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."
Got guns
Do you wanna take aim at each other?
Scratch the itch? Give the finger?
'Cause we don't care
Anyway
Got knives,
Have you seen 'em?
In your back's where we keep 'em
And your never gonna reach 'em
Now that sounds fair
Oh, this is bound to be good
You can't, but you thought that you could
How you like your position?
You ain't Robert Mitchum
You say you give and you give
Why don't you just give in?
Tra la la
Young, dumb, drinkin semen
Small pond kind of dreamin'
If you don't like the raft,
Why don't you take a swim?
Ooh, this is bound to be good
You can't, but you thought that you could
Ooh, how can you win?
Against yourself again
Do you wanna take aim at each other?
Scratch the itch? Give the finger?
'Cause we don't care
Anyway
Got knives,
Have you seen 'em?
In your back's where we keep 'em
And your never gonna reach 'em
Now that sounds fair
Oh, this is bound to be good
You can't, but you thought that you could
How you like your position?
You ain't Robert Mitchum
You say you give and you give
Why don't you just give in?
Tra la la
Young, dumb, drinkin semen
Small pond kind of dreamin'
If you don't like the raft,
Why don't you take a swim?
Ooh, this is bound to be good
You can't, but you thought that you could
Ooh, how can you win?
Against yourself again
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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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
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.
the (non LP version) on era vulgaris (tour edition), which is a studio version, has a heap of extra words in the instrumental something along the line of
boy, little time little king little brow (some rushed fukwit who thinks he's the king, pushes everyone as if his time is of the most importance along with his oppinion)
hope you get what u give but you just cant, well (that above mentioned fukwit should one day get what he gives, but since what he gives is so fuked up he'll never pull his head outta his ass for long enough consider what he gives, let alone take it given to him)
come on take it with a smile that dont, bound to hurt a while (deserves a good ass fuking which, if he were to receive it he couldnt handle it, as those around him handle his shit on a daily basis)
you can beg u can pleade won't take a page (he'd bitch and winge, yet couldnt take a page from his own book)
This is bound to be good. You can't but you thought that you could.
How could you win against yourself again?
then in the background there is a recording that i think is aldolf hitler (re-afirming his dictator like fukwit-ness)
then it goes onto
how you like your position? you ain't Robert Mitchum
Your ten pounds of shit in a five pound bag (the person is so full of shit it's dribblin down his chin)
This is bound to be good. You can't but you thought that you could.
How could you win against yourself again?
ohhh yaahh
over and over in his girly voice till the end
i dunno, i used to think it was about some backstaabbing bitch, but i guess it was just me reffering it to my own cheating bitch filled life. but i now agree that it's prob something to do with a producer or something tryin to tell them how to write their songs.
i've heard two versions of this song, the one i mention above, and the dvd version. but i haaven't heard the version originally quoted here, what recording is it found on???????????????
Then there is the era vulgaris bonus track version, which is totally different and nothing like this song, so wtf??????????
Born - Little town, little King, Little throne. Well you get what you give, why don't you just give in?<br /> <br /> Come on take it with a smile. At the bottom of the pile. You can beg, you can plead it won't change a thing.<br /> <br /> :-)