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."
What can you see from your window
I can't see anything from mine
Flags on the side of the highway
Scripture on grocery store signs
Maybe 18 was too early
Maybe 30 or 40 is to
Did you get chance to make peace with the man
Before he sent down his angels for you
Mama's and grandmama's love you
Cause that's all they know how to do
And you never planned on the bombs in the sand
Or sleeping in your dress blues
Your wife said this all would be funny
If you came back home in a week
You'd turn 22 and they'd celebrate you
In a bar or tent by the creek
Your baby would just about be here
Your very last tour would be up
But you ain't coming back
They're all dressing in black
Drinking sweet tea in styrofoam cups
Mama's and grandmama's love you
American boys hate to lose
And you never planned on the bombs in the sand
Or sleeping in your dress blues
The highschool gymnasium is ready
Full of flowers and old legionaires
Nobody showed up to protest
Just a sniffle and stare
Red white and blue in the rafters
A silent old man from the core
What did they say when they shipped you away
To fight somebody's hollywood war
Mama's and grandmama's love you
Cause that's all they know how to do
And you never planned on the bombs in the sand
Or sleeping in your dress blues
Nobody here could forget you
You showed us what we had to lose
And you never planned on the bombs in the sand
Or sleeping in your dress blue
I can't see anything from mine
Flags on the side of the highway
Scripture on grocery store signs
Maybe 18 was too early
Maybe 30 or 40 is to
Did you get chance to make peace with the man
Before he sent down his angels for you
Mama's and grandmama's love you
Cause that's all they know how to do
And you never planned on the bombs in the sand
Or sleeping in your dress blues
Your wife said this all would be funny
If you came back home in a week
You'd turn 22 and they'd celebrate you
In a bar or tent by the creek
Your baby would just about be here
Your very last tour would be up
But you ain't coming back
They're all dressing in black
Drinking sweet tea in styrofoam cups
Mama's and grandmama's love you
American boys hate to lose
And you never planned on the bombs in the sand
Or sleeping in your dress blues
The highschool gymnasium is ready
Full of flowers and old legionaires
Nobody showed up to protest
Just a sniffle and stare
Red white and blue in the rafters
A silent old man from the core
What did they say when they shipped you away
To fight somebody's hollywood war
Mama's and grandmama's love you
Cause that's all they know how to do
And you never planned on the bombs in the sand
Or sleeping in your dress blues
Nobody here could forget you
You showed us what we had to lose
And you never planned on the bombs in the sand
Or sleeping in your dress blue
Lyrics submitted by tugit
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
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.
This is a Jason Isbell song - Not a DBT song. Jason wrote it for his "Sirens of the Ditch" album. Great song.