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."
Of all the churning random hearts under the sun
Eventually fading into night
These two are opening now
As we lie I touch you, under fuller light
Girl, if you're a seascape
I'm a listing boat for the thing carries every hope
I invest in a single lie
The choice is yours to be loved
Come away from an emptier boat
'Cause when that dead moon rises again
There's no time to start a protocol to hem us in
And when the dog slides underneath the train
There's no rhyme or use for searching for the mutt's remains
Throw all consequence aside
To the cheerless pyre we will set alight
Of all the intersecting lines in the sand
I routed a labyrinth to your lap
I never used a map, sliding off the land on an incidental tide
And along the way, you know they tried, they tried
But we got sea legs and we're off tonight
Can I've that to which they've no right
You belong to a simpler time
I'm a victim to the impact of these words and this rhyme
'Cause when that dead moon rises again
We've no time to start a protocol to hem us in
Darling, when the dog slides, open the door and where'd she go?
There's no rhyme or use for searching for the mutt's remains
Throw all consequence aside
And the cheerless pyre we will set alight
Eventually fading into night
These two are opening now
As we lie I touch you, under fuller light
Girl, if you're a seascape
I'm a listing boat for the thing carries every hope
I invest in a single lie
The choice is yours to be loved
Come away from an emptier boat
'Cause when that dead moon rises again
There's no time to start a protocol to hem us in
And when the dog slides underneath the train
There's no rhyme or use for searching for the mutt's remains
Throw all consequence aside
To the cheerless pyre we will set alight
Of all the intersecting lines in the sand
I routed a labyrinth to your lap
I never used a map, sliding off the land on an incidental tide
And along the way, you know they tried, they tried
But we got sea legs and we're off tonight
Can I've that to which they've no right
You belong to a simpler time
I'm a victim to the impact of these words and this rhyme
'Cause when that dead moon rises again
We've no time to start a protocol to hem us in
Darling, when the dog slides, open the door and where'd she go?
There's no rhyme or use for searching for the mutt's remains
Throw all consequence aside
And the cheerless pyre we will set alight
Lyrics submitted by delial, edited by m108745644, gob, boywithdreams, jaZZjaZZ54
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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,
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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
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.
To me, this song seems to be about a couple that's together for now, and that should enjoy the beauty of what they have even though they know it won't last. And when it's over, there's "no use in searching for the mutt's remains," just appreciated what it was and move on. "Sea legs" is what they have in coming to grips with the beautiful yet temporary nature of their love.
Personally, I applaud The Shins for their experimentation and I find Wincing The Night Away to be their best album.
Nothing irks me more than when people give the album a quick once over and only pay attention to the catchy songs such as Phantom Limb or New Slang.
Give this song time and keep and open mind.
New Slang isn't on Wincing the Night Away
Sealegs is about taking advantage of an opportunity for love (particularly physical love). Mercer says their two hearts are "opening now," meaning that there is a connection between them, though he makes it apparent that he only wants temporary pleasure ("I invest in a single life"). He tells her that the choice is hers "to be loved," letting her know that he's cool with whatever she decides, but obviously he wants her. He asks "can I've that to which they've no right," they being her suitors who "tried...tried" and "that to which they've no right" being her/her body. He tells her to "throw all consequence aside;" he wants her to make a decision based on her feelings in the present, heated moment with no regards to what their encounter/relationship will manifest in the future.
I don't know what happened with the girl he wrote this for, but if it were me, he'd have gotten his wish. I mean dayum.
@toucanvan <br /> Actually, he says "I invest in a single lie", which I take to mean he has said "I love you" to get the whole thing rolling. <br /> BINGO!, by the way. You got it.<br /> Dayum? Well, he's a star, but he doesn't believe in the soul, or anything spiritual. Overall, his stuff depresses me. Yet I am drawn to his genius for expressing keen insights, and his liquid voice.
Kind of a self-conscious "Come on Baby, Light My Fire". It's about the necessity and pitfalls of seduction in a post-Christian society. The couple needs sea legs because they are on some unfamiliar, shaky ground, and worse, trying to do something our modern heads have a hard time dealing with. The moon is dead, our art having rejected romance in most forms. Yet it's carcass does still rise, women still have their moonstrils, and we still get the need for physical intimacy. So when the urge hits, according to this guy, there's no time for him to build the romantic and moral framework that most women need to feel comfortable. He's contributed his single lie ("I love you"), momentum is established, and they need to get on with this thing, as a seduction interrupted by a woman's questioning is about as revivable as an animal run over by a train. But if he can keep it on track, there'll be quite a fire.
@jaZZjaZZ54 "moonstruels"
gorgeous music. It sort of has an atmosphere of standing near a beach on a cloudy day.
Oh, I think the word "pyre" is in the last line of the chorus.
I love this song. Its my favorite from this album.
Everything makes sense to me except the "cheerless pyre we will set alight" at the end of the song. It seems to suggest they are moving on from something, burning the past, but why then is it cheerless?
Because the pyre represents the old relationship that the singer is moving away from, which he's burning down. A pyre, by the way, is a stack of wood upon which you burn a dead body, so even without my interpretation, a pyre is a fairly cheerless object.
There are a few lines that don't seem to fit with the general theme of this poem (this song, by the way, is poetry!). The "cheerless pyre" is one; the dog being run over by a train is another. I guess there's a dark side of the new relationship, which is also why it's in a minor key.<br /> <br /> But it's definitely my favorite Shins song, has a great atmosphere, and syncopated rhythm. Just love it.
I'm really amazed that some people don't dig this song, as for me it the melody is incredibly beautiful and profound. It is playing extremely loudly in my head at this moment. I love the broken rhythm and bass line, and some of the indian sounding notes in the bass and in the vocal make me think it has origins in some unknown ancient culture. Yeah, I kind of feel like my spirit is flying when I hear it.
"And all the intersecting lines in the sign" should be "And all the intersecting lines in the sand"