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."
I've got a lot of old friends that're getting back in touch
And it's a pretty good feeling yea it feels pretty good
I get a lot of double takes when I'm coming round the corners
And its mostly pretty nice its mostly pretty alright
'Cause most kids give me credit for being down with it
When it was back in the day back when things were way different
When the youth of today and the early seven seconds
Taught me some of lifes most valuable lessons
There's gonna come a time when the scene will seem less sunny
It'll probably get druggy and the kids will seem to skinny
There's gonna come a time when shes gonna have to go
With whoevers gonna get her the highest
There's gonna come a time when the true scene leaders
Forget where they differ and get big picture
'cause the kids at their shows, they'll have kids of their own
The sing-a-long songs will be our scriptures
We gotta stay positive
We gotta stay positive
We gotta stay positive
We gotta stay positive
When the chaperon crowned us the king and the queen
I knew that we'd arrived at a unified scene
And all those little lambs from my dreams
Well they were there too
'Cause its one thing to start it with a positive jam
And its another thing to see it all through
And we couldn't of even done this if it wasn't for you
We gotta stay positive
We gotta stay positive
We gotta stay positive
And it's a pretty good feeling yea it feels pretty good
I get a lot of double takes when I'm coming round the corners
And its mostly pretty nice its mostly pretty alright
'Cause most kids give me credit for being down with it
When it was back in the day back when things were way different
When the youth of today and the early seven seconds
Taught me some of lifes most valuable lessons
There's gonna come a time when the scene will seem less sunny
It'll probably get druggy and the kids will seem to skinny
There's gonna come a time when shes gonna have to go
With whoevers gonna get her the highest
There's gonna come a time when the true scene leaders
Forget where they differ and get big picture
'cause the kids at their shows, they'll have kids of their own
The sing-a-long songs will be our scriptures
We gotta stay positive
We gotta stay positive
We gotta stay positive
We gotta stay positive
When the chaperon crowned us the king and the queen
I knew that we'd arrived at a unified scene
And all those little lambs from my dreams
Well they were there too
'Cause its one thing to start it with a positive jam
And its another thing to see it all through
And we couldn't of even done this if it wasn't for you
We gotta stay positive
We gotta stay positive
We gotta stay positive
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More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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.
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.
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 really anchors the retrospective feel of the album. I especially like the reference to Massive Nights:
She had a gun in her mouth And she was shootin' up at her dreams When the chaperon said that we'd been crowned The king and the queen
The new line, "I knew that we'd arrived at a unified scene," is certainly a more positive take on that night.
Yeah, and the reference to unified scenes goes back to Almost Killed Me, along with the 'all the little lambs were looking up at me'.
I love his little throwbacks, Craig manages to do it so well, without making me think he's being unoriginal or anything.
positive jam was the first song on almost killed me
"There's gonna come a time Where she's gonna have to go With whoever's gonna get her the highest" is from separation Sunday
This is what I love about The Hold Steady, all the songs and CDs are connected. Craig is so good at making stories and giving REAL meaning to the songs. And I'm so glad that neither of those things are lacking in this amazing CD.
"When the scene'll seem less sunny It'll probably get druggy"
I think this is a reference to How A Resurrection Really Feels, where he says: These parties they start lovely but they get druggy and they get ugly and they get bloody.
That last couple of verses, with all the references to old songs or theirs, isn't in with the lyrics in the liner notes. So it seems to me that it's a thank you to the fans. Especially 'And we couldn't have even done this, If it wasn't for you'. It seems so sweet - and so typically hold steady - to do that.
I think it's typically Hold Steady in terms of the actual band; for instance how Craig gives the same "There's so much joy in what we do up here..." speech at the end of every show. However, I think that kind of sentimentality bordering on cheesiness is actually really unusual for the band when it comes to lyrics. I find it to be a welcome departure.
Instead of "seven seconds," it should be the band "7 Seconds."
@c0r1nth14n:
Actually, HaRRF is itself a reference to Stevie Nix earlier on that album: "she got strung out on the scene/and she got scared when it got druggy"
As far as I know, that's the earliest use of the phrase.
'I've got a lot of old friends That are getting back and touching'
Surely this should be:
'I've got a lot of old friends That are getting back in touch'?
But then, I haven't got the inlay booklet to look...