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."
Time
Is never time at all
You can never ever leave
Without leaving a piece of you
And our lives are forever changed
We will never be the same
The more you change, the less you feel
Believe
Believe in me
Believe, Believe!
That life can change
That you're not stuck in vain
We're not the same, we're different
Tonight, Tonight
Tonight
So bright
Tonight, Tonight
And you know you're never sure
But you're sure you could be right
If you held yourself up to the light
And the embers never fade
In the city by the lake
The place where you were born
Believe
Believe in me
Believe, Believe!
In the resolute urgency of now
And if you believe there's not a chance
Tonight, Tonight
Tonight
So bright
Tonight, Tonight
We'll crucify the insincere
Tonight, Tonight
We'll make things right
We'll feel it all
Tonight, Tonight
We'll find a way to offer up the night
Tonight
The indescribable moments of your life
Tonight
The impossible is possible
Tonight, Tonight
Believe in me as I believe in you
Tonight
Tonight, Tonight
Tonight, Tonight
Is never time at all
You can never ever leave
Without leaving a piece of you
And our lives are forever changed
We will never be the same
The more you change, the less you feel
Believe
Believe in me
Believe, Believe!
That life can change
That you're not stuck in vain
We're not the same, we're different
Tonight, Tonight
Tonight
So bright
Tonight, Tonight
And you know you're never sure
But you're sure you could be right
If you held yourself up to the light
And the embers never fade
In the city by the lake
The place where you were born
Believe
Believe in me
Believe, Believe!
In the resolute urgency of now
And if you believe there's not a chance
Tonight, Tonight
Tonight
So bright
Tonight, Tonight
We'll crucify the insincere
Tonight, Tonight
We'll make things right
We'll feel it all
Tonight, Tonight
We'll find a way to offer up the night
Tonight
The indescribable moments of your life
Tonight
The impossible is possible
Tonight, Tonight
Believe in me as I believe in you
Tonight
Tonight, Tonight
Tonight, Tonight
Lyrics submitted by Ice, edited by lvriesling
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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,
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
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.
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.
I think this song is encouragement to be true to yourself and to believe in yourself. It says you should live in the moment and not the past. It's not so much about any one night in my opinion, but I art is in the eye of the beholder.
I'd suggest taking a look at the song as a piece of a bigger whole. It's a prelude to the Mellon Collie album as a collective work. The passing of time is a key theme throughout MCIS, and I think "Tonight, Tonight" is the explaination of that. It's sort of the band's way (well... Billy's way) of saying "This is where we are, this is what we feel, and this is what tonight is about". They "crucify the insincere" through Zero, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, An Ode, etc.. In other songs, Corgan "make[s] things right" with personal messages about his childhood and relationships. And finally, he "finds a way to offer up the night" in the twilight of the album, the closing tracks of the second disc. The "indescribable moments" are simple the feelings conveyed by the music.
Ain't that a nice interpertation? :)
awesome song. the night that i found out that my now ex was already with another guy, i drove up to my church around 10pm and i was listening to this song. i couldn't help but cry. the orchestral parts of the song are phenomenal and i totally love it. i just wish that she would have believed in me as i believed in her..thanks.
b
thanks for sharing zipped<br /> <br /> For years I thought the last line said "Believe in me as I'm leaving you, tonight"<br /> <br /> It made it very sad to me, and kind of confirms your sense of it<br /> <br /> I hope you got over it okay<br />
yes it is a great song and all but there is real meaning and incredible history behind this song. The film playing in the background is one of the first films, by George M`elies from Paris. It is called A trip to the moon. He took cinema to what they considered a new level of sophistication. George Melies was the first film maker to realize he could put dreams on film, rather than reality. However when WWI came the soldiers had seen, well, horrible reality, and the film maker could not change with their taste so he gave up on himself and stopped making films even though they had been of the utmost inspiration and progress. This song is about pushing through and persevering, to believe in yourself and bring all your new ideas into this hectic world...." though you know your never sure, but your sure you could be right, if you held yourself up to the light... believe in me as i believe in you....tonight.....the impossible is possible tonight..."
@zipped6648 bro, same situation :( stay strong bro
@zipped6648 just realized i replied to a post from thirteen years ago, wow.
@zipped6648 i know this was 17 years ago, but wanna go key her car? i’m down.
Maybe I get this sense because of personal reasons, but this was me and my gf's song. We listened to it all the time. A few months ago she told me she didn't love me and felt like we didn't have a connection. I found out from her friends she hadn't been in love with me for a while and that she'd pretended cause she didn't have the guts to tell me. I think the song is about something like that. When someone you love so much takes a piece of you and you're never the same, and you and her are suddenly different. You just want her to believe in you as you believe in her tonight, but maybe it's more general because any broken relationship takes a piece of you. Tonight.
@Niradiopumpkins idk if you’ll see this but you’re story is very similar to my brothers. Him and his gf loved this band. He then got very sick and they broke up. You also right very similarly to my brother. Kind of eerie to me.
@Niradiopumpkins idk if you’ll see this but you’re story is very similar to my brothers. Him and his gf loved this band. He then got very sick and they broke up. You also right very similarly to my brother. Kind of eerie to me.
remindes me of having the greatest night in your life
Totally.
Yes, this is a great song and all but there is real history behind it.. About a man named George Melies from Paris. He was the creator of one of the first films called, A Trip to the Moon, this film is the film that plays in the music video. Melies was a pioneer of cinema, the first man to realize you could put your dreams into film, as many have said, he took cinema to what they considered in 1902, a new level of sophistication. However after WWI had came the taste of the people had change, but he had not changed with it, no one was interested in his films of dreams anymore. He no longer believed in himself, so him and his wife sold the films and tried to forget. But this man changed the world of cinema, and look how cinema has changed our lives today, how much our lives revolve around it; yet the man lost his belief in himself, something no one ever should......"And you know you're never sure<br /> But you're sure you could be right<br /> If you held yourself up to the light"......<br /> <br /> "Tonight<br /> The impossible is possible<br /> Tonight<br /> Believe in me as I believe in you<br /> Tonight".............. Amazing what makes it so far into the future isn't it...
Hugo much?
hmf, well I just say the video is brilliant, the song is brilliant, Billy is brilliant.
this song is AMAZING i think it's saying that u shouldn't be afraid to give in to love and that u should trust ur partner's love completely and love him back and all that good stuff. this video is so freaking cool too! i want to meet billy!
Great Song...period
"city by the lake"= chicago, i'm pretty sure. i lovelovelove this song and this band. love.
this song is AMAZING i think it's saying that u shouldn't be afraid to give in to love and that u should trust ur partner's love completely and love him back and all that good stuff. this video is so freaking cool too! i want to meet billy!