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."
And you're like a 90's Jesus
And you revel in your psychosis
How dare you?
And you sample concepts like hors d'oeuvres
And you eat their questions for dessert
Is it just me or is it hot in here?
And you're like a 90's Kennedy
And you're really a million years old
You can't fool me
They'll throw opinions like rocks in riots
And they'll stumble around like hypocrites
Is it just me, or is it dark in here?
Well, you may never be or have a husband
You may never have or hold a child
You will learn to loose everything
We are temporary arrangements
And you're like a 90's Noah
And they laughed at you as you packed all of your things
And they wonder why you're frustrated
And they wonder why you're so angry
And is it just me, or are you fed up?
And may god bless you in your travels
In your conquests and queries
And you revel in your psychosis
How dare you?
And you sample concepts like hors d'oeuvres
And you eat their questions for dessert
Is it just me or is it hot in here?
And you're like a 90's Kennedy
And you're really a million years old
You can't fool me
They'll throw opinions like rocks in riots
And they'll stumble around like hypocrites
Is it just me, or is it dark in here?
Well, you may never be or have a husband
You may never have or hold a child
You will learn to loose everything
We are temporary arrangements
And you're like a 90's Noah
And they laughed at you as you packed all of your things
And they wonder why you're frustrated
And they wonder why you're so angry
And is it just me, or are you fed up?
And may god bless you in your travels
In your conquests and queries
Lyrics submitted by Lamia
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
My opinion... this song is a ‘nod’ to anyone that doesn’t follow ‘norms’ of social behavior. In the song she’s describing with a great degree of skill and wisdom (and... ‘no pressure’ over cappuccino) that with her it’s OK to be you. She has profound compassion and understanding, which is revealed…
1st verse: "And you're like a 90's Jesus"... (In this case the use of a modern day Jesus is a person who has profoundly different experiences of reality or who holds unusual views or opinions. These type of people have traditionally held a very complex role in society, with some being ostracized and viewed as deviants, while others are lauded as prophets or visionaries.)
"And you revel in your psychosis"… (Psychosis is a controversial term introduced into the medical world in the 1845. Only in the 1960’s and 70’s did the term receive criticism. Until then it was a used as a definition of any ‘unorthodox’ person, some say so they could be controlled by society.)
"How dare you?"… (What society asks when a person holds different ideas or opinions.)
“And you sample concepts like hors d'oeuvres”… (Society complains if an individual tries to ‘sample’ anything outside the accepted norm. Like those fancy foreign little hors d'oeuvres that are sooo tasty.)
“And you eat their questions for dessert”… (Don’t be afraid of the questions, it’s good to question, everything.)
“Is it just me or is it hot in here?”… (She understands how difficult it is to do your own thing, ‘here’.)
2nd verse: “And you're like a 90's Kennedy”… (The Kennedy family is iconic and well known. They marked a turning point, in the faith of the American people, regarding the U.S. political establishment. They brought huge change in gender rights for women and African Americans. Two of Joseph P. Kennedy Senior’s sons were assassinated for those efforts.)
“And you're really a million years old”… (In the 1970’s estimates by “modern” science was that the human race was 1 million years old, today the estimate is approximately 37,000. As a race we keep learning, that some long-held beliefs were wrong. As we evolve, maybe we will learn that some our other ‘current thinking’ is incorrect?)
“You can't fool me”… (No way… if are a million years in existence, how come we still fear those with different beliefs and opinions?)
“They'll throw opinions like rocks in riots”… (‘Rocks-in-riots’ refers to angry mob, right or wrong, fights against anything they don’t agree with.)
“And they'll stumble around like hypocrites”… (‘THEY’, the people who criticize someone for being outside the norm, are hypocritical. Quite a few examples exist; the divorce rate in America, accepting pre-prescribed religious beliefs without understanding, accepting pre-prescribed sexual identity, etc., etc., etc. It doesn’t matter if they don’t know what they are doing, you are supposed to do what everyone else does.)
“Is it just me, or is it dark in here?”… (The lyrics pose a question. Am I the only one in the world who see’s how difficult it is to live your life how you choose?)
“Well, you may never be or have a husband”… (Societal criticism either gender receives, if deciding not to marry.)
“You may never have or hold a child”… (Societal criticism either gender receives, if deciding not to have children.)
“You will learn to loose everything”… (Societal criticism either gender receives, if deciding not to do what our predecessors view as ‘everything’. The ultimate scare tactic.)
“We are temporary arrangement”… (Live your life how you want, we are only here temporarily.)
3rd verse: “And you're like a 90's Noah”… (Just go for it, build your own arch.)
“And they laughed at you as you packed all of your things”… (They will laugh… but don’t you dare let that stop you.)
“And they wonder why you're frustrated”… (Of course you’re frustrated. You don’t want to do what everyone else does.)
“And they wonder why you're so angry”… (Of course you’re angry. You don’t want to follow every else.)
“And is it just me, or are you fed up?”… (Again the lyrics pose a question. Am I the only one in the world who see’s how difficult it is to live your life how you choose?)
Concluding verse: “And may god bless you in your travels”… (God bless you, don’t be afraid to be yourself.)
“In your conquests and queries”… (In your successes, and exploration of yourself, have fun!)
Happy listening!
Joes, this is simply an amazing and very accurate description. <br /> <br /> I agree with most of your statements about the song. Thanks for sharing.<br /> <br /> God bless you in your travels, in your conquests and queries.<br />
joes, I think that you are dead on with this one. The only thing I have to add, is that this song was written about her gay brother, but a lot of the things you wrote about the lines can be applied to someone who is gay. But if you look at the lines about never holding a child or getting married, I think the meaning behind that is strictly about homosexual people in today's society. Brilliant song, brilliant lyrics, and you did a wonderful job interpreting it. Favorite alanis song by far.
It's one of my favourite Alanis songs. I read that this song was inspired by her brother. I love the whole lyrics and for me it's about someone who doesn't fit in the "socially correct" society, maybe someone gay (when she says Is it just me or is it dark in here, like being in the closet). Also when she says "you may never be or have a husband you may never have or hold a child") That sounds to me like that. But the phrase "We are temporaryy arrangements" is absolutely amazimg. She's right, that's what we are. Any ideas?
it a song about a convo she had with her bro over Cappuccino were they talked the 1st 2 verse are based on another sibaling im not sure who. The third her gay twin brother wade Well you may never be or have a husband You may never have or hold a child
and and the last is about her And they laughed at you as you packed all of your things And they wonder why you're so angry
damn...she's such a good poet
no matter what mood im in, this song always makes it better
I think this song is about being inspired by a lover.kennedy,noah and jesus were all inspirational figures throughout our lives and what shes trying to say is that shes equally inspired by this person. this song is a clever upbeat song that inspires us just as equally by an equally inspiring, fantastic, talented artist.hhhoooorrrraaaayyyyyy
i love the lines And you sample concepts like hors d'euvres And you eat their questions for dessert brilliant song! i think its about how she respects someone, especially because they are themselves and stand up for what they believe in. shes kinda saying with this song that she thinks theyre great, no matter what else everyone else thinks of them and that the worlds kind of crazy. its a bit difficult to describe and it probably doesnt mean what i think at all but i still love it!
Does anybody have a hint concerning the title? I don't see the connection...
it about her gay twin brother wade(i think)
I'm surprised more people haven't commented on this song. She wrote this song for her twin brother who's gay. She released it on her unplugged album.