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."
What did you want to see?
What did you want to be when you grew up?
To go away and not look back and think of what the others say
To go ahead and change your life without regard to what is said
And everyone must do the same
you find yourself lost again
forget the things you've left behind
through looking back you may go blind
What did you want to be when you grew up?
To go away and not look back and think of what the others say
To go ahead and change your life without regard to what is said
And everyone must do the same
you find yourself lost again
forget the things you've left behind
through looking back you may go blind
Lyrics submitted by cdonianknight
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summer anthem 2009. perfect.
i agree. i thought it was My Girls, then this cameabout
a bradford cox / noah lennox combo?!?!
PERFECT!
i have a feeling this song isn't a simple embrace of individualism as it might seem at first. looking at the second verse it seems like the message is that if you try to ignore the advice everyone gives you and the pressure society puts on you, if you try to be a "maverick" or a "true individual" you're gonna end up disconnected and alienated, or lost. but then the last two lines of the verse seem to be a refinement of the message where the advice is more along the lines of don't isolate everyone in your quest to become only a product of your own mind but don't get stuck in your past either or you'll blind yourself to what is around you in your present.
Summer jam of 09 for sure.
On “Walkabout”, Cox sings along with Noah Lennox, What did you want to see/ What did you want to be/ When you grew up, and generally seems to be focused on moving on, becoming an adult, or at least acknowledging that he can’t be a child anymore. The song samples the bubbling keys of “What Am I Going to Do” by the Dovers, as inspired by some tour bus song games between Cox and Animal Collective, and reflects that song’s simple and beautiful pop, with Cox and Lennox’s signature soft layers.
What a perfect song! Kinda relates to me at this point in my life...I'm sure many others can say the same.
It seems to be about moving on and forgetting your dreams as a kid only to realize that life is boring, just like it is for everyone else.
"Walkabout refers to a rite of passage during which male Australian Aborigines would undergo a journey during adolescence and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months.[1][not in citation given] In this practice they would trace the paths, or "songlines", that their people's ceremonials ancestors took, and imitate, in a fashion, their heroic deeds. Merriam-Webster, however, defines the noun as a 1908 coinage that refers primarily to "a short period of wandering bush life engaged in by an Australian aborigine as an occasional interruption of regular work", with the only mention of "spiritual journey" coming in a usage example from a latter-day travel writer.[2] To white employers, this urge to depart without notice (and reappear just as suddenly) was seen as something inherent in the aboriginal nature, but the reasons may be more mundane: workers who wanted or needed to attend a ceremony or visit relatives did not accept employers' control over such matters (especially since permission was generally hard to get).[3]" -Wikipedia I think it has something to do with this.
is this song inspired by the 1971 film "Walkabout"? my theory is yes.
Agreed! Can Noah Lennox do no wrong? What an awesome mix of music and lyrics. The lyrics are just what I need right now and the melody makes me happy. I could listen to this the rest of the year, not just the summer!