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."
Waiting in Penn station she is treading pins and needles
A balloon against the ceiling blows around
Rolling up the Hudson with her face against the window
She is headed for a foreign accent town
But she was once a child of the south
And she remembers waiting on those
Blackberry winters, far far away
Come out of nowhere, cold spell in may
Blackberry winters, how could she know
Rain comes and where do you go?
Where do you go?
Handing off her passport to the agent at the border
This is only for the weekend, or so she says
Montreal is safer and a place where i can't find her
There's a room reserved on rue Rene-Levesque
Cleaning up another ugly mess
Running from a lover touched by
Blackberry winters, far far away
Come out of nowhere, cold spell in may
Blackberry winters, how could she know
Rain comes and where do you go?
Where do you go to stop the wind's blow
And feel the sun shine again
She was once a child of the south
And she remembers waiting
Blackberry winters, far far away
Come out of nowhere, last for a day
Blackberry winters, so long ago
Rain comes and where do you go
On those blackberry winters, far far away
Come out of nowhere, last for a day
Blackberry winters, how could she know
Rain comes and where do you go?
Where do you go?
A balloon against the ceiling blows around
Rolling up the Hudson with her face against the window
She is headed for a foreign accent town
But she was once a child of the south
And she remembers waiting on those
Blackberry winters, far far away
Come out of nowhere, cold spell in may
Blackberry winters, how could she know
Rain comes and where do you go?
Where do you go?
Handing off her passport to the agent at the border
This is only for the weekend, or so she says
Montreal is safer and a place where i can't find her
There's a room reserved on rue Rene-Levesque
Cleaning up another ugly mess
Running from a lover touched by
Blackberry winters, far far away
Come out of nowhere, cold spell in may
Blackberry winters, how could she know
Rain comes and where do you go?
Where do you go to stop the wind's blow
And feel the sun shine again
She was once a child of the south
And she remembers waiting
Blackberry winters, far far away
Come out of nowhere, last for a day
Blackberry winters, so long ago
Rain comes and where do you go
On those blackberry winters, far far away
Come out of nowhere, last for a day
Blackberry winters, how could she know
Rain comes and where do you go?
Where do you go?
Lyrics submitted by meow7cat
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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,
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.