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."
Dum, dum, dum, honey what have you done
Dum, dum, dum, it's the sound of my gun
Dum, dum, dum, honey what have you done
Dum, dum, dum, it's the sound, it's the sound...
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah....
Janie got a gun
Janie got a gun
Her whole world's come undone
From lookin' straight at the sun
What did her daddy do
What did he a put you through
They say when Janie was arrested
They found him underneath the train
But man, he had it comin'
Now that Janie's got a gun
She ain't never gonna be the same
Janie got a gun
Janie got a gun
Her dog day's just begun
Now everybody is on the run
Tell me now it's untrue
What did her daddy do
He jacked the little bitty baby
The man has got to be insane...yeah
They say the spell that he was under
The lightnin' and the thunder
Knew that someone had to stop the reign
Run away, run away from the pain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Run away, run away from the pain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Run away, run away, run, run away...wooh
Janie's got a gun
Janie's got a gun
Her dog day's just begun
Now everybody is on the run
What did her daddy do
It's Janie's last I.O.U.
She had to take him down easy
And put a bullet in his brain
She said 'cause nobody believes me
The man was such a sleaze
He ain't never gonna be the same
Run away, run away from the pain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Run away, run away, from the pain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Run away, run away, run, run away
Janie's got a gun
Janie got a gun
Janie's got a gun
Everybody is on the run
Janie got a gun
Her dog day's just begun
Now everybody is on the run (honey, honey what's your problem)
'Cause Janie got a gun (tell me it ain't right)
Janie got a gun (Was it daddy's cradle robbin')
Her dog day's just begun (that made you scream at night)
Everybody is on the run
Janie got a gun Janie got a gun
Her dog day has just begun
Everybody is on the run
Dum, dum, dum, it's the sound of my gun
Dum, dum, dum, honey what have you done
Dum, dum, dum, it's the sound, it's the sound...
Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah....
Janie got a gun
Janie got a gun
Her whole world's come undone
From lookin' straight at the sun
What did her daddy do
What did he a put you through
They say when Janie was arrested
They found him underneath the train
But man, he had it comin'
Now that Janie's got a gun
She ain't never gonna be the same
Janie got a gun
Janie got a gun
Her dog day's just begun
Now everybody is on the run
Tell me now it's untrue
What did her daddy do
He jacked the little bitty baby
The man has got to be insane...yeah
They say the spell that he was under
The lightnin' and the thunder
Knew that someone had to stop the reign
Run away, run away from the pain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Run away, run away from the pain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Run away, run away, run, run away...wooh
Janie's got a gun
Janie's got a gun
Her dog day's just begun
Now everybody is on the run
What did her daddy do
It's Janie's last I.O.U.
She had to take him down easy
And put a bullet in his brain
She said 'cause nobody believes me
The man was such a sleaze
He ain't never gonna be the same
Run away, run away from the pain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Run away, run away, from the pain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Run away, run away, run, run away
Janie's got a gun
Janie got a gun
Janie's got a gun
Everybody is on the run
Janie got a gun
Her dog day's just begun
Now everybody is on the run (honey, honey what's your problem)
'Cause Janie got a gun (tell me it ain't right)
Janie got a gun (Was it daddy's cradle robbin')
Her dog day's just begun (that made you scream at night)
Everybody is on the run
Janie got a gun Janie got a gun
Her dog day has just begun
Everybody is on the run
Lyrics submitted by oofus
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Mountain Song
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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/
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While the obvious connections with suicide or alcoholism could be drawn easily, more subtly this song could be about someone who views the world through a negative lens constantly and how as much as the writer tries to show the beauty in the world, this person refuses to see it. It's one or another between the rope and the bottle. There is no good option for this person. They can't see it. Skiba sings it in a kind of exasperated way like He's tired of hearing this negative view constantly and just allowing that person to continue feeling the way they feel knowing he can't do anything about it. You can hear it when he says maybe you're a vampire.
Somewhere Only We Know
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Keane
Per the FAQ on Keane's website, Keane's drummer Richard Hughes, stated the following:
"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."
With the nostalgic sentiment and the overall tone of the song, I think Keane is attempting to express a Portuguese term known as 'saudade', which does not have a direct English translation but roughly means "that which we remember because it is gone."
Indigo
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Of Mice & Men
This track is about is about questioning why the sky would choose to be blue if it had the choice to be anything else, “blue also meaning sad,” states frontman Aaron Pauley. “It's about comforting a loved one in a time of loss by telling them you feel blue, too.”
I would like to add that this song is not only about child abuse, molestation and gun control- it's about the fact no one believes Janie and thinks she's crazy. Can no one else see how traumatic and destructive that would be to Janie? She would be an absolute wreck. And i agree- no one should joke about these things. It's just not appropriate.
so the song is about you wildflower? tell me: how does it feel to be raped by your own father then blow his brains out with a .357 magum?
@turtonhot Actually, She had the big Colt Python downloaded with .38 special round nose leads bullets. Standard velocity as well.
I think this song is about how "monsters create monsters".
The song is obviously about rape, incest, and a child abuse, but it also goes into the future affects that such abuse can cause. The repeated line "everybody is on the run" means to me that her father isn't the only target, because she has "snapped", and is now after everyone because noone believed her.
this song was very touching, the message was very clear the poor girl had an asshole of a father. and was getting raped very often.i'd kill the basterd too!.
I agree about the content of the song. Rape changes people, especially children. Due to a court order decades ago, I once had to help send an 18 month old baby back to the home where he had been abused by the mother's boyfriend. Within a few weeks the baby was back in our shelter after having been molested/raped by his maternal grandparents (both of them). I don't condone killing, but life in prison would be appropriate. I often wonder, though, what creates a rapist. At one stage in his/her life he was an innocent, precious child. Someone wrote on his/her slate to help create the monster within him. It's very sad.
no i wouldnt take it, but i was slightly cynically amused by wildflower's claim that it was about her...listening to the song paints a rather negative picture - considering it is about child abuse and the consequences of it. And how the hell am I harsh? I sincerely doubt that wildflower can relate to any of the (fictional) events portrayed in this song, although I do wholeheartedly apologise for my seriously derogatory comments if this happens to be the case...
poor janie...it's not my fav song however i think it got's an important message to ppl like...maybe ppl should listen more to each other so that some things can be avoidable. no?
This song is about a girl being sexually abused by her father and eventually killing him.
I don't know if it's true, but I heard that this song was written by Steven Tyler in response to many survivors' groups getting angry at the video for the song Ragdoll.
Seems like it's not entirely anti-gun here though. I mean, the gun did stop her from being abused.
A bit overplayed on the radio, but great nonetheless. It definitely is about child abuse, rape, but that's only the half of it. It's also about society pretending it doesn't happen, or feeling awkward about the situation, and then it blows up in their face. You hear in the news about some kid who kills his/her parents, and you don't know if the kid is a monster, or it was a 'Janie' situation. This is the kid's point of view, and now Janie is scared and running, and doesn't know who to turn to.
great song that as you can see by the video is about a absuive man even thou it has a strong message its a amazing song