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."
He was down on the floor with his lips to a glass
Said he dreamed of a future that won't come to pass
That he once strived to excel in a world so vast
But why run a race when it's rig and he's fixed in last
Then he mused all of life is a joke and he laughed
That it is what it is and he's thankful for all that he has
I said well let me just pose one question and ask
If you just want what you have, then why are are you sad
If you want to fight
Then why are you running
If everything is fine for you
Why are you stumbling
So silent
She was tripping on something that was laced in her tea
And she was high as a kite when she said she could see
Said we in the land of the free but no freedom grows
And if we in a brave new world where'd the brave all go
I said, hell if I know
Then she told me that the problem is society
Everybody crippled by anxiety
No one is the person that they try to be
Then she said, what we need are a few with a view that can bring a change through
That we need less talk and more do
So I said to her, what about you
If you want to fight
Then why are you running
If everything is fine for you
Why are you stumbling
So silent
I was listening to someone give a speech
Something 'bout the knowledge of enlightenment he reached
And as my eyes glazed over in my seat
He approached and he asked if he could challenge my beliefs
I said by all means have at it
Then he talked about the suffering and source of bad habits
How the emptying of mind is the challenge
And withdrawing from the world is the cure to all sadness
I said that all sounds like madness
Why have a life and then not be alive
Why have a mind and then choose to be blind
What you call wisdom is the fear that you hide
You cannot retreat from those demons inside
This is not peace, it's a mask you adorn
This is not truth, it's a trap, nothing more
And you're too busy running from something you can't ignore
If you want to fight
Then why are you running
If everything is fine for you
Why are you stumbling
So silent
Said he dreamed of a future that won't come to pass
That he once strived to excel in a world so vast
But why run a race when it's rig and he's fixed in last
Then he mused all of life is a joke and he laughed
That it is what it is and he's thankful for all that he has
I said well let me just pose one question and ask
If you just want what you have, then why are are you sad
If you want to fight
Then why are you running
If everything is fine for you
Why are you stumbling
So silent
She was tripping on something that was laced in her tea
And she was high as a kite when she said she could see
Said we in the land of the free but no freedom grows
And if we in a brave new world where'd the brave all go
I said, hell if I know
Then she told me that the problem is society
Everybody crippled by anxiety
No one is the person that they try to be
Then she said, what we need are a few with a view that can bring a change through
That we need less talk and more do
So I said to her, what about you
If you want to fight
Then why are you running
If everything is fine for you
Why are you stumbling
So silent
I was listening to someone give a speech
Something 'bout the knowledge of enlightenment he reached
And as my eyes glazed over in my seat
He approached and he asked if he could challenge my beliefs
I said by all means have at it
Then he talked about the suffering and source of bad habits
How the emptying of mind is the challenge
And withdrawing from the world is the cure to all sadness
I said that all sounds like madness
Why have a life and then not be alive
Why have a mind and then choose to be blind
What you call wisdom is the fear that you hide
You cannot retreat from those demons inside
This is not peace, it's a mask you adorn
This is not truth, it's a trap, nothing more
And you're too busy running from something you can't ignore
If you want to fight
Then why are you running
If everything is fine for you
Why are you stumbling
So silent
Lyrics submitted by Damaris
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