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."
[Intro]
Ladies and gentlemen
Second Thoughts on the beat
(And you know how I feel)
Big up to Lace Cadence
Good lookin' out for this one, man
Verse 1:
I love hip hop music
I just hate the ego
The politics that follow it
Getting caught in it can be lethal
See I love the community
Cause a community will embrace you
But you turn it back the community is the people that will hate you
See everybody's striving for that same shit
To get paid and make it
And I'll be honest, I'm trying to become famous
When someone makes a move
Watch that person next to you
Cause I'll warn ya
I love Hova but jealousy's The Takeover
Here come the mean mugs
"I can't do what he does"
And where does that lead us?
To the ego that feeds us
I wish that I could just do what I do
But when a door opens for him I'm afraid there won't be enough room
Comparison's a mother fucker
Like MLK said
"We all want that band leader syndrome and it won't stop"
This concept makes me wonder
Is it the commodity of the music or the ego that is killing hip hop?
(And you know how I feel)
[Hook]
It's the ego
That makes me not give respect in dap
It's the ego
That makes me talk shit behind people's back
You know that it's the ego
That's constantly polluting my consciousness
So ingrained in my brain that I can barely even acknowledge it
It's the ego
That makes the present moment jet lagged
I said it's the ego
That has me trippin about the next man
You know that it's the ego
That makes me not go to the front
Of the show cause the performers have exactly what I want
[Verse 2]
"I'm so cool"
For real?
You know dude, I'm serious spit it different and if you just flow too
I'll listen lookin' for glitches and rip 'em to shove improve
That my rhythm's a little bit more intricate, just to boost
My ego
Is so evil
Threatened by so many different kinds of people
It seems that if you're going through somethin' and life is feeling uncomfortable
The immediate place you go is to your ego to comfort you
When Boom Bap got signed
I hated on him
When Grayskul got signed
I hated Onry
And that's hard to admit
But since I'm really being honest
I wanted to be one of the first to make it as a Northwest rap artist
Instead of taking it as a plus for my region
I took it as a cut to my dreams of makin' it out of this political scene of
Northwest haters to be next I guess I'm just like them
Jealous of who's taking that step
[Hook]
[Verse 3]
Now everybody got one but people trying to front
Claiming that they on the humble but cocky
Now it comes up when we judge
Or are threatened by someone
But everyone still be like "man that's not me"
Now let me break it down son
It's only a lack of love for ourselves
Cause we're submerged in "I gotta be"
The best or number one
But it's just that we don't trust
In our heart and that's what stops me
It's the ego
Ladies and gentlemen
Second Thoughts on the beat
(And you know how I feel)
Big up to Lace Cadence
Good lookin' out for this one, man
Verse 1:
I love hip hop music
I just hate the ego
The politics that follow it
Getting caught in it can be lethal
See I love the community
Cause a community will embrace you
But you turn it back the community is the people that will hate you
See everybody's striving for that same shit
To get paid and make it
And I'll be honest, I'm trying to become famous
When someone makes a move
Watch that person next to you
Cause I'll warn ya
I love Hova but jealousy's The Takeover
Here come the mean mugs
"I can't do what he does"
And where does that lead us?
To the ego that feeds us
I wish that I could just do what I do
But when a door opens for him I'm afraid there won't be enough room
Comparison's a mother fucker
Like MLK said
"We all want that band leader syndrome and it won't stop"
This concept makes me wonder
Is it the commodity of the music or the ego that is killing hip hop?
(And you know how I feel)
[Hook]
It's the ego
That makes me not give respect in dap
It's the ego
That makes me talk shit behind people's back
You know that it's the ego
That's constantly polluting my consciousness
So ingrained in my brain that I can barely even acknowledge it
It's the ego
That makes the present moment jet lagged
I said it's the ego
That has me trippin about the next man
You know that it's the ego
That makes me not go to the front
Of the show cause the performers have exactly what I want
[Verse 2]
"I'm so cool"
For real?
You know dude, I'm serious spit it different and if you just flow too
I'll listen lookin' for glitches and rip 'em to shove improve
That my rhythm's a little bit more intricate, just to boost
My ego
Is so evil
Threatened by so many different kinds of people
It seems that if you're going through somethin' and life is feeling uncomfortable
The immediate place you go is to your ego to comfort you
When Boom Bap got signed
I hated on him
When Grayskul got signed
I hated Onry
And that's hard to admit
But since I'm really being honest
I wanted to be one of the first to make it as a Northwest rap artist
Instead of taking it as a plus for my region
I took it as a cut to my dreams of makin' it out of this political scene of
Northwest haters to be next I guess I'm just like them
Jealous of who's taking that step
[Hook]
[Verse 3]
Now everybody got one but people trying to front
Claiming that they on the humble but cocky
Now it comes up when we judge
Or are threatened by someone
But everyone still be like "man that's not me"
Now let me break it down son
It's only a lack of love for ourselves
Cause we're submerged in "I gotta be"
The best or number one
But it's just that we don't trust
In our heart and that's what stops me
It's the ego
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
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