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."
You crawled into my bed
Like some sort of giant insect
And I found myself spellbound
At the sight of you there
Cocooned in my room,
Beautiful and grotesque and all the rest of that bug stuff
Bluffing your way into my mouth
Behind my teeth, reaching for my scars
That night we got kicked out of two bars
And laughed our way home
That night you leaned over
And threw up into your hair
And I thought
I would offer you my pulse
If I thought it would be useful
I would give you my breath
Except
The problem with death is that you have
Some hundred years and then they can
Build building on your only bones
100 years and then your grave is not your own
We lie in out beds, and our graves
Unable to save ourselves from
The quaint tragedies we invent
And then undo from the stupid circumstances
We slalomed through
And I realized that night that the hall light
Which seemed so bright when you turned it on is nothing
Compared to the dawn
Which is nothing, compared to the light
Which seeps from me while you're sleeping
Cocooned in my room
Beautiful and grotesque resting
That night we got kicked out of two bars
And laughed our way home
And I held you there thinking
I would offer you my pulse
I would give you my breath
I would offer you my pulse
Like some sort of giant insect
And I found myself spellbound
At the sight of you there
Cocooned in my room,
Beautiful and grotesque and all the rest of that bug stuff
Bluffing your way into my mouth
Behind my teeth, reaching for my scars
That night we got kicked out of two bars
And laughed our way home
That night you leaned over
And threw up into your hair
And I thought
I would offer you my pulse
If I thought it would be useful
I would give you my breath
Except
The problem with death is that you have
Some hundred years and then they can
Build building on your only bones
100 years and then your grave is not your own
We lie in out beds, and our graves
Unable to save ourselves from
The quaint tragedies we invent
And then undo from the stupid circumstances
We slalomed through
And I realized that night that the hall light
Which seemed so bright when you turned it on is nothing
Compared to the dawn
Which is nothing, compared to the light
Which seeps from me while you're sleeping
Cocooned in my room
Beautiful and grotesque resting
That night we got kicked out of two bars
And laughed our way home
And I held you there thinking
I would offer you my pulse
I would give you my breath
I would offer you my pulse
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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.
When We Were Young
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This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Blue
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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.
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
wow oh wow oh wow... this songs overwhelms me with unexplainable emotion.
we lie in out beds, and our graves unable to save ourselves from the quaint tragedies we invent
I find it remarkable that a human being can not only write such an extraordinary song, but how amazing it is that we allow this music to cut into our soul and leave us breathless... we are all so lucky to be able to listen and FEEL the music!
and i found myself spellbound at the sight of you there cocooned in my room, beautiful and grotesque and all the rest of that bug stuff .. and i held you there thinking i would offer you my pulse i would give you my breath
that feeling of loving someone so completely, you would give them everything in a second... it ties into the musings about the point of life in that you start to think that yes, we'll all be gone someday, but as long as that person is there with you none of it matters and this has to be eternal.
This is the most beautiful and loving song I've ever heard. It says all the things you want to tell your other half, but could never put into words yourself.
My husband and I have parts of it engraved on our wedding rings.
An incredible song. It's that feeling of overwhelming love for someone else, that they take priority over you, that you would give them everything in order to thank them for simply being there.
"the problem with death is that you have some hundred years and then they can build building on your only bones 100 years and then your grave is not your own"
I think here she's saying that even death itself is impermanent, let alone life, so you have to take love when you find it and give it absolutely everything, because that's the point of life.
Every time I listen to Ani "i found myself spellbound at the sight of her, so beautiful and grotesque"- I just can't imagine my life without her music, definetely she is one of the few people truly in Resistance, against the "quaint tragedies we invent", against the sistem and the vacuity of the life offered to us... This song is perfect... for my is as good as been in love with someone and held him, or her, while throwing into their hair, as good as wanting to offer my pulse and give my breath to someone...
very moving,i want this.
staggeringly beautiful.
does anyone know the chords of this song? i'm a beginner and can't pick them out but they have such calming power over me, i'd love to be able to play them...
"We lie in our beds, in our graves Unable to save ourselves From the quaint tragedies we invent and undo From the stupid circumstances we slalom through."
At the end of the day, we're all the same. We wake up each morning, dodge various obstacles in this monotonous existence we call life; Everything seems so urgent and large at the time, when really we can't do anything about it, and it's actually all so small.
And of course, the love and all of that. The potentially dangerous, potentially grand, all-being-encompassing sort of love.
I adore this song, and the lyrics as well.