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."
The end of the century
I said my goodbyes
For what it's worth
I always aim to please
But I nearly died
For what it's worth
Come on lay with me
'Cause I'm on fire
For what it's worth
I tear the sun in three
To light up your eyes
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
Broke up the family
Everybody cried
For what it's worth
I have a slow disease
That sucked me dry
For what it's worth
Come on walk with me
Into the rising tide
For what it's worth
Filled a cavity
Your god shaped hole tonight
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
No one cares when you're out on the street
Picking up the pieces to make ends meet
No one cares when you're down in the gutter
Got no friends got no lover
No one cares when you're out on the street
Picking up the pieces to make ends meet
No one cares when you're down in the gutter
Got no friends got no lover
For what it's worth
Got no lover
For what it's worth
Got no lover
For what it's worth
Got no lover
For what it's worth
Got no lover
For what it's worth
Got no lover
For what it's worth
Got no lover
For what it's worth
Got no lover
Got no friends got no lover
I said my goodbyes
For what it's worth
I always aim to please
But I nearly died
For what it's worth
Come on lay with me
'Cause I'm on fire
For what it's worth
I tear the sun in three
To light up your eyes
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
Broke up the family
Everybody cried
For what it's worth
I have a slow disease
That sucked me dry
For what it's worth
Come on walk with me
Into the rising tide
For what it's worth
Filled a cavity
Your god shaped hole tonight
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
For what it's worth
No one cares when you're out on the street
Picking up the pieces to make ends meet
No one cares when you're down in the gutter
Got no friends got no lover
No one cares when you're out on the street
Picking up the pieces to make ends meet
No one cares when you're down in the gutter
Got no friends got no lover
For what it's worth
Got no lover
For what it's worth
Got no lover
For what it's worth
Got no lover
For what it's worth
Got no lover
For what it's worth
Got no lover
For what it's worth
Got no lover
For what it's worth
Got no lover
Got no friends got no lover
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More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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.
Midnight
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms.
“Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.
Another Love
Tom Odell
Tom Odell
I think the meaning is pretty clear. This person got really burned in a previous relationship, and because of this is unable to love and show care in his present one, even though he so badly wants to. It's lovely song, and very sad. You can really feel how defeated and frustrated he is with himself.
Indigo
Of Mice & Men
Of Mice & Men
This track is about is about questioning why the sky would choose to be blue if it had the choice to be anything else, “blue also meaning sad,” states frontman Aaron Pauley. “It's about comforting a loved one in a time of loss by telling them you feel blue, too.”
'I always aimed to please But I nearly died' was a big revelation for the protagonist and hence a turning point in his life.
This is the first step into realizing he needs to change his approach to achieve what he wants.
But the song is not about taking better actions through that revelation because the protagonist is still reflecting on what led to this revelation.
At first, he wants to distract himself ('Come on lay with me 'cause I'm on fire') and he tries it one more time the old way ('I'd tear the sun in three to light up your eyes') showing once again how much he's prepared to do for his love, but ultimately he reflects on the things he's already done for her ('Broke up the family').
He understands that she's his 'disease' and he understands the position he's in now 'No one cares when you're down in the gutter'. So it's clear he's not ready to change yet. All this talk about 'For what it's worth' is like him saying 'What does it matter what I'm doing. I've fallen so low anyway. Can also make the best of it.'
This refers to ignoring the call to change and just having sex with her again by following his sexual desires ('Fill the cavity. Your God-shaped hole tonight').
The resolution of the song is that he's hit rock bottom. He's in the gutter and he's lost her too - the one person he gave up everything for. And that's a cautionary tale: If you lose yourself in order to be with someone and reject and push away everyone and everything else, then one day you'll end up completely alone and with nothing.
But when you look back at the first verse, the protagonist said: 'I always aimed to please but I nearly died'. This refers back to the ending of the song. The protagonist had been in the gutter but he made it through. He nearly died there. And now he can act as a mentor for other people who might be caught in the same situation.