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."
It's another start all over Sunday morning
Another chance
To get your shit together and get going
To break this trance
Many years have gone by but you've always hoped
That if you keep on trying you will make it home
To the place where you own every second of your time
and you fall asleep full, so content and satisfied
But Wednesday dawns, a day of trial
A test of faith
You question your ability to follow through
To make this change
Many years have gone by as you tried in vain
To begin where you failed, to restore your good name
There's a place you have seen in your wild imaginings
Where who you are is the same as who you've wanted
To be a man of careful thought
Who sees deceit in all its forms
Who finds a kindness in his soul
Who loves and won't let go
Who works until he's satisfied
Enjoys his life and values time
and soldiers through all obstacles
Speaks only of what he knows
Many years have gone by
Many years have gone by
But you can still try
To be a man of certainty
Who sees the good in everything
Who wonders in the light of dawn
How days go on and on
Who doesn't understand a thing
But tries with all his energy
To find some peace to lie upon
And rest when days are gone
Another chance
To get your shit together and get going
To break this trance
Many years have gone by but you've always hoped
That if you keep on trying you will make it home
To the place where you own every second of your time
and you fall asleep full, so content and satisfied
But Wednesday dawns, a day of trial
A test of faith
You question your ability to follow through
To make this change
Many years have gone by as you tried in vain
To begin where you failed, to restore your good name
There's a place you have seen in your wild imaginings
Where who you are is the same as who you've wanted
To be a man of careful thought
Who sees deceit in all its forms
Who finds a kindness in his soul
Who loves and won't let go
Who works until he's satisfied
Enjoys his life and values time
and soldiers through all obstacles
Speaks only of what he knows
Many years have gone by
Many years have gone by
But you can still try
To be a man of certainty
Who sees the good in everything
Who wonders in the light of dawn
How days go on and on
Who doesn't understand a thing
But tries with all his energy
To find some peace to lie upon
And rest when days are gone
Lyrics submitted by Cedstick
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Mountain Song
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Head > Heels
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Plastic Bag
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“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.
To me it's a song about a man that wants to change who he is. Song about hope for the future and about who he can possibly be. There are road bumps and the man questions if he actually follow through.
Yep, pretty straight-forward lyrics. I think it brings attention more to the fact that the longer we live, the harder it is to "break this trance." You're just so used to your routine, your mannerisms and your expected income in life that even if you want to, being someone else is just that -- it doesn't seem right.