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."
From the moment the lights went off
Everything had changed
Lie awake in an empty room
In my head it all feels the same
Like the taste of the day you left
It still lingers on my breath
And the dampness of tears that left
The stain where you had wept
All alone with the negligee
That still hangs off of my bed
I keep meaning to give it away
But I just leave it there instead
No need to cry about it
I cannot live without it
Every time I wind up back at your door
Why do you do this to me?
You penetrate right through me
Every time I wind up back at your door
Three more days till I see your face
I'm afraid it's far too much
Cook a meal and fix up the place
Dial your number, hang it up
If I took you for granted
I apologize for acting tough
You're my reason for living
And there's no way I'm giving up, oh
No need to cry about it
I cannot live without it
Every time I wind up back at your door
Why do you do this to me?
You penetrate right through me
Every time I wind up back at your door
Now, every evening is a bitter fight
And I'm eating home alone on a Friday night
And I know what your friends say
"He's just wasting your love and time."
I will never let you change your mind
No need to cry about it
I cannot live without it
Every time I wind up back at your door
Why do you do this to me?
You penetrate right through me
Every time I wind up back at your door
No need to cry about it
I cannot live without it
Every time I wind up back at your door
Why do you do this to me?
You penetrate right through me
Every time I wind up back at your door
Every time I wind up back at your door
I said, every time I wind up back at your door
Everything had changed
Lie awake in an empty room
In my head it all feels the same
Like the taste of the day you left
It still lingers on my breath
And the dampness of tears that left
The stain where you had wept
All alone with the negligee
That still hangs off of my bed
I keep meaning to give it away
But I just leave it there instead
No need to cry about it
I cannot live without it
Every time I wind up back at your door
Why do you do this to me?
You penetrate right through me
Every time I wind up back at your door
Three more days till I see your face
I'm afraid it's far too much
Cook a meal and fix up the place
Dial your number, hang it up
If I took you for granted
I apologize for acting tough
You're my reason for living
And there's no way I'm giving up, oh
No need to cry about it
I cannot live without it
Every time I wind up back at your door
Why do you do this to me?
You penetrate right through me
Every time I wind up back at your door
Now, every evening is a bitter fight
And I'm eating home alone on a Friday night
And I know what your friends say
"He's just wasting your love and time."
I will never let you change your mind
No need to cry about it
I cannot live without it
Every time I wind up back at your door
Why do you do this to me?
You penetrate right through me
Every time I wind up back at your door
No need to cry about it
I cannot live without it
Every time I wind up back at your door
Why do you do this to me?
You penetrate right through me
Every time I wind up back at your door
Every time I wind up back at your door
I said, every time I wind up back at your door
Lyrics submitted by isupposeso
Back at Your Door Lyrics as written by Adam Noah Levine Jesse Royal Carmichael
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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."
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
I agree that it's about a guy that is now alone. It sounds like he just got too comfortable in the relationship and took the woman for granted a little bit. She needed more and he's miserable without her. Although the song hints at both of the them being to blame for the relationship in some way, arguing often:
"Now, every evening is a bitter fight And I'm eating home alone on a Friday night"
He's having trouble with this. He keeps winding up back at her door looking for another chance. Unfortunately the outcome doesn't look so good which is why the process is ongoing. He keeps going back looking, searching but comes up empty and confused. This leads to heartbreak.
This song hits home for me, especially the:
"And I know what your friends say "He's just wasting your love and time"
part. Women really listen to what their friends say when a relationship is falling apart sometimes.
I always thought Adam sang: You put a train right through me and not You penetrate right through me