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."
Uhh, uh
Yeah
Uhh, uhh
Uh! Yeah, yeah
Uhh
I'm on
Fuck 'em, yeah, uhh
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Fuck her, never knew her
Screw her, (dump her body, dump her body) sewer
Our father, uh-huh
What you expected from his next of kin
I'm loco bro, but ain't no Mexican
I got nines in the bedroom, Glocks in the kitchen
A shotty by the shower if you wanna shoot me while I'm shittin'
Uhh, the lesson from the Smith and Wesson is depressin'
Niggas keep stressin', the same motherfuckin' question
How many shots does it take, to make my heart stop
And my body start to shake, if I should die before I wake
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Our father, if I should die before I wake
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Our father, if I should die before I wake
Fluck that
Snap a nigga shit, smash him with the fifth, watch his body lift
Shut his hottie's lips, bitch screamin', hit her body quick
Got me like the trifest not knowin' how my life is
My life is, rap sheet long as the Turnpike is
The sheistest, hey fella, who bidded with the lifers
Did it with the Glocks, spit it witcha pops, you was in diapers
Loved me when you came to Rikers
Hated me all in the free cypher, mad you can't be like us
Some murderers who turn bikers, see Biggie Smalls
Recruited these snipers, alumni do it just like us
Some pied pipers, squeezin' life out y'all
It's all out war, be all wild as all outdoor
If a coward got beef, y'all be checkin' his palm
Paralyzin, my niggas thorough kid, how 'bout yours?
Real quick to screw a nigga then, hop out four
Clean the wipers, hit the party up and, hop out yours
Bitch nigga, whoah
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Our father, if I should die before I wake
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Our father, if I should die before I wake
Yo when you fuckin' wit MAC, you fuckin' wit the best
Still goin' to war with them dusty TECs
Man you know how I handle my shit, S.K. can on my shit
Jump out of vans like Hannibal Smith
Man I spit a thousand rounds, your squad don't need it
Shredders in a riot pump leave you quadriplegic
When I squeeze don't breathe keep it lined and even
So when niggas get hit, they be cryin' screamin'
Lyin' bleedin', from that iron steamin'
And I ain't tryin' to hear that bullshit, I ain't mean it
Niggas start bitchin', when that pistol in they face
Or I sick two pits to come and get you in your place
If I catch you in my shit, I'm wakin' my bitch
Hear take this shit, crackin' the brick, facin' that shit
Takin' two sniffs, grabbin' my shit
Best believe if I get hit, y'all niggas takin' some shit
Picture niggas takin' my shit
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Our father, if I should die before I wake
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Our father, if I should die before I wake
Niggas never thought they'd see Cube and Biggie
In the year 2000, all drunk and pissy
Off whiskey, you can miss me, actin' gay
He's the King of New York, I'm the King of L.A.
Doin' it the OG way, it's sorta like
The Brooklyn Way, it's just the crook in me
So this is dedicated to the memory of
The Notorious One, the glorious one
And if you go for your gun, I got to go for mine
Cock my nine, and seperate yo' head from yo' spine
So, "Grab yo' dicks if you love hip-hop" and
Fuck you niggas that shot Big Pop'
The conspiracy, of this nation, for assassination
Of the young black male in this black hell
And I can tell, no matter the weather
That you and Tupac got yo' shit together
California Love
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Our father, if I should die before I wake
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Our father, if I should die before I wake
Yeah
Uhh, uhh
Uh! Yeah, yeah
Uhh
I'm on
Fuck 'em, yeah, uhh
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Fuck her, never knew her
Screw her, (dump her body, dump her body) sewer
Our father, uh-huh
What you expected from his next of kin
I'm loco bro, but ain't no Mexican
I got nines in the bedroom, Glocks in the kitchen
A shotty by the shower if you wanna shoot me while I'm shittin'
Uhh, the lesson from the Smith and Wesson is depressin'
Niggas keep stressin', the same motherfuckin' question
How many shots does it take, to make my heart stop
And my body start to shake, if I should die before I wake
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Our father, if I should die before I wake
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Our father, if I should die before I wake
Fluck that
Snap a nigga shit, smash him with the fifth, watch his body lift
Shut his hottie's lips, bitch screamin', hit her body quick
Got me like the trifest not knowin' how my life is
My life is, rap sheet long as the Turnpike is
The sheistest, hey fella, who bidded with the lifers
Did it with the Glocks, spit it witcha pops, you was in diapers
Loved me when you came to Rikers
Hated me all in the free cypher, mad you can't be like us
Some murderers who turn bikers, see Biggie Smalls
Recruited these snipers, alumni do it just like us
Some pied pipers, squeezin' life out y'all
It's all out war, be all wild as all outdoor
If a coward got beef, y'all be checkin' his palm
Paralyzin, my niggas thorough kid, how 'bout yours?
Real quick to screw a nigga then, hop out four
Clean the wipers, hit the party up and, hop out yours
Bitch nigga, whoah
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Our father, if I should die before I wake
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Our father, if I should die before I wake
Yo when you fuckin' wit MAC, you fuckin' wit the best
Still goin' to war with them dusty TECs
Man you know how I handle my shit, S.K. can on my shit
Jump out of vans like Hannibal Smith
Man I spit a thousand rounds, your squad don't need it
Shredders in a riot pump leave you quadriplegic
When I squeeze don't breathe keep it lined and even
So when niggas get hit, they be cryin' screamin'
Lyin' bleedin', from that iron steamin'
And I ain't tryin' to hear that bullshit, I ain't mean it
Niggas start bitchin', when that pistol in they face
Or I sick two pits to come and get you in your place
If I catch you in my shit, I'm wakin' my bitch
Hear take this shit, crackin' the brick, facin' that shit
Takin' two sniffs, grabbin' my shit
Best believe if I get hit, y'all niggas takin' some shit
Picture niggas takin' my shit
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Our father, if I should die before I wake
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Our father, if I should die before I wake
Niggas never thought they'd see Cube and Biggie
In the year 2000, all drunk and pissy
Off whiskey, you can miss me, actin' gay
He's the King of New York, I'm the King of L.A.
Doin' it the OG way, it's sorta like
The Brooklyn Way, it's just the crook in me
So this is dedicated to the memory of
The Notorious One, the glorious one
And if you go for your gun, I got to go for mine
Cock my nine, and seperate yo' head from yo' spine
So, "Grab yo' dicks if you love hip-hop" and
Fuck you niggas that shot Big Pop'
The conspiracy, of this nation, for assassination
Of the young black male in this black hell
And I can tell, no matter the weather
That you and Tupac got yo' shit together
California Love
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Our father, if I should die before I wake
With my hands gripped, praise the Lord shit
Our father, if I should die before I wake
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
If I Should Die Before I Wake Lyrics as written by Christopher Wallace O'shea Jackson
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Spirit Music Group, Songtrust Ave
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More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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.
Zombie
Cranberries, The
Cranberries, The
"Zombie" is about the ethno-political conflict in Ireland. This is obvious if you know anything of the singer (Dolores O'Riordan)'s Irish heritage and understood the "1916" Easter Rising reference.
"Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And the violence caused such silence
Who are we mistaken
-
Another mother's breaking
Heart is taking over"
Laments the Warrington bomb attacks in which two children were fatally injured on March 23rd, 1993. Twelve year old Tim Parry was taken off life support with permission from his mother after five days in the hospital, virtually braindead.
"But you see it's not me
It's not my family"
References how people who are not directly involved with the violence feel about it. They are "zombies" without sympathy who refuse to take action while others suffer.
Sunglasses at Night
Corey Hart
Corey Hart
In the 1980s, sunglasses were a common fashion for people who wanted to adopt a "tough guy" persona (note all the cop shows from that era -- Simon & Simon, Miami Vice, etc. -- where the lead characters wore shades). So I think this song is about a guy who wears shades as a way of hiding his insecurity after learning that his girlfriend is cheating on him. He's trying to pretend that he's a "tough guy" to hide the fact that his girlfriend's affair is disturbing him.
System
Mel And Kim
Mel And Kim
Just listening for the 784,654th time....and it's just perfect in every way. Just incredible. The only reason it was remade was to scoop up a boatload of money from a more modern and accepting audience. But it is a completely different song than the other one that sounds slapped together in a few takes without a thought for the meaning.
This song captivates me still, after 50+ years. Takes me to the deep South and the poverty of some who lived thru truly hard times. And the powerful spirit of a poor young girl being abandoned to her future with only a red dress and her wits to keep her alive.
She not only stayed alive, she turned her hard beginnings around, became self sufficient, successful and someone with respect for herself. She didn't let the naysayers and judgers stop her. She's the one sitting in the drivers seat at the end.
So, not a song about a poor girl, but a song of hope and how you can rise up no matter how far down you started.
There is a huge difference between a singer who simply belts out a song that is on a page in front of them, and someone who can convey an entire experience with their voice. Telling not just a story with words, but taking you inside it and making you feel like you are there, with their interpretation.