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'm an Irishman
Leather weathered Irish skin
Beard orange as the sunset over the flag
In the night sky we fly it in
Pride for the life we fight to live
History, I write with it
Spit it with the dialect
And this is a celebration of course
The green, white, orange
And when they pulled up on that shore
First generation born
Toast to those that made it on a boat to New York
And when the English came the colonizer came
They filled up bottles of gasoline, turned 'em into balls of flame
And hurled 'em to protect what's ours
Don't touch these lucky charms
Whole bunch of Irish screaming "Fuck the London Guard"
I'm kidding not dissin' London, this bloody war
But go against the Irish and get a bloody jaw
Preaching nonviolence but reminds of the scars
And the bias, put a pint up everybody sing a song
We put our glass to the sky and lift up
And live tonight 'cause you can't take it with ya
So raise a pint for the people that aren't with us
And live tonight 'cause you can't take it with ya
We put our glass to the sky and lift up
And live tonight 'cause you can't take it with ya
So raise a pint for the people that aren't with us
And live tonight 'cause you can't take it with ya
From New England to New Brunswick
Galway to Dublin
A rebellious nation of freckled face hustlers
Heart, blue collared workers and family
My heritage, proud to be a Haggerty
Now with whiskey in our veins
Claiming were the bravest men
I drank Old Crow, but pretended it was Jameson
Dad sipped Guiness, I sipped Old English
'Til he sat me down at 16 and said "boy, this is what a beer is"
I put down the drink, couldn't drink like a gentleman
That doesn't mean I can't make a drinking song for the rest of 'em
Challenge us in football, yeah we might lose
But don't put us next to a bar stool
We take the history, script it in song
Light the torch then you pass it on
That's right I said, lineage through the rhythm we script it from the palm
and we give til' Ireland is on
Bottoms Up
We put our glass to the sky and lift up
And live tonight 'cause you can't take it with ya
So raise a pint for the people that aren't with us
And live tonight 'cause you can't take it with ya
We put our glass to the sky and lift up
And live tonight 'cause you can't take it with ya
So raise a pint for the people that aren't with us
And live tonight 'cause you can't take it with ya
Leather weathered Irish skin
Beard orange as the sunset over the flag
In the night sky we fly it in
Pride for the life we fight to live
History, I write with it
Spit it with the dialect
And this is a celebration of course
The green, white, orange
And when they pulled up on that shore
First generation born
Toast to those that made it on a boat to New York
And when the English came the colonizer came
They filled up bottles of gasoline, turned 'em into balls of flame
And hurled 'em to protect what's ours
Don't touch these lucky charms
Whole bunch of Irish screaming "Fuck the London Guard"
I'm kidding not dissin' London, this bloody war
But go against the Irish and get a bloody jaw
Preaching nonviolence but reminds of the scars
And the bias, put a pint up everybody sing a song
We put our glass to the sky and lift up
And live tonight 'cause you can't take it with ya
So raise a pint for the people that aren't with us
And live tonight 'cause you can't take it with ya
We put our glass to the sky and lift up
And live tonight 'cause you can't take it with ya
So raise a pint for the people that aren't with us
And live tonight 'cause you can't take it with ya
From New England to New Brunswick
Galway to Dublin
A rebellious nation of freckled face hustlers
Heart, blue collared workers and family
My heritage, proud to be a Haggerty
Now with whiskey in our veins
Claiming were the bravest men
I drank Old Crow, but pretended it was Jameson
Dad sipped Guiness, I sipped Old English
'Til he sat me down at 16 and said "boy, this is what a beer is"
I put down the drink, couldn't drink like a gentleman
That doesn't mean I can't make a drinking song for the rest of 'em
Challenge us in football, yeah we might lose
But don't put us next to a bar stool
We take the history, script it in song
Light the torch then you pass it on
That's right I said, lineage through the rhythm we script it from the palm
and we give til' Ireland is on
Bottoms Up
We put our glass to the sky and lift up
And live tonight 'cause you can't take it with ya
So raise a pint for the people that aren't with us
And live tonight 'cause you can't take it with ya
We put our glass to the sky and lift up
And live tonight 'cause you can't take it with ya
So raise a pint for the people that aren't with us
And live tonight 'cause you can't take it with ya
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
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.
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.
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.
if it isnt obvious, its about St. Patricks day, and honoring the Irish people that came to america...in my opinion
not just about st. patricks, it's about irish pride in general, or if you want to get way deep than most do for songs, proud of where you come from, where you've been and where you're going.
Macklemore IS Ben Haggerty. This is a song about Irish roots, or St. Patrick's day, yes, but it's also about a way to express his pride in the country that he came from. It's not just Seattle that he loves, he's saying he loves Ireland too.
The chorus is what every Irish family says over and over and over at the bar after a funeral. Makes me think of an Irish funeral rather than St Patricks day. But you get any Irish family together at any celebration and when you start drinking it’s always toasted to the people that aren’t with you.. it’s just habit you do it without thinking about it really...