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."
You're pretty as a picture but you're out of focus
What you're thinking I don't know
I say that I love you and you hardly notice
It meant more a year ago
And I'm a lousy diplomat
So I'll just tell you where I'm at
Well you know that I love you to death but I'm wasting my breath
Arguing all of the time
And I just want to say at the end of the day
That everything turned out fine
We walk hand in hand and we sometimes stumble
Pull me up or pull me down
I'd say that I need you but I'm not that humble
But I like having you around
And so I'm going out with you
But just where are we going to?
Well you know that I love you to bits but I'm down in the pits
Arguing all of the time
And I just want to speak at the end of the week
That everything turned out fine
And I've read the Brothers Grimm
It happens every time
After she falls in love with him
Everything will always turn out fine
And I've read the Brothers Grimm
It happens every time
After she falls in love with him
Everything will always turn
Around and around till we lose our balance
Not all wounds will heal when kissed
You know I'm a man of many talents
But loving you's not on that list
So here we are and here we go
But what we're doing I don't know
Well you know that I love you a ton but it's not any fun
Arguing all of the time
And I just want to yell at the end of this hell
That everything turned out fine
What you're thinking I don't know
I say that I love you and you hardly notice
It meant more a year ago
And I'm a lousy diplomat
So I'll just tell you where I'm at
Well you know that I love you to death but I'm wasting my breath
Arguing all of the time
And I just want to say at the end of the day
That everything turned out fine
We walk hand in hand and we sometimes stumble
Pull me up or pull me down
I'd say that I need you but I'm not that humble
But I like having you around
And so I'm going out with you
But just where are we going to?
Well you know that I love you to bits but I'm down in the pits
Arguing all of the time
And I just want to speak at the end of the week
That everything turned out fine
And I've read the Brothers Grimm
It happens every time
After she falls in love with him
Everything will always turn out fine
And I've read the Brothers Grimm
It happens every time
After she falls in love with him
Everything will always turn
Around and around till we lose our balance
Not all wounds will heal when kissed
You know I'm a man of many talents
But loving you's not on that list
So here we are and here we go
But what we're doing I don't know
Well you know that I love you a ton but it's not any fun
Arguing all of the time
And I just want to yell at the end of this hell
That everything turned out fine
Lyrics submitted by LaDiablo
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More Featured Meanings
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,
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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
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.