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."
I heard a place not too far from here
Is handing out answers
About why we are here
And it's a small town in a small world
And the congregation's small too
But somehow I think they're telling the truth
And in the same small town there is a girl
She's a good looker but she's mad at the world
And she's wondering about tomorrow and why she's here
She's sick and tired of using her sleeve to wipe her tears
And oh oh,
You can tell by the look that's in her eyes
She's not that well
She's wishin' someone would close their eyes
And picture this for just a moment to their selves
And oh, at least that's what they say
At least that's what they
that's what they say
that's what they say
At least that's what's they say
She sits alone
She's a re-run queen
The sun shines through her window
Enough to make out her figurine
The neighbors look at her strange
'cause she's lived there her whole life
And they still don't know her name
She likes to keep to herself
'cause she can't find nobody else
And you can tell by the look that's in her eyes
She's not that well
She's wishing someone would close their eyes
And picture this for just a moment to their selves
And at least that's what they say, yeah
At least that's what they
That's what they say
That's what they say
And at least that's what they say,
Yeah, yeah
[Repeat: x4]
What they say
And I don't care
[Repeat: x4]
What they say
And I don't care
[Repeat: x4]
What they say
And I don't care
No
She wanders through the town
To find this place she's heard about
Thinking maybe they can figure out what's wrong, oh
They greet her with a smile
Saying they've been waitin' quite some while
Just to let her know she's worth more than she's ever dreamed of
And her heart opens wide
And for the first time in her life
She feels the touch of Jesus deep inside, oh
she wonders what went wrong
In a town where nothing's going on
And thinks of all the others that she knows
[Repeat: x9]
And she's sad
[Repeat: x7]
Want to leave out her name
[Repeat: x7]
No
She wanders through the town
To find this place she's heard about
Thinking maybe they can figure out what's wrong
They greet her with a smile
Sayin' they've been waitin' quite some while
Just to let her know she's worth more than she's ever dreamed of
Is handing out answers
About why we are here
And it's a small town in a small world
And the congregation's small too
But somehow I think they're telling the truth
And in the same small town there is a girl
She's a good looker but she's mad at the world
And she's wondering about tomorrow and why she's here
She's sick and tired of using her sleeve to wipe her tears
And oh oh,
You can tell by the look that's in her eyes
She's not that well
She's wishin' someone would close their eyes
And picture this for just a moment to their selves
And oh, at least that's what they say
At least that's what they
that's what they say
that's what they say
At least that's what's they say
She sits alone
She's a re-run queen
The sun shines through her window
Enough to make out her figurine
The neighbors look at her strange
'cause she's lived there her whole life
And they still don't know her name
She likes to keep to herself
'cause she can't find nobody else
And you can tell by the look that's in her eyes
She's not that well
She's wishing someone would close their eyes
And picture this for just a moment to their selves
And at least that's what they say, yeah
At least that's what they
That's what they say
That's what they say
And at least that's what they say,
Yeah, yeah
[Repeat: x4]
What they say
And I don't care
[Repeat: x4]
What they say
And I don't care
[Repeat: x4]
What they say
And I don't care
No
She wanders through the town
To find this place she's heard about
Thinking maybe they can figure out what's wrong, oh
They greet her with a smile
Saying they've been waitin' quite some while
Just to let her know she's worth more than she's ever dreamed of
And her heart opens wide
And for the first time in her life
She feels the touch of Jesus deep inside, oh
she wonders what went wrong
In a town where nothing's going on
And thinks of all the others that she knows
[Repeat: x9]
And she's sad
[Repeat: x7]
Want to leave out her name
[Repeat: x7]
No
She wanders through the town
To find this place she's heard about
Thinking maybe they can figure out what's wrong
They greet her with a smile
Sayin' they've been waitin' quite some while
Just to let her know she's worth more than she's ever dreamed of
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I've never actually heard this song (there goes my credibility:)), but when I read that line I thought she would be talking about Jesus to everyone she knew. I also thought of the verse: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved" [Romans 10:9]