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."
Gold Coast slave ship bound for cotton fields
Sold in the market down in New Orleans
Skydog slaver knows he's doin' all right
Hear him whip the women just around midnight
Brown sugar, how come you taste so good?
Brown sugar, just like a young girl should
Drums beatin' cold, English blood runs hot
Lady of the house wonderin' when it's gonna stop
House boy knows that he's doin' all right
You should have heard him just around midnight
Brown sugar, how come you taste so good, now?
Brown sugar, just like a young girl should (yeah)
Brown sugar, how come you dance so good, babe?
Brown sugar, just like a black girl should, yeah
And I bet your mama was a tent show queen
And all her boyfriends were sweet sixteen
I'm no school boy but I know what I like
You should have heard them just around midnight
Brown sugar, how come you taste so good, baby?
Brown sugar, just like a young girl should, yeah
I said, yeah, yeah, yeah, woo
How come you, how come you dance so good?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, woo
Just like a, just like a black girl should
Yeah, yeah, yeah, woo
Sold in the market down in New Orleans
Skydog slaver knows he's doin' all right
Hear him whip the women just around midnight
Brown sugar, how come you taste so good?
Brown sugar, just like a young girl should
Drums beatin' cold, English blood runs hot
Lady of the house wonderin' when it's gonna stop
House boy knows that he's doin' all right
You should have heard him just around midnight
Brown sugar, how come you taste so good, now?
Brown sugar, just like a young girl should (yeah)
Brown sugar, how come you dance so good, babe?
Brown sugar, just like a black girl should, yeah
And I bet your mama was a tent show queen
And all her boyfriends were sweet sixteen
I'm no school boy but I know what I like
You should have heard them just around midnight
Brown sugar, how come you taste so good, baby?
Brown sugar, just like a young girl should, yeah
I said, yeah, yeah, yeah, woo
How come you, how come you dance so good?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, woo
Just like a, just like a black girl should
Yeah, yeah, yeah, woo
Lyrics submitted by oofus, edited by Swan.fred@hmail.com, Cmananator, force263
Brown Sugar Lyrics as written by Mick Jagger Keith Richards
Lyrics © Abkco Music Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
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,
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
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.
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.
Man, you guys are dense!
“Gold coast Slave ship”, “Market down in New Orleans”, “Scarred Slave trader is doing all right, you can hear him whip the women, just around midnight”.
Aint it pretty obvious.
Probably the Stones most controversial song. Especially for release in America.
It’s about the practice of slave-rape, that happened a lot in the deep south in America, right up until the 1960s.
Basically, white slave owners, who raped the young black women they owned.
The first verse refers to a slave owner raping/abusing a young black women he owns.
The second verse refers to the white house boy, in an English stately home, getting his sexual gratification from the slaves.
The last verse is Jagger himself saying, he’s no saint himself, and gets the same gratification from black women, as a white man. Of course, in loving relationships, but as I said, it’s a very very controversial song.
Basically about white men’s terrible history with black women
I think this is the most accurate description.<br /> <br /> I'd like to add that the lines "how come you taste so good" refers to cunnilingus and "just like a young girl should" refers to underage sex.
@ceej1979 what about the history of black on white crime that's rampant? Blacks owned slaves too why didn't you mention that? We didn't start slave trade but we ended it with countless 'white men and boys dying' because of it. And Lincoln was WHITE too. Either you have white guilt or you're a black holding on to victimhood status despite us voting for a black Muslim hating American TWICE
@ceej1979 Slave rape happened up until 1960? We didn't have slaves after 1865.