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."
I'll hold your tears as a ransom
Within the palm of my hand,
And tell you once again,
Don't tell me that you're scared...
Wake, wake, wake her
From this sea of white linens and
Extract the drugs from her dreams
And sew her seams with delicateness,
'Cause beneath her chest sits the heart that I live for,
You'd kill for,
The angels would die for.
And with a subtle wink and a flutter of wings,
They whispered,
They whispered...
I'll hold your tears as a ransom
Within the palm of my hand
And tell you once again
Don't tell me that you're scared
Alert the sawbones,
Tell them that she's not scared.
She's got an army of saints armed with her prayers.
Wake the angels
Tell them that she's not scared
She won't be taking the next flight out of here.
This is only a test, she said,
Broadcasting from hospital beds.
With a relic in her right hand,
She rushes to the front line,
Stricken by the wounds across her chest
The angels swear she's blessed with this medical test
That unlocks the gates to the place that we live for
We die for,
I know that she's bound for.
And with a subtle wink and a mother's instinct.
She whispered,
She whispered...
The angels dressed for the wake
But she sent them home.
With a handful of bullet shells.
Within the palm of my hand,
And tell you once again,
Don't tell me that you're scared...
Wake, wake, wake her
From this sea of white linens and
Extract the drugs from her dreams
And sew her seams with delicateness,
'Cause beneath her chest sits the heart that I live for,
You'd kill for,
The angels would die for.
And with a subtle wink and a flutter of wings,
They whispered,
They whispered...
I'll hold your tears as a ransom
Within the palm of my hand
And tell you once again
Don't tell me that you're scared
Alert the sawbones,
Tell them that she's not scared.
She's got an army of saints armed with her prayers.
Wake the angels
Tell them that she's not scared
She won't be taking the next flight out of here.
This is only a test, she said,
Broadcasting from hospital beds.
With a relic in her right hand,
She rushes to the front line,
Stricken by the wounds across her chest
The angels swear she's blessed with this medical test
That unlocks the gates to the place that we live for
We die for,
I know that she's bound for.
And with a subtle wink and a mother's instinct.
She whispered,
She whispered...
The angels dressed for the wake
But she sent them home.
With a handful of bullet shells.
Lyrics submitted by thoseguiltyeyes
Tell Them That She's Not Scared Lyrics as written by
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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.
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.
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.
Her delicate mist underneath her chest This is the moment I live for You'd kill for the angels one time for And with a subtle wink and a flutter of wings They whisper Whisper
i think thats it
Wake, wake, wake her… From this sea of white linens and Extract the drugs from her dreams, And sew her seams, With delicateness, ‘Cause beneath her chest Sits the heart that I live for, you’d kill for, The angels would die for. And with a subtle wink, And the flutter of wings, They whispered, they whispered…
I’ll hold your tears as a ransom, (only the second pre-chorus) Within the palm of my hand, And tell you once again, Don’t tell me that you’re scared…
(note to self: harmonies in chorus) Alert the sawbones Tell them that she’s not scared She’s got an army of saints armed with her prayers.
(This is only a test she said, broadcasted from hospital beds)
Wake the angels Tell them that she’s not scared She won’t be taking the next flight out of here
With a relic in her right hand, She’s rushes to the front line, Stricken by the wounds across her chest. The angels swear she’s blessed with this medical test That unlocks the gates to the place that we live for We die for, I know that she’s bound for.
And with a subtle wink and a Mother’s instinct, She whispered, she whispered…
The angels dressed for the wake But she sent them home. With a handful of bullet shells. With a handful of bullet shells.
(Go tell them that she’s not scared)
this song rocks so hard!! the lyrics are amazing, i think its about a girl going into a life aor death heart surgery and odds are against her. but her faith and strength helped her overcome almost certain failure. i thing the hand full of bullets line is interesting cause i think the bullet shells are the rosery beads that she used as amunition.
envy rocks the guys are awsome and the cd is mind blowing
Ryan once said at a show that this song is about his mom, who, i am guessing, had cancer.
i know his mom, i dont think she has cancer but i could be completley off
Yes, it's about Ryan's mom, she got breast cancer, you silly kids. :/// He said so himself. :((( Makes me sad, but that's why I love this song.
It sounds like to me, the doctor had saved her, but she wanted to die and so she did. Mainly because of the line:
"The angels dressed for the wake, but she sent them home."
i saw a video on youtube of ryan saying his mom had cancer bt she fouht it! im really sure!
i saw a video on youtube of ryan saying his mom had cancer bt she fought it! im really sure!
This is most likely my favorite Envy on the Coast song tbh. Lapseused to be, but then it bored me (:
Anything yeah, this song is about his mother having Cancer and beating it,