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."
Bought myself a new look
Something gave me another chance to see
Each time, each time, I will try to do better
By now, by now, is where I guess I belong
Pull my fist from my mouth
I beat myself for a quarter century
Remind, remind
That it's bigger than me
Dissolve, dissolve
Into evergreens
These are things that I keep hidden in belly
I can't see them but they control my life
For a moment you could see right through me
See right through me
Help me make this right
Look at all those skeletons running from their closets
Get them in the light
These are things that I keep hidden in belly
I can't see them but they control my life
For a moment you could see right through me
See right through me
Help me make this right
Look at all those skeletons running from their closets
Get them in the light
Get them in the light
You can take it in stride
Or you can take it right between the eyes
Suck up, suck up
And take your medicine
It's a good day, it's a good day
To face the hard things
Pull my fist from my mouth
I beat myself for a quarter century
Remind, remind
That it's bigger than me
Dissolve, dissolve
Into evergreens
We found
Beautiful babies
Sleeping in our ribs
Get them in the light
Get them in the light
Something gave me another chance to see
Each time, each time, I will try to do better
By now, by now, is where I guess I belong
Pull my fist from my mouth
I beat myself for a quarter century
Remind, remind
That it's bigger than me
Dissolve, dissolve
Into evergreens
These are things that I keep hidden in belly
I can't see them but they control my life
For a moment you could see right through me
See right through me
Help me make this right
Look at all those skeletons running from their closets
Get them in the light
These are things that I keep hidden in belly
I can't see them but they control my life
For a moment you could see right through me
See right through me
Help me make this right
Look at all those skeletons running from their closets
Get them in the light
Get them in the light
You can take it in stride
Or you can take it right between the eyes
Suck up, suck up
And take your medicine
It's a good day, it's a good day
To face the hard things
Pull my fist from my mouth
I beat myself for a quarter century
Remind, remind
That it's bigger than me
Dissolve, dissolve
Into evergreens
We found
Beautiful babies
Sleeping in our ribs
Get them in the light
Get them in the light
Lyrics submitted by aphid360
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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.
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.
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.
Zombie
Cranberries, The
Cranberries, The
"Zombie" is about the ethno-political conflict in Ireland. This is obvious if you know anything of the singer (Dolores O'Riordan)'s Irish heritage and understood the "1916" Easter Rising reference.
"Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And the violence caused such silence
Who are we mistaken
-
Another mother's breaking
Heart is taking over"
Laments the Warrington bomb attacks in which two children were fatally injured on March 23rd, 1993. Twelve year old Tim Parry was taken off life support with permission from his mother after five days in the hospital, virtually braindead.
"But you see it's not me
It's not my family"
References how people who are not directly involved with the violence feel about it. They are "zombies" without sympathy who refuse to take action while others suffer.
from an interview
"is not about antidepressants, but about the more general experience of facing the sources of one's depression and adjusting brain chemistry without medication: "Take Your Medicine" is literally about conjuring up the strength to face the ugly things in yourself that most of us prefer to deny exist. In the case of this song, taking one's medicine is not about popping a pharmaceutical but is more accurately about having the guts to do some not-so-fun inner psychological work. Scientific studies have shown you can alter your brain chemistry simply by choosing to practice thinking in a different way. In that sense, ‘taking your medicine' means having the discipline to break some bad mental habits and thereby changing your brain chemistry. Letting go of the inner monsters referenced in that song has helped me feel much better. But it wasn't an easy psychological process getting through that."
I view this song as more about depression, and how hiding it and beating yourself up about it isn't going to help overcome it.
yeah, craig minowa lost his child in 2002. nearly all of his music revolves around coping with his loss. this guy has a reason to be emo. absolutely love this band.
This song is about accepting and confronting awful things from your past. Forgiveness of others, and of yourself. Moving past guilt and self-pity, and acceptance that you can't control everything. The message is that until you confront your past, get the skeletons out of the closet and into the light you won't be able to move on.
I love the part towards the end of the song, before the last verse, when the song goes quiet and builds, with the competing lyrics "we found beautiful babies sleeping in our ribs" and "you can take it in stride or you can take it right between the eyes ..."
Such a beautiful musical representation of the message that until you face the hard things can you move on and find those "beautiful babies" within yourself. Listen to the live version that was released as a part of their documentary - it's amazing.
the whole album is fucking fantastic, with this as my favourite song. oh my, love it to pieces already.
this is such a good song. but it gets creepier and creepier every time i listen to it. it also reminds me of fetuses.
I disagree on the anti-abortion stance people are placing on the song.
I don't know much about the band's personal beliefs, but because of who recommended them to me, and my own personal beliefs, this is how I see it:
I'm relating everything to meditation practice and general Buddhist world-views ("now, is where I guess I belong" and "Remind, remind, that it's bigger than me")
"These are things that I keep hidden in belly, I can't see them but they control my life"
^It is often said that secrets and unacknowledged pain and suffering are held in are bellies as a hardness that causes us more confusion and suffering. We must soften, despite the difficulties of facing reality. v
"t's a good day, it's a good day To face the hard things"
Get your pain out of the dark, and meet your true self.
Yeah, I also have to disagree with the anti-abortion thing, depression seems like a much more clear interpretation.
Also Craig Minowa from what I know is quite the leftist, I'd be surprised to find out he isn't pro-choice. Though I could always be wrong.
leisure you got it. Also, if anything the baby lines refference the child the lead singer and celloist lost to SIDS I believe(don't quote me on that though). I saw this song as coping and trying to move on after that.
yeah i also read somewhere about the singer's loss of a child... and i think a lot of the new album is about that. and this song. obviously. since it's part of the album...