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."
High in the sky, I see you falling
Why do you think that I will catch you?
Past the clouds a burning fire
Hear it sing like a choir
You gave much more than you should have
My first words are your last rites
Deep within my vacant mind
Sits the thought,
"Maybe there is hope..."
Rays of light pour from my eyes and
Baptize all that lay beneath me
Everything that I have gained is
Nothing next to all I've lost
I surrender to the blackness
Hoping, praying for acceptance
Deep within my vacant mind
Sits the thought,
"Maybe there is hope..."
No sins, yet forsaken
When will I awaken...
This truth I won't swallow:
I have become hollow
I'll wait for tomorrow
Where there is no sorrow
I see a light in the darkness
I weep as that light goes out
Neverending pain
Driving me insane
No more, I can't take it
Silent cries
Bloodshot eyes
I'll defy you til I fall
Final living breath
Welcomed into death
Mercy please, I'll beg for mercy
Now alone
On my own
All I wanted was salvation
Lost and staring at the ground I
Realize: "I am nothing"
Tears are streaming down my face and
Seeping deep into my wounds
I am beaten, I am battered
Dripping blood, my wings are tattered
Broken, I fall to my knees and
Cry to the sky,
"Heaven, take me home"
Why do you think that I will catch you?
Past the clouds a burning fire
Hear it sing like a choir
You gave much more than you should have
My first words are your last rites
Deep within my vacant mind
Sits the thought,
"Maybe there is hope..."
Rays of light pour from my eyes and
Baptize all that lay beneath me
Everything that I have gained is
Nothing next to all I've lost
I surrender to the blackness
Hoping, praying for acceptance
Deep within my vacant mind
Sits the thought,
"Maybe there is hope..."
No sins, yet forsaken
When will I awaken...
This truth I won't swallow:
I have become hollow
I'll wait for tomorrow
Where there is no sorrow
I see a light in the darkness
I weep as that light goes out
Neverending pain
Driving me insane
No more, I can't take it
Silent cries
Bloodshot eyes
I'll defy you til I fall
Final living breath
Welcomed into death
Mercy please, I'll beg for mercy
Now alone
On my own
All I wanted was salvation
Lost and staring at the ground I
Realize: "I am nothing"
Tears are streaming down my face and
Seeping deep into my wounds
I am beaten, I am battered
Dripping blood, my wings are tattered
Broken, I fall to my knees and
Cry to the sky,
"Heaven, take me home"
Lyrics submitted by EmoRiots
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More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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.
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.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
This song is actually about absolutely nothing. I was listening to a radio interview with Mark Ward, lead singer of Divinty, and he said most people think this is about Jesus or a fallen angel, but he actually wrote it after he dropped a watermelon in a supermarket.