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."
Il est tard. Je cherche mon autre chez-moi, et je prends un chemin que je ne connais pas:
Un petit sentier qui longe les usines et la ville entre-coupant par la forêt.
Je commence à peine à entrevoir la nature, lorsque tout d'un coup, la nuit tombe.
Je suis plongée dans un monde de silence, pourtant je n'ai pas peur.
Je m'endors quelques minutes, tout au plus, et quand je me réveille,
Le soleil est là et la forêt brille d'une lumière éclatante.
Je reconnais cette forêt. Ce n'est pas une forêt ordinaire, c'est une forêt de souvenirs.
Mes souvenirs. Cette rivière blanche et sonore, mon adolescence.
Ces grands arbres, les hommes que j'ai aimés. Ces oiseaux qui volent, au loin, mon père disparu.
Mes souvenirs ne sont plus des souvenirs.
Ils sont là, vivants, près de moi, ils dansent et m'enlacent, chantent et me sourient.
Je regarde mes mains. Je caresse mon visage, et j'ai 20 ans.
Et j'aime comme je n'ai jamais aimé.
Un petit sentier qui longe les usines et la ville entre-coupant par la forêt.
Je commence à peine à entrevoir la nature, lorsque tout d'un coup, la nuit tombe.
Je suis plongée dans un monde de silence, pourtant je n'ai pas peur.
Je m'endors quelques minutes, tout au plus, et quand je me réveille,
Le soleil est là et la forêt brille d'une lumière éclatante.
Je reconnais cette forêt. Ce n'est pas une forêt ordinaire, c'est une forêt de souvenirs.
Mes souvenirs. Cette rivière blanche et sonore, mon adolescence.
Ces grands arbres, les hommes que j'ai aimés. Ces oiseaux qui volent, au loin, mon père disparu.
Mes souvenirs ne sont plus des souvenirs.
Ils sont là, vivants, près de moi, ils dansent et m'enlacent, chantent et me sourient.
Je regarde mes mains. Je caresse mon visage, et j'ai 20 ans.
Et j'aime comme je n'ai jamais aimé.
Lyrics submitted by FiberOpticJesus, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Echoes of Mine Lyrics as written by Yann Gonzalez Anthony Gonzalez
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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,
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
Here is a real translation by a human (me!), that doesn't lose the meaning of the original text:
"It is late. I am looking for my other home, taking an unfamiliar path: a small trail near the factories and the city, cutting through the forest. I can barely see nature when suddenly, night falls. I am engulfed by a world of silence, yet I am not afraid. I fall asleep for a few minutes at the most, and when I wake up, the sun is there and the forest is shining with a bright light.
I recognize this forest. It is not an ordinary forest, it is a forest of memories. My memories. The white and noisy river, my adolescence. The tall trees, the men I have loved. The birds in flight, and in the distance, my lost father.
My memories aren't memories anymore. They are there, with me, dancing and embracing, singing and smiling at me.
I look at my hands. I caress my face, and I am 20 years old. And I love like I have never loved before."
Thank you very much. To me it sounds like it's the moment of death. <br /> Seeing your life, preparing to part from the world you live in to go to your "new home". <br /> Falling asleep for a second and waking up covered in light. <br /> How wonderful it would be to have such nice thoughts/memories in your last moments.
Thank you.
Well it's about growing up, isn't it? Realising that all the perceived drama and trials of the teenage years were just a part of life that made you who your are today, and embracing it.
In Graveyard Girl on the earlier album we had the melodramatic teenager: "I'm fifteen years old And I feel it's already too late to love."
And now we're coming out of the teenage years and learning to love again: "j'ai 20 ans Et j'aime comme je n'ai jamais aimé."
IN Graveyard girl music video, it shows that she fell in love at the end of the video.
The first line should be 'Il est tard', meaning 'It is late'.
Thank you. I read the first line quickly and not having brushed up on my French for years, I thought it said, "I am a 'tard."
Here is the translation of what the French woman is Talking about in the song -
''He later sets. I try to go home, and I take a path I do not know, a small path along the factories and the city by cutting through the forest. I am just beginning to glimpse nature, when suddenly, night falls. I plunged into darkness and silence. Yet I am not afraid. I fall asleep a few minutes at most, and when I wake up, the sun is there, and the forest shines a bright light. I recognize that forest. This is not an ordinary forest. It is a forest of memories. My memories. This river, white noise, my adolescence. These great trees, the men I loved. The bird that flies. away, my father disappeared. My memories are not memories, they are there, live near me!, They dance and embrace me, sing and smile at me. I look at my hands, I stroked my face, I'm 20 years old and I love like I never loved.''
It's clear the narrator is an elderly woman, and I think the first line, "it is late," alludes to that. As she reminisces about her life, she imagines her memories as a forest. In her mind, these memories are a living thing with the power to transform. Even though she is now old, she can travel to a place in her mind and remember herself as that 20 year old girl with the unblemished hands and smooth face who loved like she has never loved.
Maybe this is a dream dreamed by a young girl, both the album cover and the phrase "Hurry up, we're dreaming." allude to it. A premonition in the form of a dream. Being that this is the last song before the outro, it could possibly be being read by someone from the future that knew the girl. A friend from the past. Maybe the the little girl wrote it to her before leaving for the world in "Roconte-moi Une Histoire".
Very good album!
Hey
This thread goes back a couple of years but who knows - it might be interesting to someone! I was looking for an English translation of this song - one of the most moving pieces I've listened to - and I found this thread interesting. I liked Fulg's version but wanted to work on an alternate version which take a little more liberty but stays true to the meaning of the story. So here goes.
"It is late. I am looking for this other place I call home and I am walking down a path that I have never taken before: a small pathway that runs along the factories and the city, cutting through a forest. I am starting to make out the shapes of the forest that surrounds me when suddenly, night falls. I am plunged into a world of total silence, and yet I am not afraid. I fall asleep, for a few minutes at most, and when I wake up, the sun has risen and the forest is shining under a bright light.
I know this forest. It is not an ordinary forest, but a forest of memories. My memories. This river running wild and bright? My adolescence. These tall trees that flirt with the sky? The men I have loved. This flock of birds swirling in the distance? My lost father.
These memories are not just memories anymore. They are standing right here next to me, alive, dancing with me and embracing me, singing and smiling at me.
I contemplate my hands. I caress my face, and I am 20 again. And I feel love like I have felt it before."