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."
She took the Oldsmobile out past Condor Avenue
And she locked the car and slipped past
Into rhythmic quietude
Lights burning
Voice dry and hoarse
I threw the screen door like a bastard back and forth
The chimes fell over each other
I fell onto my knees
The sound of the car driving off made me feel diseased
A sick shouting like you hear at the fairground
Now I'm picking up to put away anything of yours that's still around
I don't know what to do with your clothes or your letters
It'll make a whisper out of you
She took the Oldsmobile out past Condor Avenue
The fairground's lit
A drunk man sits by the gate she's driving through
Got his hat tipped bottle back in between his teeth
Looks like he's buried in the sand at the beach
I can't think about you driving off to leave barely awake
To take a little nap while the road is straight
I wish that car had never been discovered
They took away the bottle and the hat he was under
That's the one thing that he could never do
And it'll make a whisper out of you
She took the Oldsmobile out past Condor Avenue
Cops were running around the scene
Looking for some kind of clue
They never get uptight when a moth gets crushed
Unless a light bulb really loved him very much
I'm lying down
Blowing smoke from my cigarette
Little whisper smoke signs that you'll never get
You're in your Oldsmobile driving by the moon
Headlights burning bright ahead of you
And someone's burning out, out on Condor Avenue
Trying to make a whisper out of you
What a shitty thing to say
Did you really mean it?
You never said a word to me about what passed between us
So now I'm leaving you alone
You can do whatever the hell you want to
Na, na, na, na, na, na
And she locked the car and slipped past
Into rhythmic quietude
Lights burning
Voice dry and hoarse
I threw the screen door like a bastard back and forth
The chimes fell over each other
I fell onto my knees
The sound of the car driving off made me feel diseased
A sick shouting like you hear at the fairground
Now I'm picking up to put away anything of yours that's still around
I don't know what to do with your clothes or your letters
It'll make a whisper out of you
She took the Oldsmobile out past Condor Avenue
The fairground's lit
A drunk man sits by the gate she's driving through
Got his hat tipped bottle back in between his teeth
Looks like he's buried in the sand at the beach
I can't think about you driving off to leave barely awake
To take a little nap while the road is straight
I wish that car had never been discovered
They took away the bottle and the hat he was under
That's the one thing that he could never do
And it'll make a whisper out of you
She took the Oldsmobile out past Condor Avenue
Cops were running around the scene
Looking for some kind of clue
They never get uptight when a moth gets crushed
Unless a light bulb really loved him very much
I'm lying down
Blowing smoke from my cigarette
Little whisper smoke signs that you'll never get
You're in your Oldsmobile driving by the moon
Headlights burning bright ahead of you
And someone's burning out, out on Condor Avenue
Trying to make a whisper out of you
What a shitty thing to say
Did you really mean it?
You never said a word to me about what passed between us
So now I'm leaving you alone
You can do whatever the hell you want to
Na, na, na, na, na, na
Lyrics submitted by EnjOy IncUbus, edited by Jate
Condor Ave. Lyrics as written by Steven Paul Smith
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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These are some of my favorite lyrics I've ever heard.
The story, I guess, is that that he had a huge fight with his girlfriend about something stupid and petty, and she drove away upset, crashed her car and died.
This is real poetry. It's beautiful.