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."
(You are golden, you are pure)
Tell me, tell me, tell me your problems
I'm here for you
Just try, just try, just try to stay sober
It's eating you
And they say you are a monster, but what I see's a child
Your eyes, your eyes are glowing red
And your tongue has caught on fire
(You are golden, you are pure)
So let go, let go of your fire
Let it go, let go of your fire
Live it up 'til we crash and there's smoke in the air
Let it go, let go of your fire
You play, you play, you play up to them
But they're not around
Don't be, don't be so rough with me
When you are a gem
And they ask how I can love you, when all they see is this
But I see the things that you can't contain and what it does to you
So let go, let go of your fire
Let it go, let go of your fire
Live it up 'til we crash and there's smoke in the air
Let it go, let go of your fire
Let go, let go of your fire
Let it go, let go of your fire
Live it up 'til we crash and there's smoke in the air
Let it go, let go of your fire
(You are golden, you are pure)
So let go, let go of your fire
Let it go, let go of your fire
Live it up 'til we crash and there's smoke in the air
Let it go, let go of your fire
Let go, let go of your fire
Let it go, let go of your fire
Live it up 'til we crash and there's smoke in the air
Let it go, let go of your fire
Tell me, tell me, tell me your problems
I'm here for you
Just try, just try, just try to stay sober
It's eating you
And they say you are a monster, but what I see's a child
Your eyes, your eyes are glowing red
And your tongue has caught on fire
(You are golden, you are pure)
So let go, let go of your fire
Let it go, let go of your fire
Live it up 'til we crash and there's smoke in the air
Let it go, let go of your fire
You play, you play, you play up to them
But they're not around
Don't be, don't be so rough with me
When you are a gem
And they ask how I can love you, when all they see is this
But I see the things that you can't contain and what it does to you
So let go, let go of your fire
Let it go, let go of your fire
Live it up 'til we crash and there's smoke in the air
Let it go, let go of your fire
Let go, let go of your fire
Let it go, let go of your fire
Live it up 'til we crash and there's smoke in the air
Let it go, let go of your fire
(You are golden, you are pure)
So let go, let go of your fire
Let it go, let go of your fire
Live it up 'til we crash and there's smoke in the air
Let it go, let go of your fire
Let go, let go of your fire
Let it go, let go of your fire
Live it up 'til we crash and there's smoke in the air
Let it go, let go of your fire
Lyrics submitted by cooperw, edited by skullz3181
Let Go Lyrics as written by Cindy Morgan Matthew Gerrard
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
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,
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
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.
My analogy is that the artist is in love with an addict. The drugs make the person a monster but the singer sees their childlike innocence that no one else does. Let go of your fire means let it all out and vent, let your feelings free instead of internalizing and self destructing. Don't be so rough with me means the addict hurts the artist because the addict knows the artist loves them, hence the "you are a gem" meaning the addict is precious, valuable and loved by the artist, as a gem, a beautiful stone with many different angles and colors. They ask how he can love the addict, the artist explains how he consoles the addict when they're most vulnerable "I see the things you can't contain and what they do to you". The addict keeps on a tough exterior but is a sensitive person inside who doesn't know how to deal with their own pain. You're golden, you're pure, words of encouragement to get the addict to quit and realize they're so much more than the addict gives them self credit for.
Its about eating people?
It's a 3rd person view of a loved one in self-destructive behavior for whatever reason
"You play, you play, you play up to them But they’re not around Don’t be, don't be so rough with me"
might be. They're asking them to let go of their problems.
This song isn't necessarily about someone in love with a drug addict. The fire they are referring to is symbolic of the destructive forces of the psyche. This person might be internalizing their feelings or blaming others for them; either way, the anger they are holding on to is ultimately hurting themselves.
Emotionally sensitive individuals are often perfectionists. They blame themselves for their faults and wrongdoings because they are the type of individual who is always seeking to improve themselves. From this perspective, they are inherently lacking or deficient. So they feel the need to "play up to them" to make up for this. The lover wants them to realize they are inherently pure and perfect, just like a child. They choose to love this person to help them understand this is who they truly are, not a monster that society views them as.