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."
She had the summer's smile with winter's skin; she moved
A silloutte to serenade the soul
She spoke with words beyond me and slowly i pulled away to receive a gesture implying an answer i didnt have
So I then smiled
Responding alarming "Yes"
Her hands were the first that id ever felt; she breated
Her lips hid her tongue from the world; she danced
To the doors, endearing, she carried me
"What's your name?" conceding "Ms. Leading"
She kindly suggests
To her room
To rest my head
So i smiled responding unalarming "yes"
Where's her heart?
Mimicking the matriarch...
He's naive; blissfully ignorant and
Trusting but now?
Step right in. Let her hips guide your desire
Hey kid get a job
The have ways to satisfy what you require
Touch, taste, feel
Two times, the dime
But the perks are more than price and the guarantee is clean
We know what the men all want and they know it isnt free
Her history is left behind
The ignorance has room to breathe
They'll play a part and act a scene
The prejudice and the guilty...
Take a chair, youre not alone
The beds your home tonight
Hey kid get a job
Wait right there
Well magnify and maximize your inner fire
Touch, taste, feel
Two times, the dime
Cause if you boys are nice, the ladies here are clean
We know what the men all want
And they know it isnt free
Her history is left behind
The ignorance has room to breathe
They'll play a part and act a scene
The prejudice and the guilty...
A silloutte to serenade the soul
She spoke with words beyond me and slowly i pulled away to receive a gesture implying an answer i didnt have
So I then smiled
Responding alarming "Yes"
Her hands were the first that id ever felt; she breated
Her lips hid her tongue from the world; she danced
To the doors, endearing, she carried me
"What's your name?" conceding "Ms. Leading"
She kindly suggests
To her room
To rest my head
So i smiled responding unalarming "yes"
Where's her heart?
Mimicking the matriarch...
He's naive; blissfully ignorant and
Trusting but now?
Step right in. Let her hips guide your desire
Hey kid get a job
The have ways to satisfy what you require
Touch, taste, feel
Two times, the dime
But the perks are more than price and the guarantee is clean
We know what the men all want and they know it isnt free
Her history is left behind
The ignorance has room to breathe
They'll play a part and act a scene
The prejudice and the guilty...
Take a chair, youre not alone
The beds your home tonight
Hey kid get a job
Wait right there
Well magnify and maximize your inner fire
Touch, taste, feel
Two times, the dime
Cause if you boys are nice, the ladies here are clean
We know what the men all want
And they know it isnt free
Her history is left behind
The ignorance has room to breathe
They'll play a part and act a scene
The prejudice and the guilty...
Lyrics submitted by ciesl279
The Bitter Suite I: Meeting Ms. Leading / Through the Dime song meanings
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Mountain Song
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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,
I Can't Go To Sleep
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Punchline
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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
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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 just love how the lyrics elude to his infatuation with her beauty. It goes along with the idea that he's entered this world that completely blinds a person with its smoke and mirrors. The song is all filled with physical attraction. "She spoke with words beyond me" / "Her lips hid her tongue from the world"... I LOVE that lyric. Her lips--a physical asset of Ms. Leading--hide what she's saying to the world... which is basically "come have sex with me for money" and "I have absolutely nothing to offer you".
i think this song reintroduces the Oracles, when he says, "Where's her heart? Mimicking the matriarch... He's naive; blissfully ignorant and Trusting but now?"
because part I was originally in first person, then the oracles sing, and then it's the p&p and the people inside the dime singing in part II
This is my favorite song on the album. The song comes in three parts with distinct styling to each part.
The first part is where he meets Ms. Leading and is taken back by her. The style to this part is really subtle and soft. A really good job is done describing how he felt about her right after meeting her.
The second part starts with "her hands were the first I ever felt" and the tempo starts to pick up. The two begin to speak to eachother and it ends with her offering for the two of them to go back to her room.
The third part of the song could either be considered to start with "Where's your heart?" or "Step right in..." The tempo reaches a climax and the style has changed significantly from the start. Hunter and Ms. Leading get it on and he ends up falling in "love" or lust with her.
"They'll play a part and act a scene, the prejudice and the guilty..." how good of a line is that.
"Mimicking the matriarch..."
Is showing that he likes Ms. leading because she is like his mother Ms. Terri.
This is a really great song.. One of my favorite albums in a long time...
the name of this song is actually "The Bitter Suite I and II: Meeting Ms. Leading and Through the Dime
This song is so well constructed. If Casey wasn't a musical genius, he'd have to be an author. On a psychological point of view, "Mimicking the matriarch" makes so much sense. Where Freud said that we are attracted to our Mothers (if you're a male), and the first person that reminds him of his mother, he falls in love with.
I love the recurring lyrics between the songs; it really brings the story together.
In response to scissorsthatcut, this clearly cut into two distinct parts The Bitter suite has 3 parts, but this is part one and two (as indicated by the song title), the third part is the bitter suite 3: embrace The second part starts at Step right in
Two things: Doesn't Casey say something between "so I smiled, responding, alarming, 'yes'" and "where's her heart..."? I think the last line of that stanza begins "Too trusting..." instead of just "Trusting," but I could be hearing it wrong.