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."
(Oh, yeah)
You dream of a day
When the songs that you play
Are blasting through the speakers in your car
And it comes in a flash
And you hear the crowd
Screaming out your name for the encore
Living life, life in the fast lane
Not that bad, no, we can't complain
Who's to say that we won't keep it real?
Hold on tight, don't you dare let go
Now's the time, let the whole world know
You can shine bright, but still keep it real
Who could know
That you'd be on the road
Selling out the tickets to your show
And when you're home, you're still the one
You were before you left to go on tour
Living life, life in the fast lane
Not that bad, no, we can't complain
Who's to say that we won't keep it real?
Hold on tight, don't you dare let go
Now's the time, let the whole world know
You can shine bright, but still keep it real
Did you ever think your dreams
(Would become a reality, whoa)
All you did was just believe
Living life, life in the fast lane
Not that bad, no, we can't complain
Who's to say, that we won't keep it real
Yeah
Living life, life in the fast lane
Not that bad, no, we can't complain
Who's to say that we won't keep it real?
Hold on tight, don't you dare let go
Now's the time, let the whole world know
You can shine bright, but still keep it real
You dream of a day
When the songs that you play
Are blasting through the speakers in your car
And it comes in a flash
And you hear the crowd
Screaming out your name for the encore
Living life, life in the fast lane
Not that bad, no, we can't complain
Who's to say that we won't keep it real?
Hold on tight, don't you dare let go
Now's the time, let the whole world know
You can shine bright, but still keep it real
Who could know
That you'd be on the road
Selling out the tickets to your show
And when you're home, you're still the one
You were before you left to go on tour
Living life, life in the fast lane
Not that bad, no, we can't complain
Who's to say that we won't keep it real?
Hold on tight, don't you dare let go
Now's the time, let the whole world know
You can shine bright, but still keep it real
Did you ever think your dreams
(Would become a reality, whoa)
All you did was just believe
Living life, life in the fast lane
Not that bad, no, we can't complain
Who's to say, that we won't keep it real
Yeah
Living life, life in the fast lane
Not that bad, no, we can't complain
Who's to say that we won't keep it real?
Hold on tight, don't you dare let go
Now's the time, let the whole world know
You can shine bright, but still keep it real
Lyrics submitted by thoseguiltyeyes
Keep It Real [Bonus Track] Lyrics as written by Nicholas Jonas Joseph Jonas
Lyrics © Walt Disney Music Company
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
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.
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
"Dream of a day When the songs that you play Are blasting through the speakers in your car And it comes in a flash And you hear the crowd Screaming out your name for the encore"
Before somebody's rich and famous, they dream of becoming that. They dream of having their songs play on the radio, at concerts the crowd calling out your name for you to sing an encore. Pretty self-explanatory.
"Livin' life, life in the fast lane Not that bad No, we can't complain Who's to say That we won't keep it real? Hold on tight Don't you dare let go Now's the time Let the whole world know You can shine bright But still keep it real"
Life in the fast lane is obviously referring to being a celebrity. They're saying it's not that bad, they can't complain. Who's to say that they can't still be normal, that they'll let go of all reality and become a stuck-up celeb. They're out to prove that you can still be a star but stay grounded at the same time.
"Who could know That you'd be on the road Selling out the tickets to your show? When you're home You're still the one You were before you left to go on tour"
Who would have known that before they became famouse that they would be. That they'd be having sell-out concerts. But at home, they're still the same as they were before they became world famous and started touring.
"Did you ever think your dreams (Would become a reality?) All you did was just believe"
Did you ever think that your dreams would come true if all you did was believe. Very simple to understand. I touched up that last one there because it was missing the word 'You' in the beginning.
I'm pretty sure that's what the meaning of the song is. I'm going to feel really stupid if I got it wrong, because it is a fairly simple song to interprete. :P