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."
Hit the ground, hit the ground, hit the ground, oh oh
Only sound, only sound that you hear is, "No"
You never saw it coming, slipped when you started running
And now you've come undone and I, I, I, I
Seen you fall, seen you crawl on your knees, eh eh
Seen you lost in a crowd, seen your colors fade
Wish I could make it better, someday you won't remember
This pain you thought would last forever and ever
There you'll stand, ten feet tall
I will say I knew it all along
Your eyes wider than distance
This life is sweeter than fiction
Just a shot, just a shot in the dark, oh oh
All you got, all you got are your shattered hopes
They never saw it coming, you hit the ground running
And now you're onto something, I, I, I say
What a sight, what a sight when the light came on
Proved me right, proved me right when you proved them wrong
And in this perfect weather, it's like we don't remember
The rain we thought would last forever and ever
There you'll stand, ten feet tall
I will say I knew it all along
Your eyes wider than distance
This life is sweeter than fiction (sweeter than fiction)
There you'll stand next to me (next to me)
All at once, the rest is history
Your eyes wider than distance
This life is sweeter than fiction (sweeter than fiction)
I'll be one of the many saying
Look at you now, look at you now, now
I'll be one of the many saying
You made us proud, you made us proud, proud
I'll be one of the many saying
Look at you now, look at you now, now
I'll be one of the many saying
You made us proud, you made us proud, proud
And when they call your name
And they put your picture in a frame
You know that I'll be there time and again
'Cause I loved you when, when you
Hit the ground, hit the ground, hit the ground, oh oh
Only sound, only sound that you heard was, "No"
Now in this perfect weather, it's like we don't remember
The rain we thought would last forever and ever (forever)
There you'll stand, ten feet tall (ten feet tall)
I will say I knew it all along
Your eyes wider than distance (knew it all along)
This life is sweeter than fiction (sweeter than fiction)
There you'll stand next to me (next to me)
All at once, the rest is history
Your eyes wider than distance (knew it all along)
This life is sweeter than fiction (sweeter than fiction)
It's sweeter than fiction
It's sweeter, yeah
It's sweeter, it's sweeter
Sweeter than fiction
Only sound, only sound that you hear is, "No"
You never saw it coming, slipped when you started running
And now you've come undone and I, I, I, I
Seen you fall, seen you crawl on your knees, eh eh
Seen you lost in a crowd, seen your colors fade
Wish I could make it better, someday you won't remember
This pain you thought would last forever and ever
There you'll stand, ten feet tall
I will say I knew it all along
Your eyes wider than distance
This life is sweeter than fiction
Just a shot, just a shot in the dark, oh oh
All you got, all you got are your shattered hopes
They never saw it coming, you hit the ground running
And now you're onto something, I, I, I say
What a sight, what a sight when the light came on
Proved me right, proved me right when you proved them wrong
And in this perfect weather, it's like we don't remember
The rain we thought would last forever and ever
There you'll stand, ten feet tall
I will say I knew it all along
Your eyes wider than distance
This life is sweeter than fiction (sweeter than fiction)
There you'll stand next to me (next to me)
All at once, the rest is history
Your eyes wider than distance
This life is sweeter than fiction (sweeter than fiction)
I'll be one of the many saying
Look at you now, look at you now, now
I'll be one of the many saying
You made us proud, you made us proud, proud
I'll be one of the many saying
Look at you now, look at you now, now
I'll be one of the many saying
You made us proud, you made us proud, proud
And when they call your name
And they put your picture in a frame
You know that I'll be there time and again
'Cause I loved you when, when you
Hit the ground, hit the ground, hit the ground, oh oh
Only sound, only sound that you heard was, "No"
Now in this perfect weather, it's like we don't remember
The rain we thought would last forever and ever (forever)
There you'll stand, ten feet tall (ten feet tall)
I will say I knew it all along
Your eyes wider than distance (knew it all along)
This life is sweeter than fiction (sweeter than fiction)
There you'll stand next to me (next to me)
All at once, the rest is history
Your eyes wider than distance (knew it all along)
This life is sweeter than fiction (sweeter than fiction)
It's sweeter than fiction
It's sweeter, yeah
It's sweeter, it's sweeter
Sweeter than fiction
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.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
"Your eyes wider than distance, this life is sweeter than fiction"