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."
Slit my wrists, take away the pain
Slit my throat, everyone's to blame
Lost in the fields of confusion
Restless nights, they're not far away
I came here for something and I'm not turning back
A calm piece of mind but you still hold my keys
Keeping my fate deep within your threshold
Petty inconvenience but it means the world to me
You have the power
To set me free
Caught in your grasp, how?
Just let me be
Give me control out
Out of these depths
A fiery hell
I pray for death
I've been the wrong one time and time again
Now I'm on my knees forgive me please
Tore out my heart and handed to me on a silver platter
Sew up the hole, emptiness in the place of compassion
You made me this way
I am the product of your creation
Sew up the hole, and now, look the other way
Now you've turned your back on me
You've turned away from me
The future's much to far away to see
I hope you learn the truth
Not the way things were meant to be with me and you
Slit my throat, everyone's to blame
Lost in the fields of confusion
Restless nights, they're not far away
I came here for something and I'm not turning back
A calm piece of mind but you still hold my keys
Keeping my fate deep within your threshold
Petty inconvenience but it means the world to me
You have the power
To set me free
Caught in your grasp, how?
Just let me be
Give me control out
Out of these depths
A fiery hell
I pray for death
I've been the wrong one time and time again
Now I'm on my knees forgive me please
Tore out my heart and handed to me on a silver platter
Sew up the hole, emptiness in the place of compassion
You made me this way
I am the product of your creation
Sew up the hole, and now, look the other way
Now you've turned your back on me
You've turned away from me
The future's much to far away to see
I hope you learn the truth
Not the way things were meant to be with me and you
Lyrics submitted by chickndood
Turn the Other Way Lyrics as written by Matthew Sanders James Sullivan
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
When We Were Young
Blink-182
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
No Surprises
Radiohead
Radiohead
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.
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.
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.
okay the last comment upsets me because you don't see what they put into this song, sure its easy to critisize, and thats not what this is here for, so i am not going to dwell on this, the song is obviously about suicide. he is saying he has done everything for her, and loved her, she meant everything to him. and she did somthing to him, most likely just broke up with him and now that is just how he feels
@rehersingfate I been going through my feels and A7X has always help me along the way...and it think it points more out to the fact your parents to your first love all treated I'm not trying to sully the Revs good name just for this instance I grew up in a broken home and in those early important years I felt full with despair less than human utterly devoid of meaning allowed every miserable entity around to control the rate on witch I stay submerged to self loath in my darkness because they once have held they keys to my salvation but rather choose my abandonment to save their own hides...
This is the greatest metal band in the whole world and one of the greatest songs of theirs, dont know why i am the first one to write about it.... i guess people are lame... Avenged forever! hah, jk. They're just soooo amazing! (and i saw them in a recond store in Reno... hmmm... big time teehee)
@mourninghasbrokn I love A7X back in 07 I played an MMO called maplestory I named my character A7XtotheMax lol I was so unoriginal
despite the fact that they call themselves heavy fucking metal, they're more like metallic hardcore...but either way, yeah, Avenged Sevenfold are incredible. one of my favorite bands. words cannot express how truely awesome these guys are.
man this shits Krazy! it fucks with ya
this song is fucken amazing - one of my favorite on the cd and shows off m shadows amazing range of screaming as well as singing
This is one of there best songs off there album
it just frickin rules
I don't think it is about suicide I think the first 2 lines are just saying what the girl makes him feel like doing; it's really just about how this girl makes him feel.
"You have the power. To set me free. Caught in your grasp, how? Just let me be. "
That bits the best bit of the entire album
He is in an abusive relationship, and feels like the only way out is in her hands (unless he kills himself). He wants her to "turn the other way" and get out of his life. He blames her for the state he is in.
I only like from 3:51 on... the rest of the song is pretty much worthless to me.