This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
The rise and the fall upon small mountain
Was fair not for all in need
And I with my life has gone
Away from this land of gold
Formed from the seed aligned for all that fortune brings
And all that certain men lay upon it when anger is seen
And it reigns like the others
Giving what all it can
While the days count for nothing
Nothing that one understands
Upon that road I had struggled to find
A way of life that was common for all
And all that runs on the mountain was mine
A way of life that will surely be gone
Poor lands will grow
Among the weeds among the roads
And all are anxious for song and dance
That will sometimes get old
And it reigns like the others
Giving what all it can
While the days count for nothing
Nothing that one understands
Upon that road I had struggled to find
A way of life that was common for all
And all that runs on the mountain was mine
A way of life that will surely be gone
Was fair not for all in need
And I with my life has gone
Away from this land of gold
Formed from the seed aligned for all that fortune brings
And all that certain men lay upon it when anger is seen
And it reigns like the others
Giving what all it can
While the days count for nothing
Nothing that one understands
Upon that road I had struggled to find
A way of life that was common for all
And all that runs on the mountain was mine
A way of life that will surely be gone
Poor lands will grow
Among the weeds among the roads
And all are anxious for song and dance
That will sometimes get old
And it reigns like the others
Giving what all it can
While the days count for nothing
Nothing that one understands
Upon that road I had struggled to find
A way of life that was common for all
And all that runs on the mountain was mine
A way of life that will surely be gone
Lyrics submitted by Cyberghost
Small Mountain Lyrics as written by Eric Pulido Eric Nichelson
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The Night We Met
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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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."
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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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."
No Surprises
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
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“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.
"The rise and the fall upon small mountain Was fair not for all in need And I with my life have gone Away from this land of gold"
->This short but intense relationship failed to meet either of our needs, and my entire reason for living (love) has been exposed as a shallow myth.
"Formed from the seed aligned for all that fortune brings And all that certain men lay upon it when anger is seen"
->I entered this relationship in good faith, with a determination to weather any storms we might encounter/ disagreements we would inevitably have...
"And it reigns like the others Giving what all it can"
->...and however briefly we'd been together compared with others, and regardless of how much we still had to learn about each other, I was so happy to be part of your life.
"While the days count for nothing Nothing that one understands"
->But all the time it meant nothing whatsoever to you.
"Upon that road I had struggled to find A way of life that was common for all And all that runs on the mountain was mine A way of life that will surely be gone"
-> I tried my very best to understand you, to gain your trust and respect, to let you know how much I loved you so that we could become closer and have more common ground. But I was doing all the work, all the love was coming from me and that could never be sustained.
"Poor lands will grow Among the weeds among the roads And all are anxious for song and dance That will sometimes get old"
-> your lack of interest and love for me inevitably made the relationship deteriorate into mistrust, insecurity and boredom.
And it reigns like the others Giving what all it can While the days count for nothing Nothing that one understands
Upon that road I had struggled to find A way of life that was common for all And all that runs on the mountain was mine A way of life that will surely be gone