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."
Where are we?
What the hell is going on?
The dust has only just begun to form
Crop circles in the carpet
Sinking feeling
Spin me around again
And rub my eyes
This can't be happening
When busy streets
A mess with people
Would stop to hold their heads heavy
Hide and seek
Trains and sewing machines
All those years
They were here first
Oily marks appear on walls
Where pleasure moments hung before
The takeover
The sweeping insensitivity of this
Still life
Hide and seek
Trains and sewing machines
(You won't catch me around here)
Blood and tears
They were here first
Mm, what'd you say?
Mm, that you only meant well
Well of course you did
Mm, what'd you say?
Mm, that it's all for the best
Of course it is
Mm, what'd you say?
Mm, that it's just what we need
You decided this
Mm, what'd you say?
Mm, what did she say?
Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth
Mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cutouts
Speak no feeling, no, I don't believe you
You don't care a bit, you don't care a bit
Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth
Mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cutouts
Speak no feeling, no, I don't believe you
You don't care a bit, you don't care a bit
(You don't care a bit)
Oh, no, you don't care a bit
Oh, no, you don't care a bit
Uh-uh, you don't care a bit
You don't care a bit
You don't care a bit
What the hell is going on?
The dust has only just begun to form
Crop circles in the carpet
Sinking feeling
Spin me around again
And rub my eyes
This can't be happening
When busy streets
A mess with people
Would stop to hold their heads heavy
Hide and seek
Trains and sewing machines
All those years
They were here first
Oily marks appear on walls
Where pleasure moments hung before
The takeover
The sweeping insensitivity of this
Still life
Hide and seek
Trains and sewing machines
(You won't catch me around here)
Blood and tears
They were here first
Mm, what'd you say?
Mm, that you only meant well
Well of course you did
Mm, what'd you say?
Mm, that it's all for the best
Of course it is
Mm, what'd you say?
Mm, that it's just what we need
You decided this
Mm, what'd you say?
Mm, what did she say?
Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth
Mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cutouts
Speak no feeling, no, I don't believe you
You don't care a bit, you don't care a bit
Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth
Mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cutouts
Speak no feeling, no, I don't believe you
You don't care a bit, you don't care a bit
(You don't care a bit)
Oh, no, you don't care a bit
Oh, no, you don't care a bit
Uh-uh, you don't care a bit
You don't care a bit
You don't care a bit
Lyrics submitted by music*ismyboyfriend, edited by frenzydiamonds
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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,
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
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.
I've read that Imogen said that this song was about her parents divorce, and her father later getting a new wife. The lyrics are about how his new relationship made her feel estranged from him.
hahaha imogen IS frou frou, dummy dummy dum dumsssss
haha thats exactly what i was thinking you silly noodles:P
Technically its Frou Frou minus Guy Sigsworth.
She uses a lot of imagery of an empty house; "oily marks appear on walls" describing the clean outlines in the dust of hung pictures that have been removed, and "crop circles in the carpet" referring to the circles left by furniture after it's been moved. Since it probably isn't really just about furniture, it makes me think of the raw impressions that would be left exposed on a person once a friend of family member that they've depended on for years has been removed.
The whole thing seems to me to be describing the trauma of a split household from the perspective of a child that doesn't understand, using the strangeness of a changed home or a new house as a metaphor.
Sends chills down my spine every time.
This song to me is about someone leaving and the person who was left is just realizing what is happening. "Crop circles in the carpet", from furniture that had been there but is now gone, "Oily marks appear on walls Where pleasure moments hung before" pictures that are no longer there, "Mmm, What'd you say? Mmm, That it's just what we need You decided this" indicates that the person that is being left doesn't want it to be that way. It's a leaving song which makes perfect sense for them to play it when they did on The O.C. ...anyways, thats just my opinion.
That's exactly how I hear this song crappypunkrock! The "oily marks" line is one of my favorite and the part about "you decided this" hits a personal note with me. It just emphasizes the fact that it takes two people start a relationship but it only takes one person to end it. <br /> Thanks also for not mentioning the O.C. ;) Imogen was amazing way before they played her song<br />
I agree but I personally think it was about the holocaust, mostly because the name is "Hide and Seek" and the furniture is gone because "They were here first"<br /> <br /> "Trains and sewing machines"<br /> The Jews were cramped into Cow cars, not really sure what sewing machines is about.<br /> <br /> "blood and tears" is pretty self explanatory.
Nah dog, you're kinda dumb... this song is most definately about the Holocaust.<br /> <br /> The O.C. made the song have a different and idiotic meaning.<br /> How disappointing.
Crappypunnkrock is right. This lyrics was a mysterium to me for years til my man very unexpectedly left me. I sat in chock on the floor and listened to this song and the word suddenly made total sense. They communicate the exact feeling when you are beeing left and dont understand what is happening. Fragmentaric thoughts, the panic, anger, chock, the confusion that the the world outside is still running as usual - trains and sewingmachines and all the other shit out there... The tears on you face and the blood in you vains is the only thing that you know from before and that you can hold on to, they were there from the beginning of your life. The The oily marks i believe is referring to the stains on the wall beside the bed, from feet and hands making them during "pleasure moments".
Signed up JUST to comment on this song! ;)
To me, this song is about a life left and a new beginning for a new one. The song speaks to me through the eyes of a child who as been stripped away from a life and brought to a new unrecognizable place filled with memories of another family.
"Where are we? What the hell is going on?"
"The dust has only just began to fall / Crop circles in the carpet"
"Hide and seek / trains and sewing machines"
"All those years / They were here first"
"Oily marks appear on walls / Where pleasure moments hung before"
"The takeover / The sweeping insensitivity of this"
"Mmm, What'd you say? Mmm, That you only meant well / Well of course you did / Mmm, What'd you say? Mmm, That it's all for the best / Of course it is Mmm, What'd you say? Mmm, That it's just what we need / You decided this"
anyhoo, I didn't mean for this to drag on... just thought I'd express my two cents. I guess this song touched me this way because I went through this and the sinking feeling she speaks of is exactly how I felt and that I didn't feel my folks cared about how I felt at all.
Funny how songs can tell the story of our lives so sweetly sometimes...
Cheers
AHHH EXACTLY THE SAME OVER HERE!!!!!!!!
i signed up just for this too :) <br /> <br /> i love how you interpreted this...<br /> <br /> thats what i like about music is that it can mean one thing to the artist and then every single person that listens to it, it can mean something completely different to them, but it can still make sense.<br /> <br />
this is the first reply i have ever written, but i wanted to agree with you on <br /> <br /> "Funny how songs can tell the story of our lives so sweetly sometimes..."<br /> <br /> <br /> its wierd how i personally cannot put my feelings into words, but this song perfectly orchestrates how i feel.
this is by far the best "break-down" of this song, i honestly believe that it could be the true meaning of this. GREAT JOB!<br /> <br /> <br /> (it really opened my eyes about the crop circles part, i was always like "there cant be crop circles in carpet!")
i definately think its interesting to hear some of the ways people portray songs.. because it is all different, and i think it means something a little different to everybody becasue not everybody is at the same place in life and each person is going through different changes and trials so each one of us takes it a different way depending on whats going on your life.. but i would still like to know exactly what the artist was feeling or what it meant to them because then you can take it into a whole new perspective of a different person..
excellent. your interpretation is well supported and very insightful. i think the mmm...what'd you say analysis is a little shaky but very plausible. i love this sight because you get such a wide range of interpretations that are all well supported. dont make this your last song you comment on!
Imogen's parents divorced when she was only 12 years old. (wikipedia)
This song is about a child full of hurt and pain at why her parents would do this.
"The dust has only just began to fall"-a fresh seperation, the dust will keep falling since they are going seperate ways.
"Crop circles in the carpet, sinking, feeling"-Where the furnature once lie, indetaions in the carpet.
"Spin me around and rub my eyes"-Imogen's is telling her father to spin her around once more as when she was little, but this time rub her eyes because she is so full of pain.
"This can't be happening"- a child confused at whats going on
"When busy streets a mess with people Would stop to hold their heads heavy"-the child realizing all of the pain the world is in.
"Hide and seek"- the girl needs somewhere to hide from the world
"All those years They were here first"- the girl thinking her family has been there, and they were here first.
"Oily marks appear on walls Where pleasure moments hung before"-Obviously pictures that have been taken down for the seperation.
"Mm what'cha say? Mm that it's all for the best Of course it is" -This is the girl realizing that it is for the best, but she is still hurt.
"Mm what'cha say? Mm that it's just what we need You decided this?" -the child has NO say in this situation and she is feeling anger because it was in the hands of her parents.
"Speak no feeling; no, I don't believe you" -Her parents say they still love her and it is not her fault, she doesn't believe them. You don't care a bit You don't care a bit
LOVE this song. Could be played for so many hurting children in America.
simply beautiful. someone told me that she explained that this song is about her parents getting a divorce. makes sense.
I always feel like this song is read wrong. If you put it into sentence format, it becomes a lot less unambiguous. Where are we? What the hell is going on? The dust has only just begun to form cop circles in the carpet. (As in, the dust is forming the crop circles, because its only now beginning to settle, as opposed to the dust forming and the crop circles being two separate entities.) Sinking feeling. Spin me around again and rub my eyes. This can't be happening. When busy streets -- a mess with people -- would stop to hold their heads heavy. (As in, all these people on the streets stop to hang their heads.)
Hide and seek, trains, and sewing machines, all those years, they were here first. Oily marks appear on walls where pleasure moments hung before. (Ever notice how your handprints leave behind marks on the walls you touch?) The takeover, the sweeping insensitivity of this still life. (The still life referencing the aforementioned "oily marks" as opposed to the "pleasure moments").
I would like to hear the rest of the song in your opinion. <br /> I agree and understand what you are saying.. Personally it seems from what i understand (taking into account what you have said also) that she must of slept with someone and everyone heard, but she obviously loved this person. I might be wrong.. But i am st
still intrigued to hear what you have to say :)
I think this song is about someone discovering and dealing with the fact that thier lover is leading a second life with them. "Hide and Seek" symbolizes the mistresses' search for the truth about her lover's love life, which he tries desperately to hide. The "trains and sewing machines" would represent the cheating lover's child and wife, respectively, who were "there first", before the beginning of the adulterous relationship. The mistresses' reaction to the idea of her lover belonging to another woman is expressed through "the takeover, the sweeping insensitivity".
His censorship of the truth and of his feelings are represented through "newspaper word cutouts" and "mid-sweet talk". The "ransom notes" falling out of the cheater's mouth signify how he has freed his mistress by breaking off the relationship, but has taken her heart in exchange. She feels used, and thus does not believe any expression of emotion her cheating lover tries to appeal to her with ("speak no feeling, no, I don't believe you"), stating only that he "doesn't care a bit".
Maybe off but it makes sense to me.
I think it's about losing your sense of self in a relationship and coming to the realization that your lover/partner had some part in changing you. It's also about finding the "former self" that was lost and keeping the true you alive.
Does your interpretation of this song has anything to do with its context in The Last Kiss?
I first heard this song on the KCRW streaming feed (kcrwmusic.com) a couple of months ago and was immediately captivated by the ethereality of the vocal performance and the incredibly evocative chord voicings that were used to trigger the vocoder. As for the lyrics, I guess I'm the only one who associates the lyrics with nuclear holocaust. Anyone who has seen the archival footage of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki ruins can't help but be moved by the ghost images on the walls of people who were instantly vaporized by the blast ("Oily marks appear on walls"), piles of bodies and skeletons randomly strewn about the city streets ("A mess with people"), and the shots of mutilated survivors with looks of bewilderment in their faces ("What the hell is going on?", "Rub my eyes, this can't be happening"). Footage of subsequent nuclear tests shows how ashes fall like snow after a blast ("Crop circles in the carpet") and the utter finality of the carnage ("The sweeping insensitivity of this"). The rest of the song seems to focus on the perpetrators of the apocalypse ("...That you only meant well... that it's all for the best ... that it's just what we need ... Oh no, you don't care a bit"). Anyway that's how I see it IMHO. Truly an amazing, haunting, gut-wrenching and beautiful song.
@doctec beautiful interpretation