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."
He hit me
And it felt like a kiss
He hit me
But it didn't hurt me
He couldn't stand to hear me say
That I'd been with someone new,
And when I told him I had been untrue
He hit me
And it felt like a kiss
He hit me
And I knew he loved me
If he didn't care for me
I could have never made him mad
But he hit me,
And I was glad
Yes, he hit me
And it felt like a kiss
He hit me
And I knew I loved him
And then he took me in his arms
With all the tenderness there is,
And when he kissed me,
He made me his
And it felt like a kiss
He hit me
But it didn't hurt me
He couldn't stand to hear me say
That I'd been with someone new,
And when I told him I had been untrue
He hit me
And it felt like a kiss
He hit me
And I knew he loved me
If he didn't care for me
I could have never made him mad
But he hit me,
And I was glad
Yes, he hit me
And it felt like a kiss
He hit me
And I knew I loved him
And then he took me in his arms
With all the tenderness there is,
And when he kissed me,
He made me his
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Mountain Song
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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.
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.
This song was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King after they discovered that a singer called Little Eva was regularly beaten by her boyfriend. They asked why she took it and she replied that his attacks showed that he loved her. It's an amazing song, but so very haunting.
@Prisoner.I.Was Carole has also said she wishes she had not put the music to it and her and Gerry misunderstood that this was violence against women, it was not discussed as it is today.
Wtf. xD
true, prisoner. also, that spector withdrew it because of the violence against women -- imagine the storm it would have gotten ten years later. Either Darlene Love or La la Brooks sang the lead.
This songs about looking at someones motivations behind their actions... Yeah it is messed up but I know exactly what it means. If the guy in the relationship hits her, its because hes angry about something, which means that he had to care about something to begin with to hit her in the first place, his violence - however negative it is and wrong - is a passionate action of how much he loves her and cares for her. for such a strong emotion to be evoked in a man to the point where he lashes out on her.. well he must feel strongly for her.
You're right that it's a passionate action, and that he's feeling strong emotion. But caring about "something" and caring about her are very different things. It sounds like he cares about having her as his possession; about having control over her; not about her well-being or her feelings. And if all her experience of love and relationships is abusive, then that might feel like love and caring for her-- but it's very different from having someone care about her happiness and safety.
A song of its era sort of. I think it influence young women's thinking, it influenced mine and not in a good way. No matter a woman's state of mind, it is not love if she is covered in bruises. The Crystals did not want to record this song which was produced by the notorious Phil Spector who did not get how iffy it was..it caused lot of negative comment when released. In the end it did not promote it much.