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."
Happiness is just outside my window
Would it crash blowing 80-miles an hour?
Or is happiness a little more like knocking
On your door, and you just let it in?
Happiness feels a lot like sorrow
Let it be, you can?t make it come or go
But you are gone- not for good but for now
Gone for now feels a lot like gone for good
Happiness is a firecracker sitting on my headboard
Happiness was never mine to hold
Careful child, light the fuse and get away
Cause happiness throws a shower of sparks
Happiness damn near destroys you
Breaks your faith to pieces on the floor
So you tell yourself, that?s enough for now
Happiness has a violent roar
Happiness is like the old man told me
Look for it, but you?ll never find it all
Let it go, live your life and leave it
Then one day, wake up and she?ll be home
Home, home, home
Would it crash blowing 80-miles an hour?
Or is happiness a little more like knocking
On your door, and you just let it in?
Happiness feels a lot like sorrow
Let it be, you can?t make it come or go
But you are gone- not for good but for now
Gone for now feels a lot like gone for good
Happiness is a firecracker sitting on my headboard
Happiness was never mine to hold
Careful child, light the fuse and get away
Cause happiness throws a shower of sparks
Happiness damn near destroys you
Breaks your faith to pieces on the floor
So you tell yourself, that?s enough for now
Happiness has a violent roar
Happiness is like the old man told me
Look for it, but you?ll never find it all
Let it go, live your life and leave it
Then one day, wake up and she?ll be home
Home, home, home
Lyrics submitted by WarmLikeSnow
Happiness Lyrics as written by Benjamin Wysocki Ben Wysocki
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Mountain Song
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This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
No Surprises
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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.
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.
At the fray concert I went to it took them over 10 mins to play this song. It was full of such emotion and feeling but all the members of the band. Halfway through Isaac stopped singing and told the story of why he wrote it. He said something like: We usually work through songs for months or years with everyone in the band before we fine tune a song. This song came to me in 10 mins when my wife was away in Australia. I was so sad and just wanted to be with her and this got me thinking about what made me happy, what made me sad and all that stuff. So I wrote this song.
So when he says "But you are gone- not for good but for now, Gone for now feels a lot like gone for good", he is refering to his wife, same with "Let it go, live your life and leave it, then one day wake up and she'll be home". The song is Isaac reflecting on what makes him happy and just happiness in general.
i love absolutely love this song! i think it is just about what happiness is. that if you chase it, you won't find it. that chasing it will just destroy you. but if you just live your life, it will come to you. i like to think in the last line where issac says 'Then one day, wake up and she'll be home' he is talking about happiness. personifying it. saying that one day you'll wake up, and happiness will be there.
i'm seeing the fray in concert in exactly a week!
happiness is based on circumstances. contentment is eternal.
so happiness is, then, unpredictable, like a firecracker. chase after it and it destroys you, because if you chase after things that fill the gap inside you, you aren't chasing eternal joy. you're chasing something that will forever change.
happiness.
i have a question. the second to last line - "the one day, wake up and she'll be home"--do you think that's talking about a person, or is isaac personifying happiness?
@aushpog I believe it could have a dual meaning here. Certainly one for Isaac, regarding his wife being away; as well as happiness in general...as it comes in unexpected ways and times.
I just went to a Fray concert and it was THE BEST THING EVER!! They are sooo much better live than when you just listen to their cds!! And LYRICAL HARMONY i can totaly agree with you there its amazing and the fact that Isaac sounds like an angel makes it a bazillion times better
This song is so full of win.
I think he's talking about, waiting for the right one who you want to spend the rest of your life together with, I think he saying wait for the right one, destiny will put you together, don't look for it because you'll find someone who you are happy with, but not fully.
This song is just beautiful.And the story behind it about his Grandpa and about his new Grandma is just beautiful.There is a version of ihm singing this live in St.Louis.Its actually kind of funny, because he messes up in the beginning.Anyways, i basically think this song is about what he thinks Happiness is.Its pretty self explanatory
This song represents life as a whole to me, the struggles we face that stand in the way of happiness, the choices we make in our quest to find happiness, the feeling of desperation we get when happiness is out of our lives, and how that pain skews our outlook on life and happiness...how it feels like it will be gone forever and you just want to give up, but the constant reminder of it leads us to keep searching for it, and ultimatley, how what is meant to be will be, and how in most cases, the thing you're so desperately for usually FINDS YOU...and usually when you least expect it.
Well.. first of all i would like to add a note. I know that this site is not just about SONG MEANINGS but the title is SONG MEANINGS.COM... that doesn't mean leave a reply saying... OH EM GEE I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH!! Well not to be offensive or anything but i think everyone knows you would like this song, i mean why would you even look at the lyrics and listen to the song if you hated the song? well if you do hate it, i mean why would you come here? So maybe this place is a place where you can interpret songs and give your deep meaning to it. With a little nice compliment to go with it. That just what i think of this site.
Back to the song interpretation... This song i think has to do with love. and happiness is love (or some girl he loves). and when he said "happiness feels like sorrow" i think it means that love might crush you and break your heart.
Happiness is a firecracker sitting on my headboard Happiness was never mine to hold Careful child, light the fuse and get away Cause happiness throws a shower of sparks
this part probably means that he probably wasn't meant to be with this person he loves. and the part about the child probably means you should be careful with love or something. really hard to explain. I get it i just can't really explain it.
Pretty much he's saying, happiness is love, you should be careful with it though, it may harm or hurt you sometimes but it will turn out fine in the end.
They have very poetic songs that is much deeper than it seems.
I completly agree with everything you said. It's nice to see an accurate precise intepretation of this song. This may sound weird...but you seem super intelligent, stay that way
This song is beautiful. Isaac sings it with so much emotion that when I saw him sing it live, many girls in the audience cried. Before he began, he dedicated it to his father.
For those of you who have never heard of it, check out youtube. He has only sang it live and we can only hope it's on the next album.