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."
[Puff Daddy]
Yo Puff Daddy
Get off me
Ladies & gentlemen
You're about to witness something that you've never witnessed before
Sauce Money's in the house & he brought his man with him
I leave rap in a state of shock
Where to rock, from the figures still
Play the block with my niggas
Ill lush, game 20 pounds, but all my niggas still crush
Still stack chips galore
Chicks want out the ghetto, try to hit you raw
Better know that everything I love - roll back
Cop my first gold plaque, soon as my man blew
Still spittin' the fly, hits you can't do nigga
You ain't gainin', you game in, barely maintainin'
I push fly whips without strainin', my cliques smother
Get tougher, hits rougher, Puff is deep in the streets like Chris Tucker
My wrists cluster, on a mobile
P-Diddy, rap mogul, thought I told you that we don't stop
Thought I told you that when I drop, platinum plaques
I cop, push Bentley's without the tops, nigga
[Chorus] (Puff Daddy)
Try to see if you see what I see
Give my game & spit my G
When it's all done, stack, funds, & I'm the one
On top is where I be
Tell me, do you see what I see?
(When I look in your eyes, I see you hatin' inside, so tell me)
Do you see what I see?
(I know you're hopin' I'm blind, cause you don't want me to shine)
[Sauce Money]
No secret, undefeated, I'm top seeded
Whenever I drop hits, you don't want it, you need it
This a hot joint from Sauce, you feel cheated
Unanimous decision, love the way I freak it
Brooklyn, shogun, beat the 4-1
Niggas want to bite off my flow son
I don't think no one, got that, rock a hot track
Like me, nice to the Sauce? Naw
Spit rounds, it's rough did I mention the thorough?
BK forever representin' my borough
Push fly whips, quick to stack my chips
Too easy for you to understand my hits
When the album drops every pocket hold some
Sauce motherfuckin' forever, I told son
Hypnotic, heard the ? war 'fore I shot it
Better cop it, cause all that fly shit, I got it
(Chorus)
[PD]
I took rap by the throat & locked it
P-Diddy fixed all those who tried to stop it
Some of y'all tried to blast off, but couldn't rock it
If my flow ain't like a door, how could you knock it?
[Sauce Money] (PD)
As a matter of fact, yo don't you hate that? (hate that)
Whenever cats playa hatin' from way back (way back)
Mad at you, just because they whack (they whack)
And I bought your style, older than 8-track (8-track)
[PD]
Only way to react though
Make hot joints & stack dough
Laughin' at your whack flow
Try to catch my G
Just so you can rap like me
Act like me
[SM]
Rap like me
But it seems as though you dreamin' a lot
(PD)
I'm the cream of the crop
[SM]
Soon to be seen in the drop
(PD)
Blow the spot for the not
[SM]
Control the block, watch his name bubble like a soda pop
(PD)
When he drop
(Chorus 4X)
[Puffy ad-libs throughout chorus]
Sauce Money
Puff Daddy
Bad Boy forever
B.I.G. forever
Hitmen
Prestige, rock on playboy
Yo Puff Daddy
Get off me
Ladies & gentlemen
You're about to witness something that you've never witnessed before
Sauce Money's in the house & he brought his man with him
I leave rap in a state of shock
Where to rock, from the figures still
Play the block with my niggas
Ill lush, game 20 pounds, but all my niggas still crush
Still stack chips galore
Chicks want out the ghetto, try to hit you raw
Better know that everything I love - roll back
Cop my first gold plaque, soon as my man blew
Still spittin' the fly, hits you can't do nigga
You ain't gainin', you game in, barely maintainin'
I push fly whips without strainin', my cliques smother
Get tougher, hits rougher, Puff is deep in the streets like Chris Tucker
My wrists cluster, on a mobile
P-Diddy, rap mogul, thought I told you that we don't stop
Thought I told you that when I drop, platinum plaques
I cop, push Bentley's without the tops, nigga
[Chorus] (Puff Daddy)
Try to see if you see what I see
Give my game & spit my G
When it's all done, stack, funds, & I'm the one
On top is where I be
Tell me, do you see what I see?
(When I look in your eyes, I see you hatin' inside, so tell me)
Do you see what I see?
(I know you're hopin' I'm blind, cause you don't want me to shine)
[Sauce Money]
No secret, undefeated, I'm top seeded
Whenever I drop hits, you don't want it, you need it
This a hot joint from Sauce, you feel cheated
Unanimous decision, love the way I freak it
Brooklyn, shogun, beat the 4-1
Niggas want to bite off my flow son
I don't think no one, got that, rock a hot track
Like me, nice to the Sauce? Naw
Spit rounds, it's rough did I mention the thorough?
BK forever representin' my borough
Push fly whips, quick to stack my chips
Too easy for you to understand my hits
When the album drops every pocket hold some
Sauce motherfuckin' forever, I told son
Hypnotic, heard the ? war 'fore I shot it
Better cop it, cause all that fly shit, I got it
(Chorus)
[PD]
I took rap by the throat & locked it
P-Diddy fixed all those who tried to stop it
Some of y'all tried to blast off, but couldn't rock it
If my flow ain't like a door, how could you knock it?
[Sauce Money] (PD)
As a matter of fact, yo don't you hate that? (hate that)
Whenever cats playa hatin' from way back (way back)
Mad at you, just because they whack (they whack)
And I bought your style, older than 8-track (8-track)
[PD]
Only way to react though
Make hot joints & stack dough
Laughin' at your whack flow
Try to catch my G
Just so you can rap like me
Act like me
[SM]
Rap like me
But it seems as though you dreamin' a lot
(PD)
I'm the cream of the crop
[SM]
Soon to be seen in the drop
(PD)
Blow the spot for the not
[SM]
Control the block, watch his name bubble like a soda pop
(PD)
When he drop
(Chorus 4X)
[Puffy ad-libs throughout chorus]
Sauce Money
Puff Daddy
Bad Boy forever
B.I.G. forever
Hitmen
Prestige, rock on playboy
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“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.
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.
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.