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."
We were kids
Lookin' out into nothin'
Lookin' for a way to get around the night
We were kids
Holdin' out for a dream
We were born to be wild and free
Or sit alone online
But I don't wanna wait
Sit the other side of these flood lights
Dreaming up a way to escape
Anyone around?
Give me mission control, give me a sound on the radio
Stand up and be counted
Before we slip away out here
Before we slip away, slip away
Don't ever doubt it
Even if we're surrounded
Don't wanna slip away, slip away
Slip away (slip)
Slip away (slip)
We were Kings
We were Queens of an empire
We were made out on the streets
We were all the same
So, if we're gonna break
If we're gonna tumble in a gunfight
Promise we'll be side by side
Say you'll there when the school gets closed
Say you'll be there when the rest don't show
Stand up and be counted
Before we slip away out here
Before we slip away, slip away
Don't ever doubt it
Even if we're surrounded
Don't wanna slip away, slip away
High on hope and high on fear
We were heartbreak of the year
We were stackin' up to fall
We were summers in the street
We were sunlight through the trees
We were born for silver screens
We were whispers in the dark
We were sleeping under stars
Say all of this is ours
We were rollercoaster screams
'Til our hearts burst at the seams
We're not gonna let it all out of control
Stand up and be counted
Before we slip away out here
Before we slip away, slip away
Lookin' out into nothin'
Lookin' for a way to get around the night
We were kids
Holdin' out for a dream
We were born to be wild and free
Or sit alone online
But I don't wanna wait
Sit the other side of these flood lights
Dreaming up a way to escape
Anyone around?
Give me mission control, give me a sound on the radio
Stand up and be counted
Before we slip away out here
Before we slip away, slip away
Don't ever doubt it
Even if we're surrounded
Don't wanna slip away, slip away
Slip away (slip)
Slip away (slip)
We were Kings
We were Queens of an empire
We were made out on the streets
We were all the same
So, if we're gonna break
If we're gonna tumble in a gunfight
Promise we'll be side by side
Say you'll there when the school gets closed
Say you'll be there when the rest don't show
Stand up and be counted
Before we slip away out here
Before we slip away, slip away
Don't ever doubt it
Even if we're surrounded
Don't wanna slip away, slip away
High on hope and high on fear
We were heartbreak of the year
We were stackin' up to fall
We were summers in the street
We were sunlight through the trees
We were born for silver screens
We were whispers in the dark
We were sleeping under stars
Say all of this is ours
We were rollercoaster screams
'Til our hearts burst at the seams
We're not gonna let it all out of control
Stand up and be counted
Before we slip away out here
Before we slip away, slip away
Lyrics submitted by MaskOfSanity
Stand Up Lyrics as written by Jonathan Ian Green James Michael Bay
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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,
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.
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.