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."
Mr. law protector, me don't respect ya
Ya took to many innocent lives (still no surrender!)
It's all too familiar, license to kill ya
Seems we beat the rep every time (still no pretender!)
Mr. law protector, me don't respect ya
Ya took to many innocent lives (still no surrender!)
It's all too familiar, license to kill ya
Seems we beat the rep every time (still no pretender!)
Crooked officer(fuck the police!)
You wanna come get me, but I'ma keep runnin' cause prison ain't for me
You know me no surrender!
I can break you off, fo sho
You better off dead, cause me in a cell will never prevail
You know me no pretender!
Me runnin' and duckin', evadin' the law, since I can remember
Tryna get paid, sellin' my yay, from January to December
In a gizzard, through the blizzard, on a porch when, it's scorchin'
Only fuck with, familiar, when I'm stackin', my fortune
Mr. law protector, me don't respect ya
Ya took to many innocent lives (still no surrender!)
It's all too familiar, license to kill ya
Seems we beat the rep every time (still no pretender!)
Mr. law protector, me don't respect ya
Ya took to many innocent lives (still no surrender!)
It's all too familiar, license to kill ya
Seems we beat the rep every time (still no pretender!)
So don't trust the police
Down here, get killed fuckin with the police
No love, no trust, no respect for us
And we will not surrender to the police
Nah, they do us raw
Pull us over, jealous of cars
Lyin witness, they'll shoot niggaz up, leavin families scarred
Nigga fuck the police, they get, behind me
Then fuck the police, I got, what they need
I'm legal, don't give 'em that reason just to fuck with you!
They hate when they can't touch you! And never ever give info to em!
Mr. law protector, me don't respect ya
Ya took to many innocent lives (still no surrender!)
It's all too familiar, license to kill ya
Seems we beat the rep every time (still no pretender!)
Mr. law protector, me don't respect ya
Ya took to many innocent lives (still no surrender!)
It's all too familiar, license to kill ya
Seems we beat the rep every time (still no pretender!)
We got some issues with the po-po!
They keep on killin us, why ain't nobody seein this? I don't know!
Even niggaz are the victim of the street
The black cop! Black cop, black cop, black cop!
Just like every other day the po-po kill a man
Unjustice, but trust me, don't nobody give a damn
So whatcha gonna do when they try to do you?
Would you pop-pop-pop-pop, pop, or let them shoot you?
Mr. law protector, me don't respect ya
Ya took to many innocent lives (still no surrender!)
It's all too familiar, license to kill ya
Seems we beat the rep every time (still no pretender!)
Mr. law protector, me don't respect ya
Ya took to many innocent lives (still no surrender!)
It's all too familiar, license to kill ya
Seems we beat the rep every time (still no pretender!)
Ya took to many innocent lives (still no surrender!)
It's all too familiar, license to kill ya
Seems we beat the rep every time (still no pretender!)
Mr. law protector, me don't respect ya
Ya took to many innocent lives (still no surrender!)
It's all too familiar, license to kill ya
Seems we beat the rep every time (still no pretender!)
Crooked officer(fuck the police!)
You wanna come get me, but I'ma keep runnin' cause prison ain't for me
You know me no surrender!
I can break you off, fo sho
You better off dead, cause me in a cell will never prevail
You know me no pretender!
Me runnin' and duckin', evadin' the law, since I can remember
Tryna get paid, sellin' my yay, from January to December
In a gizzard, through the blizzard, on a porch when, it's scorchin'
Only fuck with, familiar, when I'm stackin', my fortune
Mr. law protector, me don't respect ya
Ya took to many innocent lives (still no surrender!)
It's all too familiar, license to kill ya
Seems we beat the rep every time (still no pretender!)
Mr. law protector, me don't respect ya
Ya took to many innocent lives (still no surrender!)
It's all too familiar, license to kill ya
Seems we beat the rep every time (still no pretender!)
So don't trust the police
Down here, get killed fuckin with the police
No love, no trust, no respect for us
And we will not surrender to the police
Nah, they do us raw
Pull us over, jealous of cars
Lyin witness, they'll shoot niggaz up, leavin families scarred
Nigga fuck the police, they get, behind me
Then fuck the police, I got, what they need
I'm legal, don't give 'em that reason just to fuck with you!
They hate when they can't touch you! And never ever give info to em!
Mr. law protector, me don't respect ya
Ya took to many innocent lives (still no surrender!)
It's all too familiar, license to kill ya
Seems we beat the rep every time (still no pretender!)
Mr. law protector, me don't respect ya
Ya took to many innocent lives (still no surrender!)
It's all too familiar, license to kill ya
Seems we beat the rep every time (still no pretender!)
We got some issues with the po-po!
They keep on killin us, why ain't nobody seein this? I don't know!
Even niggaz are the victim of the street
The black cop! Black cop, black cop, black cop!
Just like every other day the po-po kill a man
Unjustice, but trust me, don't nobody give a damn
So whatcha gonna do when they try to do you?
Would you pop-pop-pop-pop, pop, or let them shoot you?
Mr. law protector, me don't respect ya
Ya took to many innocent lives (still no surrender!)
It's all too familiar, license to kill ya
Seems we beat the rep every time (still no pretender!)
Mr. law protector, me don't respect ya
Ya took to many innocent lives (still no surrender!)
It's all too familiar, license to kill ya
Seems we beat the rep every time (still no pretender!)
Lyrics submitted by DallasLeigh
Still No Surrender Lyrics as written by Anthony Henderson Adam M. Gibbs
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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,
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
This song is about Bone killing some pigs and then going to their funerals and shooting them up. Great concept and great song.
Straight ass forward: I'm doing my thing to survive, slanging my drugs on the street and running that game, and the po-po are fucking with me, so I'm going to do what I got to do to to stay alive, even if that includes killing some cops, "turning them blue suits red."
Not really a family song, but the flow is monumental.
I can't believe I overlooked this song when I first heard their album. Lyrically, it's not bad, but the music is definitive hardcore rap. 1994 was probably my favorite year for rap music and this album - or this song alone is just a good example of that.
This is the song that got me into Bone Thugs back in high school, I found the cd on the ground and this was the only track that played properly on it cause it was so scratched up. I didn't really like rap back then besides Eminem, but I liked this song right away.