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."
There's a light, when my baby's in my arms,
There's a light, when the window shades are drawn,
Hesitate, when I feel I may do harm to her,
Watch it all, cause this feeling we can share.
And I know she's reached my heart, in thin air.
Byzantine is reflected in our pond,
There's a cloud, but the water remains calm,
Reaching in, the suns fingers clutch the dawn to pass,
Even out, it's a precious thing to bear.
And I know she's reached my heart, in thin air,
Yes I know she's reached my heart, in thin air.
It's not in my past to presume,
Love can keep on moving in both directions.
How to be happy and true,
Is the quest we're taking on together,
Taking on, on, on, on,
Taking on, on, on, on, on, on.
There's a light, when my baby's in my arms,
And I know she's reached my heart in thin air,
And I know she's reached my heart in thin air,
Yes I know she's reached my heart in thin air,
Yes I know she's reached my heart.
There's a light, when the window shades are drawn,
Hesitate, when I feel I may do harm to her,
Watch it all, cause this feeling we can share.
And I know she's reached my heart, in thin air.
Byzantine is reflected in our pond,
There's a cloud, but the water remains calm,
Reaching in, the suns fingers clutch the dawn to pass,
Even out, it's a precious thing to bear.
And I know she's reached my heart, in thin air,
Yes I know she's reached my heart, in thin air.
It's not in my past to presume,
Love can keep on moving in both directions.
How to be happy and true,
Is the quest we're taking on together,
Taking on, on, on, on,
Taking on, on, on, on, on, on.
There's a light, when my baby's in my arms,
And I know she's reached my heart in thin air,
And I know she's reached my heart in thin air,
Yes I know she's reached my heart in thin air,
Yes I know she's reached my heart.
Lyrics submitted by Trent, edited by verticalspeed
Thin Air Lyrics as written by Stone Gossard
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Mountain Song
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“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.
Gossard: I think the stronger your connection with someone, the more chances you can really hurt them. I think that's the key to that. You put yourself into a situation where something really means something to you, and if you lose that situation, it can really be painful.
Vedder: I appreciated the fact that it was a song about new love. I couldn't have written that song. Because my love is actually really very, very old. It's on a whole other spectrum.
Sonicnet: Because you've known [wife] Beth [Liebling] since high school?
Vedder: Seventeen years. So, to hear this one, and know that that stuff is true ... I responded to the apprehension that was in there. I thought it was beautiful.
Vedder: I might ask them a little bit. My only question to Stone on "Thin Air" is, "Do you want to sing it?" Gossard: Every night? No. Vedder: Actually, when he said yes, I was pretty happy. I turned around and said, "Yeah! Great!" Gossard: You don't know what it's like to be in a band with a singer that's open to looking at somebody else's songs and saying there's value in that. That's what gives life to this band, and what will sustain it, the idea that if everybody just writes two to three good songs a year. And usually it's the ones you don't even think that anyone will respond to that everyone responds to. You come in with your A-list, and you think, "I got this one surefire." But, by the end of the day, everyone is like, "You know that one on the second side? That kinda weird one? That's the one we should do." That's great. That's such a great process — to be in a collaboration where people are pulling stuff, and responding to your music in a way that you don't expect.
EV: Actually, that was one of my favorite ones during the beginning of the recording process, which made me want to write 2 or 3 ones that were better. Yeah! It's a good song.
This is a love song unlike any I have ever heard in my life. I still don't understand what is it that makes it different from all the others. It makes me happy. I want to scream , to laugh, to cry, to jump. I don't know why but I feel that people who don't listen to PJ are in a way losing something that they didn't even know existed, by not hearing this song . People who listen to their music are rewarded by knowing this beautiful song. It's like a hidden treasure.
ladybug: what you're trying to say is that stone is dedicating songs to ed's wife?!?!
its a love song, and a beautiful one at that, obviosly dedecated to eddie's wife, sooooo pretty!!!!
@ladybug in fact, it's written by Stone Gossard
There's a dark tension seething just below the surface of this song that suggests it's not as it seems. A melancholy tale of murder hidden in a love ballad?
I believe the line "How to be happy and true is quest we're taking on together", answers the question if murder is involved... I don't believe it is. Or at least hope not!
This song is actually Stone Gossard's song. It is more about Stones life than Eddies, but it also relates to Eddie.
On one of the DVDs (I think it's Touring Band 2000) Eddie said that Stone wanted to dedicate the song to someone. If it is about murder, then it's not very smart to record a death threat on DVD.
didnt eddie get divorced? thought i heard that somewhere
Yes, Ed did get divorced. But Stone wrote this song, so what's your point?