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."
Farewell Angelina
The bells of the crown
Are being stolen by bandits
I must follow the sound
The triangle tingles
And the trumpet play slow
Farewell Angelina
The sky is on fire
And I must go
There's no need for anger
There's no need for blame
There's nothing to prove
Everything's still the same
Just a table standing empty
By the edge of the sea
Farewell Angelina
The sky is trembling
And I must leave
The jacks and queens
Have forsaken the courtyard
Fifty-two gypsies
Now file past the guards
In the space where the deuce
And the ace once ran wild
Farewell Angelina
The sky is folding
I'll see you in a while
See the cross-eyed pirates sitting
Perched in the sun
Shooting tin cans
With a sawed-off shotgun
And the neighbors they clap
And they cheer with each blast
Farewell Angelina
The sky's changing color
And I must leave fast
King Kong, little elves
On the rooftops they dance
Valentino-type tangos
While the make-up man's hands
Shut the eyes of the dead
Not to embarrass anyone
Farewell Angelina
The sky is embarrassed
And I must be gone
The machine guns are roaring
The puppets heave rocks
The fiends nail time bombs
To the hands of the clocks
Call me any name you like
I will never deny it
Farewell Angelina
The sky is erupting
I must go where it's quiet
The bells of the crown
Are being stolen by bandits
I must follow the sound
The triangle tingles
And the trumpet play slow
Farewell Angelina
The sky is on fire
And I must go
There's no need for anger
There's no need for blame
There's nothing to prove
Everything's still the same
Just a table standing empty
By the edge of the sea
Farewell Angelina
The sky is trembling
And I must leave
The jacks and queens
Have forsaken the courtyard
Fifty-two gypsies
Now file past the guards
In the space where the deuce
And the ace once ran wild
Farewell Angelina
The sky is folding
I'll see you in a while
See the cross-eyed pirates sitting
Perched in the sun
Shooting tin cans
With a sawed-off shotgun
And the neighbors they clap
And they cheer with each blast
Farewell Angelina
The sky's changing color
And I must leave fast
King Kong, little elves
On the rooftops they dance
Valentino-type tangos
While the make-up man's hands
Shut the eyes of the dead
Not to embarrass anyone
Farewell Angelina
The sky is embarrassed
And I must be gone
The machine guns are roaring
The puppets heave rocks
The fiends nail time bombs
To the hands of the clocks
Call me any name you like
I will never deny it
Farewell Angelina
The sky is erupting
I must go where it's quiet
Lyrics submitted by typo, edited by nelliewilson
Farewell, Angelina Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
No Surprises
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
This is pretty clearly an anti-war/love song
"Farewell Angelina - He is leaving his lover The bells of the crown - The reason for war Are being stolen by bandits - Someone is in the wrong I must follow the sound - The sound is of a funeral march The triangle tingles - The sound is of a funeral march And the trumpet play slow -The sound is of a funeral march Farewell Angelina - The sound is of a funeral march The sky is on fire - The war is starting And I must go The war is starting
There's no need for anger -Let's enjoy our final time together There's no need for blame - The decision wasn't up to me There's nothing to prove - We know we love eachother Everything's still the same - We will always love eachother Just a table standing empty - Our future meteaphorical table is empty because I will die By the edge of the sea - He will be taking a ship to go over to fight the war and not be coming back Farewell Angelina - bye forever The sky is trembling - He is nervous to go to war And I must leave - But this is his duty
The jacks and queens -metaphor for politicians Have forsaken the courtyard - the are making the decisions Fifty-two gypsies - cards are a metaphor for gambling Now file past the guards - cards are a metaphor for gambling In the space where the deuce - they always gambled with lives And the ace once ran wild - they used to play this kind of poker Farewell Angelina - Bye forever The sky is folding - The sky folding could refer to god folding his hand on society. It is essentially some super natural power is being shock I'll see you in a while - In a while would refer to when she dies which is in reference to the supernatural above.
See the cross-eyed pirates sitting - People at home who are enjoying the war have a negative connation Perched in the sun - Basically to them the war is bliss Shooting tin cans - Barbaric activities fun at home With a sawed-off shotgun - Sawed off showing they are actually low class And the neighbors they clap - Everyone loves the idea of war And they cheer with each blast - People at home love war Farewell Angelina - He has to go The sky's changing color - A new somber mood And I must leave fast - He just left
King Kong, little elves - metaphor for battle. King Kong fights people On the rooftops they dance - King kong climbs roof, dancing is a metaphor for fighting Valentino-type tangos - Tango another danving metaphor for fighting While the make-up man's hands -hand to hand combat Shut the eyes of the dead - One of Dylan's best lyrics ever. He even wants to shut the eyes of the dead Not to embarrass anyone - because he feels the way they died is so emberrassing and such a waste Farewell Angelina - He is surely going to die but not yet The sky is embarrassed - God and everyone is emberrassed And I must be gone - After all this he knows he won't survive.
Let's add in the verse from the original
The camouflaged parrot, he flutters from fear -camouflage is a metaphor for someone in army gear. A parrot repeats what is told of them. Despite being parrots they are scared When something he doesn't know about suddenly appears - The parrot is the guy singing the song. Someone appears out of nowhere What cannot be imitated perfect must die - His training wasn't perfect and he will die here Farewell Angelina, the sky is flooding over and I must go where it is dry - Could be a reference to blood and getting out of the battle
The machine guns are roaring - battle continues The puppets heave rocks - puppets are the soldiers who follow orders they hurl grenades and bombs The fiends nail time bombs - Everyones life has a time limit on it To the hands of the clocks - Clock is in reference to when you die but could also be a tombstone which is dated Call me any name you like - His lover can say anything to him now I will never deny it - He can't defend himself because he is dead Farewell Angelina - Bye for now The sky is erupting - War is terrible I must go where it's quiet - Rest in Peace