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."
This life feels hollow and mostly borrowed
The voices are screaming but where is the meaning?
Noisy crescendos behind closed windows
The floor is a ceiling, I can't find the feeling
Oh, tell me, love, tell me
Am I dreaming, and where is the meaning?
Oh, tell me, love
Let it happen, let it happen
Tomorrow knows what tomorrow knows
You can't make it get here sooner
Let it happen, let it happen
I don't hold what the future holds
But I know You're my future
The fever is breaking, my body is aching
What's worth defending if everything's ending?
The current is endless, the river relentless
Love, tell me, love
Oh, am I dreaming, and what is the meaning?
Love, tell me, love, tell me
Let it happen, let it happen
Tomorrow knows what tomorrow knows
You can't make it get here sooner
Let it happen, let it happen
I don't hold what the future holds
But I know You hold my future
Let it happen, let it happen
Tomorrow knows what tomorrow knows
You can't make it get here sooner
Let it happen, let it happen
I don't hold what the future holds
But I know you're my future
The voices are screaming but where is the meaning?
Noisy crescendos behind closed windows
The floor is a ceiling, I can't find the feeling
Oh, tell me, love, tell me
Am I dreaming, and where is the meaning?
Oh, tell me, love
Let it happen, let it happen
Tomorrow knows what tomorrow knows
You can't make it get here sooner
Let it happen, let it happen
I don't hold what the future holds
But I know You're my future
The fever is breaking, my body is aching
What's worth defending if everything's ending?
The current is endless, the river relentless
Love, tell me, love
Oh, am I dreaming, and what is the meaning?
Love, tell me, love, tell me
Let it happen, let it happen
Tomorrow knows what tomorrow knows
You can't make it get here sooner
Let it happen, let it happen
I don't hold what the future holds
But I know You hold my future
Let it happen, let it happen
Tomorrow knows what tomorrow knows
You can't make it get here sooner
Let it happen, let it happen
I don't hold what the future holds
But I know you're my future
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"I'm a control freak. I spend most of my time professionally obsessing over details, and changing and rearranging lyrics and the melody. I know what it's like to desire that semblance of control, and want to fix and change I think I bring that into a lot of areas, it might be unwanted and unhelpful."
"That song for me, I love the fact that it kicks of the record because it feels like an invetation for the listener to allow this album to sweep over them and to intervene with the eyes of wonder, rather than the eyes of the cynic. I feel like children are really good at letting it happen. There's a trust and a surrender in that process. And for me, late at night I go down to the beach and I sit on this one rock and I pray and meditate and think and I feel like I'm reminded of how small I am."
"Wether or not I'm choosing to let it happen, its happening. The universe is happening all around me, the stars, I have no control over their patterns. I can either choose to fight it and brace myself against it or I can embrace the love that I'm being offered. For me, that's what the song us about."
"I think there's a parallel with surfing, where you can choose what you do on the face of the wave but you can't change the wave itself. You can choose what you're doing and how you're dancing in the life you've been given, but there's wisdom in knowing that there's things you change and accpeting them." -- Jon Foreman