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."
At the end of it all,
neath the moons watchful eye,
I wanna be judged next to you
cos to the beat of my heart,
You set a small revolution,
No one ever touched me so surely
Its a veil drawn aside
And revealed is the real world,
And it feels like my world
From the ring on your finger
So cold on my skin,
To the diamond-light stars long ago
The river of brightness flows
On the end of the pier,
Saw the sun slidin down,
On the dyin embers of an empire
See their faces appear,
Everyone who was ever sold out and laid low,
Their voices submerged
In the sound of a choir
Weve got time on our side...
And revealed is the real world,
And it feels like my world
From the crystal cold winter,
So petrified and numb
That the blazing-bright sun overthrows,
The river of brightness flows
See, it starts with a glint
Of a sparkle in the eyes,
And a breath becomes a word becomes a deed
And if the deed is done right,
The whole worlds set alight,
But if you hesitate it goes,
And youre damnin up the river
Just to figure how it flows,
If thats the price of knowin,
Maybe I dont wanna know
cos it feels like the real world,
And it feels like our world
From the ring on your finger,
So cold on my skin
To the diamond-light stars long ago,
The river of brightness flows.
neath the moons watchful eye,
I wanna be judged next to you
cos to the beat of my heart,
You set a small revolution,
No one ever touched me so surely
Its a veil drawn aside
And revealed is the real world,
And it feels like my world
From the ring on your finger
So cold on my skin,
To the diamond-light stars long ago
The river of brightness flows
On the end of the pier,
Saw the sun slidin down,
On the dyin embers of an empire
See their faces appear,
Everyone who was ever sold out and laid low,
Their voices submerged
In the sound of a choir
Weve got time on our side...
And revealed is the real world,
And it feels like my world
From the crystal cold winter,
So petrified and numb
That the blazing-bright sun overthrows,
The river of brightness flows
See, it starts with a glint
Of a sparkle in the eyes,
And a breath becomes a word becomes a deed
And if the deed is done right,
The whole worlds set alight,
But if you hesitate it goes,
And youre damnin up the river
Just to figure how it flows,
If thats the price of knowin,
Maybe I dont wanna know
cos it feels like the real world,
And it feels like our world
From the ring on your finger,
So cold on my skin
To the diamond-light stars long ago,
The river of brightness flows.
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
River of Brightness Lyrics as written by Roddy Frame
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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