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More than words: Putting the 'Jane' in Jane's Addiction....

May 15, 10:19 AM

Have you ever loved a song to the point of ridiculousness but no matter how hard you try, you just can’t understand the lyrics? What was the artist thinking when writing your favorite tune? More Than Words, a weekly column, will help to delve a little deeper…


Jane Says, Jane’s Addiction (Nothing’s Shocking, 1988)


"Around 1984, I rented a big house on Wilton, near Hancock Park, right in the heart of everything good in Hollywood, but the whole neighborhood seemed deteriorated. I deceived the landlord into thinking I was a gay interior decorator rather than a Punk rocker, and one of my housemates was Jane (Bainter), this strangely beautiful, well-to-do girl who got caught up in the drug scene and fell in love with a dealer named Sergio. Jane was an intellectual and knew how to act aristocratic, even with a needle and a spoon on the table. I'm not sure if the song mythologized the neighborhood - St. Andrew's Place is nothing special to look at - but I do think it glamorized her life in a way. That was a great time, though. When the landlord found out I wasn't a gay interior decorator, he came after me with a gun." Perry Farrell, Blender Magazine, 2006.


Jane’s Addiction claimed their name from Farrell’s roommate Jane Bainter, and the band formed in the summer of 1985.


When things went wrong at the house, the mayhem was often blamed on "Jane's addiction," so when Farrell needed a name for his band, the phrase was already in his mind. "They jumped into my room one day and said, 'We're going to name it Jane's Addiction!'" Bainter recalls. "I thought it was sort of a lackluster name. I didn't take it as a tribute at all."

Nor did her parents. Bainter's photo appeared on the insert of the vinyl version of the first Jane's album, and on thousands of posters that appeared all over the world. "It was very hard for my family," she says. At the time, she was leading a double life of sorts. By day, she'd put on a sensible suit firm in Century City. At night she'd put on a wig and wade into L.A.'s music subculture. And she was nearly always high. www.davenavarro.de.


In the lyrics to “Jane Says”, arguably the band’s biggest hit, “Jane says, I'm done with Sergio. He treats me like a ragdoll. She hides the television, says "I don't owe him nothing”. But if he comes back again, tell him to wait right here for me or, try again tomorrow". This refers to Jane’s intimate relationship with her dealer/boyfriend Sergio and her erratic behavior as a heroin addict. It has been suggested she hid the TV to stop Sergio from taking it as payment for the drugs. Proof of her addiction is backed up further by the following lyrics “I'm gonna kick tomorrow...” – her constant promise to kick the habit.


In an article written by David Segal and featured in The Washington Post, it seems that Jane talked endlessly about saving for a trip to Europe which is evident in the lyrics: "Jane says, 'I'm going away to Spain / When I get my money saved'”. It is also suggested that she took an occasional swipe at a housemate, but she never seemed to connect - "She gets mad and starts to cry / Takes a swing but she can't hit."

Segal also says that “Farrell has lost touch with Jane, but it turns out that finding her isn't all that hard. It took only a few phone calls to determine that she's still living in California, and though she's quoted in the song predicting she was "going to kick tomorrow," it took a little longer. Today, however, she's proud to say she's clean.”


“Jane is not only the namesake of Jane's Addiction, of course she also inspired the bands signature song, “Jane Says”. ?Her photo also appeared on the insert of the vinyl version of the selftitled first Jane’s Addiction album, numerous posters and her signature was used early on as the band's logo and can still be seen on t-shirts, Stephen Perkins’ drum head, etc.”. Dave Navarro, guitarist, Jane’s Addiction.


Jane’s Addiction is touring with Nine Inch Nails and will be performing at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View on May 22nd 2009. Tickets are available through Live Nation.