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."
God of man
W. seth
A priest walks by and see's
a man lying on the floor with
his beggers hands, he ask the begger
son of my get off your feet now come on
the beggar replies father of mine
can'y you see that I'm the one in need
I'm down on my knees begging you
please let me die here alone come on
come on
(chours)
come on x4
the father replies son of mine get up
from the floor I'm here to save you
i was sent from the lord,
son don't leave me down come on
come on
the beggar replies father please
don't you see I'm the one in need
i needed you now like i need him then
but no one came to my aid
come on x4
(chorus)
The bugger gets up and grabss the father
who's the one who will save you know
diven by anger diven by hate he tells the father
time to die invin
cuz
I'm the God of man x4
birge
the beggar gets up and see the father
lieing dead on the ground, he looks
up at the sky and wounders why
must he die alone for what he's done
W. seth
A priest walks by and see's
a man lying on the floor with
his beggers hands, he ask the begger
son of my get off your feet now come on
the beggar replies father of mine
can'y you see that I'm the one in need
I'm down on my knees begging you
please let me die here alone come on
come on
(chours)
come on x4
the father replies son of mine get up
from the floor I'm here to save you
i was sent from the lord,
son don't leave me down come on
come on
the beggar replies father please
don't you see I'm the one in need
i needed you now like i need him then
but no one came to my aid
come on x4
(chorus)
The bugger gets up and grabss the father
who's the one who will save you know
diven by anger diven by hate he tells the father
time to die invin
cuz
I'm the God of man x4
birge
the beggar gets up and see the father
lieing dead on the ground, he looks
up at the sky and wounders why
must he die alone for what he's done
Lyrics submitted by Seth
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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,

Midnight
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms.
“Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.

Trouble Breathing
Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio
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.

Sunglasses at Night
Corey Hart
Corey Hart
In the 1980s, sunglasses were a common fashion for people who wanted to adopt a "tough guy" persona (note all the cop shows from that era -- Simon & Simon, Miami Vice, etc. -- where the lead characters wore shades). So I think this song is about a guy who wears shades as a way of hiding his insecurity after learning that his girlfriend is cheating on him. He's trying to pretend that he's a "tough guy" to hide the fact that his girlfriend's affair is disturbing him.