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."
Blackened sky a final flash
Death is in the air
Warriors without a face
Destruction everywhere
Silent falls the hammer
No one hears the cries
No escaping from this hell
Your prayers won't be heard... so die
Brainless cruel commanders
Sending death and pain
Solider only robots
Fight for their life in vain
Silent falls the hammer
No one hears the cries
No escaping from this hell
Your prayers won't be heard... so die
Die now die warrior !
Die now die warrior !
Somewhere in a shelter sit the men
Who hold your fate in this hands
Playin' chess and you're the loser
You're a small pawn in their game
Somewhere in a shelter sit the men
And they don't realize
A war without survivors is a fight
That's never won... so die !
Barren land desolate waste
Destruction is complete
Survivors creepin' through the ruins
Decaying flesh and meat
Somewhere in a shelter
Some pigs are still alive
And they still play the game
They won't give a damn... so die !
Die now die warrior !
Die now die warrior !
Die now die warrior !
Die now die warrior !
Death is in the air
Warriors without a face
Destruction everywhere
Silent falls the hammer
No one hears the cries
No escaping from this hell
Your prayers won't be heard... so die
Brainless cruel commanders
Sending death and pain
Solider only robots
Fight for their life in vain
Silent falls the hammer
No one hears the cries
No escaping from this hell
Your prayers won't be heard... so die
Die now die warrior !
Die now die warrior !
Somewhere in a shelter sit the men
Who hold your fate in this hands
Playin' chess and you're the loser
You're a small pawn in their game
Somewhere in a shelter sit the men
And they don't realize
A war without survivors is a fight
That's never won... so die !
Barren land desolate waste
Destruction is complete
Survivors creepin' through the ruins
Decaying flesh and meat
Somewhere in a shelter
Some pigs are still alive
And they still play the game
They won't give a damn... so die !
Die now die warrior !
Die now die warrior !
Die now die warrior !
Die now die warrior !
Lyrics submitted by elmoz
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

Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.

Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.

Somewhere Only We Know
Keane
Keane
Per the FAQ on Keane's website, Keane's drummer Richard Hughes, stated the following:
"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."
With the nostalgic sentiment and the overall tone of the song, I think Keane is attempting to express a Portuguese term known as 'saudade', which does not have a direct English translation but roughly means "that which we remember because it is gone."

Indigo
Of Mice & Men
Of Mice & Men
This track is about is about questioning why the sky would choose to be blue if it had the choice to be anything else, “blue also meaning sad,” states frontman Aaron Pauley. “It's about comforting a loved one in a time of loss by telling them you feel blue, too.”
This song is about world leaders and military people of high ranks blindly go to war with other countries and use the soldiers as "pawns" in the game of chess. The soldiers in battle are the ones sent to battle, and are left to die or suffer.