief
Where's the love?
There is a micro-story written by Boselaw Prus that uses the term "twilight army" quite extensively. Perhaps this has something to do with it?: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shades_(story)
In the live set, in San Fransisco this song is labeled as Always Getting What You Want
Granted, this is totally nerd-like, but I get a sense of Boetheus' Consolation of Philosophy. It basicly states that the nature of fate is that there is no real good or bad, because we dont have a god-like perspective to figure out how everything will work out. The only thing that we really have any choice in is whether to believe fate to be in our good interest or against us. Theres some stuff about monotheism and a Prime mover, but Anthony would probably take a more universal take on it anyways
i dont believe that (nerd-like) if anything, because its about literature, it would be more likely the reason AG used it than religion. he's made LOTS of songs based on literature <br /> which is probably half why sometimes i dont get anything from his lyrics till years later hahaha <br /> <br /> hmm...do you think AG would describe himself as a nerd?
It would also explain the other title
this is kinda of an elementry deciphering but i think its religious.
\the whole twilight army is obviously some heavenly beings.
also 'he who recollects forgive us'
god is our guide, he recollects are faults and triumphs
and he is blaintently asking god to forgive us.
"On the way down, we understand what it means to break down"
he might be stating we finally understand what we're breaking for, but not until were on our way down to darkness..
"On the way out you decide to believe that on the way out its too late"
he might be saying you decide to believe what they've been preaching as your on your way there. but its too late to pretend you believe