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."
REDMAN REDMAN
YUH AFI FIGHT FI YUH LAN
JUS LIKE DE DAYS OF OLD
YOU'LL HAVE TO BE COLD AND BOLD
dont let the witeman tongue fool u
dont let his paper cool u
with tricks and lies he stole the land
refuse and resist the witeman plan
stand on big mountain its your ancestors earth
land is power without it life has no worth
stand on big mountain you'll have to be strong
good must over come the struggle is long
he came to turtle island with fire water in hand
gave it to the redman
then stole his land
gave us a image of indians so wild
the image we got on the screen as a child
who is to blame who is to blame
i say the image of john wayne
dont let the witeman tongue fool u
dont let his paper cool u
dont let his fire water get u down
stand up and fight for your piece of ground
stand on big mountain its your ancestors earth
land is power without it life has no worth
stand on big mountain you'll have to be strong
good must over come the struggle is long
in afrika and asia he went to civilize nations
yet in the land of liberty and justice he has reservation
on the big screen he played his silly game
usin the image of john wayne
robbin and rapin he stole the land
refuse ahd resist the witeman plan
dont let the witeman tongue fool u
dont let his papers cool u
dont let the ancestors die in vain
u have nothin to loose much to gain
stand on big mountain its your ancestors earth
land is power without it life has no worth
stand on big mountain you'll have to be strong
good must over come the struggle is long
YUH AFI FIGHT FI YUH LAN
JUS LIKE DE DAYS OF OLD
YOU'LL HAVE TO BE COLD AND BOLD
dont let the witeman tongue fool u
dont let his paper cool u
with tricks and lies he stole the land
refuse and resist the witeman plan
stand on big mountain its your ancestors earth
land is power without it life has no worth
stand on big mountain you'll have to be strong
good must over come the struggle is long
he came to turtle island with fire water in hand
gave it to the redman
then stole his land
gave us a image of indians so wild
the image we got on the screen as a child
who is to blame who is to blame
i say the image of john wayne
dont let the witeman tongue fool u
dont let his paper cool u
dont let his fire water get u down
stand up and fight for your piece of ground
stand on big mountain its your ancestors earth
land is power without it life has no worth
stand on big mountain you'll have to be strong
good must over come the struggle is long
in afrika and asia he went to civilize nations
yet in the land of liberty and justice he has reservation
on the big screen he played his silly game
usin the image of john wayne
robbin and rapin he stole the land
refuse ahd resist the witeman plan
dont let the witeman tongue fool u
dont let his papers cool u
dont let the ancestors die in vain
u have nothin to loose much to gain
stand on big mountain its your ancestors earth
land is power without it life has no worth
stand on big mountain you'll have to be strong
good must over come the struggle is long
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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,
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.
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.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.