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."
* the [] areas are an english translation
Ils s'etaient rencontres sur les bancs d'l'ecole
[They met back in school]
Entre une heure de colle de maths ou d'un cours d'espagnol
[Between a retention hour a math or a spanish class]
C'etait un fille fun fana de football
[She was a funny football fan girl]
Lui ne craignait pas les balles, c'etait le goal
[he didn't fear balls, he was the goal]
C'qu'il lui promettait c'etait des ballades en Corvette
[What he promised was rides in Corvette]
Pour l'instant en survet, il volait des mobylettes
[But for now, wearing tracksuits, he was stealing scooters]
Mais entre eux deux c'etait toujours complicite
[However between them there was always complicity]
Escale sur un piedestal un reve delimite
[Stop on a pedestal, a clear dream]
S'il devenait triangle, elle serait rectangle
[If he became triangle, she would be rectangle]
La belle et le bad boy, le triangle rectangle
[The beauty and the bad boy, the triangular rectangle]
C'est comme passer de Joe Dassin a Jodeci
[It's like zapping from Joe Dassin to Jodeci]
Un vrai truc de ouf style pur clip de R&B
[A real story like pure R&B videoclipdramas ]
Elle vit le grand amour, qui commence dans la cour
[She's living the great love, that begins in the schoolyard]
Se poursuit dans les tours et rime toujours avec toujours
[Continues in the council flats and always rhymes with always ]
Mais le contexte est plus fort que le concept
[But the context is sronger than the concept]
Son mec se jette dans les flammes et il se lave avec.
[Her man jumps into the flames and washes with them]
Chorus:
Les sous ensembles dans les grands ensembles s'assemblent
[The subsets in large housing get together]
La belle et le bad boy(x3)
[The beauty and the bad boy]
Les sous ensembles dans les grands ensembles s'assemblent
[The subsets in large housing get together]
Les sous ensembles dans les grands ensembles s'assemblent
[The subsets in large housing get together]
Pour gagner des sous ensemble
[To earn money together]
Parlent sans faire semblant de faire des coups ensemble
[Talk without pretending of doing "crapulous" things together]
Et si c'est sanglant. Ils plaident devant Dieu ensemble. Vu
[And if it gets bloody, they plead God together. See.]
Ils etait convaincant, elle etait convaicue
[They were convinving, She was convinced]
A croire qu'aujourd'hui s'arreter etait exclu
[Make believe that today, stopping was excluded]
Ils trafiquent des faux billets avec des reseaux slaves.
[They traffic counterfeit money with Slavic networks]
Balancent la concurence. en France c'est un delit grave.
[Denounce the competition. In France it's a serious offense]
Risque pour les pommettes,
[Risk for the cheekbones ]
les mecs sortent des Baumettes.
[guys are going out of the Baumettes (name of a jail in Marseille) ]
lui n'a qu'un truc en tete, c'est la quete de sa Corvette.
[He only thinks about one thing, the search for his Corvette ]
Ambiance paranoiaque. L'equipe adverse traine
[Paranoiac environment, the adverse team lags behind]
Des projectiles partent quand une BM freine
[Projectiles go off when a BMW brakes]
Quand elle tombe, il a les larmes aux yeux
[When she falls, tears drops off his eyes]
Deux balles de 22. Vingt deux ans adieu
[Two .22 bullets. Twenty two(years old) Goodbye]
Le contexte est plus fort que le concept
[The Context is stronger than the concept]
Son mec s'est jette dans les flammes il faut qu'il se lave avec
[Her man jumps into the flames He has to shower with them]
Ils s'etaient rencontres sur les bancs d'l'ecole
[They met back in school]
Entre une heure de colle de maths ou d'un cours d'espagnol
[Between a retention hour a math or a spanish class]
C'etait un fille fun fana de football
[She was a funny football fan girl]
Lui ne craignait pas les balles, c'etait le goal
[he didn't fear balls, he was the goal]
C'qu'il lui promettait c'etait des ballades en Corvette
[What he promised was rides in Corvette]
Pour l'instant en survet, il volait des mobylettes
[But for now, wearing tracksuits, he was stealing scooters]
Mais entre eux deux c'etait toujours complicite
[However between them there was always complicity]
Escale sur un piedestal un reve delimite
[Stop on a pedestal, a clear dream]
S'il devenait triangle, elle serait rectangle
[If he became triangle, she would be rectangle]
La belle et le bad boy, le triangle rectangle
[The beauty and the bad boy, the triangular rectangle]
C'est comme passer de Joe Dassin a Jodeci
[It's like zapping from Joe Dassin to Jodeci]
Un vrai truc de ouf style pur clip de R&B
[A real story like pure R&B videoclipdramas ]
Elle vit le grand amour, qui commence dans la cour
[She's living the great love, that begins in the schoolyard]
Se poursuit dans les tours et rime toujours avec toujours
[Continues in the council flats and always rhymes with always ]
Mais le contexte est plus fort que le concept
[But the context is sronger than the concept]
Son mec se jette dans les flammes et il se lave avec.
[Her man jumps into the flames and washes with them]
Chorus:
Les sous ensembles dans les grands ensembles s'assemblent
[The subsets in large housing get together]
La belle et le bad boy(x3)
[The beauty and the bad boy]
Les sous ensembles dans les grands ensembles s'assemblent
[The subsets in large housing get together]
Les sous ensembles dans les grands ensembles s'assemblent
[The subsets in large housing get together]
Pour gagner des sous ensemble
[To earn money together]
Parlent sans faire semblant de faire des coups ensemble
[Talk without pretending of doing "crapulous" things together]
Et si c'est sanglant. Ils plaident devant Dieu ensemble. Vu
[And if it gets bloody, they plead God together. See.]
Ils etait convaincant, elle etait convaicue
[They were convinving, She was convinced]
A croire qu'aujourd'hui s'arreter etait exclu
[Make believe that today, stopping was excluded]
Ils trafiquent des faux billets avec des reseaux slaves.
[They traffic counterfeit money with Slavic networks]
Balancent la concurence. en France c'est un delit grave.
[Denounce the competition. In France it's a serious offense]
Risque pour les pommettes,
[Risk for the cheekbones ]
les mecs sortent des Baumettes.
[guys are going out of the Baumettes (name of a jail in Marseille) ]
lui n'a qu'un truc en tete, c'est la quete de sa Corvette.
[He only thinks about one thing, the search for his Corvette ]
Ambiance paranoiaque. L'equipe adverse traine
[Paranoiac environment, the adverse team lags behind]
Des projectiles partent quand une BM freine
[Projectiles go off when a BMW brakes]
Quand elle tombe, il a les larmes aux yeux
[When she falls, tears drops off his eyes]
Deux balles de 22. Vingt deux ans adieu
[Two .22 bullets. Twenty two(years old) Goodbye]
Le contexte est plus fort que le concept
[The Context is stronger than the concept]
Son mec s'est jette dans les flammes il faut qu'il se lave avec
[Her man jumps into the flames He has to shower with them]
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Les sous ensembles dans les grands ensembles s'assemblent [Small ensembles in big ensembles assemble]
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