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."
If I could play back every moment to you now
Spent lovesick and swollen on
Mornings mincing garlic on the counter by the sink
If I could hit the instant replay on only every good day
Would any of it catch you by surprise?
When you say, "something is missing now"
That's what came back to me
Normal mornings like that set the knife down and forget where I'd left it
Making breakfast
Put coffee on the stove then scour every counter for the knife
Don't be shy
Don't be kind
Somewhere snow collects and bends the boughs of pines
But doesn't it seem a bit wasteful to you
To throw away all of the time we spent perfecting our love
In close quarters and confines?
Isn't it wasteful?
And I am terrified that it doesn't feel painful to me yet
Somewhere on top of the high rise
There's a woman on the edge of a building at the ledge
And traffics backing up on 35
It's alright
I will fix whatever is not the sweetness in your eyes
Just sit down
Please
Sit down
Here
At the table and we'll talk
Somewhere televisions light up in the night
I know things weren't right
Maybe we were never cut out for the Midwest life
Maybe we'd have done much better on a coast
There are certain things I doubt we'll ever know
I know you were getting tired of my drinking
I guess I was never cut out for the coke scene
You were worried I would end up like your father and
Tired of the smoke and somewhere the wind blows
Somewhere a storm touches down north in Hudsonville
Somewhere the coffee starts to boil on the stove and
Somewhere the wind blows
Somewhere the river levels finally getting low
Somewhere I'm up past dawn till
Somewhere you live here still
Somewhere you're already gone
Somewhere a radio is playing in a living room
Says the city lacks the funds to fix the bridge
Somewhere the deer are overrun so they're introducing wolves back on the ridge
And from here in the kitchen
I can hear the neighbors in the alley hanging linens
And the men collect the trash bins in the street
You're speaking to me but I can't understand you
The coffee is burning and
All of the times that we spent
That road trip out west
Through desert for the rest stops the kitsch we both collect
That winter the whole weekend we huddled by the stove
The cabin I had rented
The unexpected snow
That visit for Christmas
On television binges
We'll see friends in Brooklyn
Drive south to Richmond
There's traffic on the bridge
A woman on the ledge
And everywhere the wind
Everything is happening at once
Spent lovesick and swollen on
Mornings mincing garlic on the counter by the sink
If I could hit the instant replay on only every good day
Would any of it catch you by surprise?
When you say, "something is missing now"
That's what came back to me
Normal mornings like that set the knife down and forget where I'd left it
Making breakfast
Put coffee on the stove then scour every counter for the knife
Don't be shy
Don't be kind
Somewhere snow collects and bends the boughs of pines
But doesn't it seem a bit wasteful to you
To throw away all of the time we spent perfecting our love
In close quarters and confines?
Isn't it wasteful?
And I am terrified that it doesn't feel painful to me yet
Somewhere on top of the high rise
There's a woman on the edge of a building at the ledge
And traffics backing up on 35
It's alright
I will fix whatever is not the sweetness in your eyes
Just sit down
Please
Sit down
Here
At the table and we'll talk
Somewhere televisions light up in the night
I know things weren't right
Maybe we were never cut out for the Midwest life
Maybe we'd have done much better on a coast
There are certain things I doubt we'll ever know
I know you were getting tired of my drinking
I guess I was never cut out for the coke scene
You were worried I would end up like your father and
Tired of the smoke and somewhere the wind blows
Somewhere a storm touches down north in Hudsonville
Somewhere the coffee starts to boil on the stove and
Somewhere the wind blows
Somewhere the river levels finally getting low
Somewhere I'm up past dawn till
Somewhere you live here still
Somewhere you're already gone
Somewhere a radio is playing in a living room
Says the city lacks the funds to fix the bridge
Somewhere the deer are overrun so they're introducing wolves back on the ridge
And from here in the kitchen
I can hear the neighbors in the alley hanging linens
And the men collect the trash bins in the street
You're speaking to me but I can't understand you
The coffee is burning and
All of the times that we spent
That road trip out west
Through desert for the rest stops the kitsch we both collect
That winter the whole weekend we huddled by the stove
The cabin I had rented
The unexpected snow
That visit for Christmas
On television binges
We'll see friends in Brooklyn
Drive south to Richmond
There's traffic on the bridge
A woman on the ledge
And everywhere the wind
Everything is happening at once
Lyrics submitted by b3hr, edited by ChipperSpiff
Stay Happy There Lyrics as written by Bradley Ryen Vander Lugt Adam David Vass
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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."
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,
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Thank you so much for the lyrics!!! Words cannot explain my excitement for this up coming La Dispute release! I can already tell from this track that the story is going to be a great one and the anticipation is killing me for the album to drop! Glad I got my ticket to see them in March and Pre-order Bundle!
i really love the lyrics of this new song. i think that they are trying to sing about how someone's life is so important to them that they forget what's around them, they are in their own little bubble. just a simplified meaning, think what you'd like. i love la dispute, and im excited for this new record. wish i could see them live :c
It has to be about a relationship ending and not knowing why it ended. The other person just left and it describes that feeling of getting hit by a bus you didn't see coming. That's how I see it at least. I might be putting my own experiences into it though.
Big big big reference filled song. Personally favorite as well.
"If I could play back every moment to you now Spent lovesick and swollen on Mornings mincing garlic on the counter by the sink If I could hit the instant replay on only every good day Would any of it catch you by surprise?" If he could play back the memories they made in the house, all of the tiny dots.
"When you say, "something is missing now" That's what came back to me Normal mornings like that set the knife down and forget where I'd left it Making breakfast Put coffee on the stove then scour every counter for the knife" In the moment of collapse, the morning mincing garlic came back to him - funny what you think of after a collapse. She says something is missing in the relationship, he starts to panic and tell her to just sit down at the table and be calm and talk to him about it.
"But doesn't it seem a bit wasteful to you To throw away all of the time we spent perfecting our love in close quarters and confines? Isn't it wasteful? And I am terrified that it doesn't feel painful to me yet Somewhere on top of the high rise there's a woman on the edge of a building at the ledge And traffics backing up on 35" Doesn't it seem wasteful and awful to throw away everything they've built and experienced together (like all of the memories in the house). A woman is on the ledge of a building (referenced only in this song) and traffic is backing up on 35 because of the bridge collapse.
"Somewhere a storm touches down north in Hudsonville" This is weird because the storm in HUDSONVILLE 1965 took place, well, in 1965.
"Somewhere the coffee starts to boil on the stove and Somewhere the wind blows" The coffee in HUDSONVILLE boils on the stove as stated in the song multiple times.
"Somewhere the river levels finally getting low" When I first heard this line, before the album came out, I was blown away that they referenced the chinese folklore Said The King To The River storyline, but alas - the river flooded from the storm and it's finally lowering. However the STKTHR theory is a neat take on it as well.
"Says the city lacks the funds to fix the bridge" They can't afford to fix the collapsed bridge on 35.
"And from here in the kitchen I can hear the neighbors in the alley hanging linens And the men collect the trash bins in the street You're speaking to me but I can't understand you The coffee is burning and All of the times that we spent That road trip out west Through desert for the rest stops the kitsch we both collect That winter the whole weekend we huddled by the stove The cabin I had rented The unexpected snow That visit for Christmas On television binges We'll see friends in Brooklyn Drive south to Richmond There's traffic on the bridge A woman on the ledge And everywhere the wind Everything is happening at once" References to all of the road trips they'd taken. References the desert, the Christmas trip, all of it. Then references the traffic on the bridge before it collapses, the woman on the ledge of the building, and the wind from the storm in HUDSONVILLE.
Ridiculously perfect song.
The first time I heard this song (before the album was released and therefore out of context) I thought it was about the narrator's lover who is depressed and suicidal. The line "set the knife down and forget where I'd left it, making breakfast, put coffee on the stove then scour every counter for the knife" make me imagine the narrator misplacing the knife and freaking out because he's afraid his lover has taken it to use it on herself. Several lines support this idea:
But doesn't it seem a bit wasteful to you? To throw away all of the time we spent perfecting our love in close quarters and confines? Isn't it wasteful? (he's trying to convince her not to waste her life by taking it)
and
It's alright I will fix whatever is not the sweetness in your eyes Just sit down Please Sit down Here at the table and we'll talk (he's pleading with her to let him help)
The "woman on a ledge" may or may not be the lover but it definitely points towards depression/suicide.
Now, I can't find any other reference to this theory on the album; however, we don't have any better explanation as to why the relationship fell apart either.
Any thoughts?
It's about all of the seemingly unimportant things that make up our lives and our relationships. It's about the build up to the collapse of a relationship.
Within the narrative arc, this song would be the point at which the couple break up. There hasn't been a huge conflict, but rather lots of things have built up (his drinking, her fear that he would turn out like her father, their unhappiness with their life in the Midwest) and the woman has left or is leaving. There are a lot of references to things building up and reaching some sort of critical point- snow collects and bends boughs, traffic backs up and the bridge has collapsed, a woman stands at a ledge about to end her life, there are too many deer, coffee boils and burns on the stove.
The narrator thinks back through all of the little experiences in their relationship that built up and caused it to break. He thinks about all of the things that are happening at once, the things that happen all around us, all of the things that build up- it can be overwhelming getting caught up in them (everywhere the wind) and they can cause things to break but they're all important. Sometimes we don't realise how important each moment is until it's too late.