Mountain Man

Album: Crash Kings (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Crash Kings is an American rock three-piece formed in Los Angeles, California in 2006. The band comprises vocalist-keyboardist Tony Beliveau, his brother bassist Mike Beliveau, and drummer Jason Morris. This is the first single from the trio's self-titled debut album, which was released May 26, 2009.
  • Tony Beliveau explained the song's meaning to TheyWillRockYou: "It was July 4th of July weekend and I was on a three-day solo trek out at Yosemite, Hetch Hetchy to be exact, and I remember sitting on top of a mountain, looking out into the sun and the clouds. I had this really strong feeling of security, peace, and overall serenity. I remember thinking, 'this is where I want to be when I die'. When I came home, I wrote 'Mountain Man' as an overall reflection of that weekend. It's about savoring the best moments, separating yourself from the masses to discover your personal identity, and of course some drunk girl, who hasn't quite figured out what this song really means yet."
  • Tony Beliveau plays a clavinet with a whammy bar on several of the tracks on Crash Kings including this one. His brother Mike told Pop Wreckoning how they ended up using the unusual instrument: "It's kind of a, well the instrument found us in a lucky moment. Tony was going to borrow a keyboard from a friend and ended up with this great keyboard because they couldn't find the original one that they were looking for, so he brought this back to the studio and was like, 'Hey, Mike. You have to come check this thing out. It's crazy. It has a whammy bar.' It's a pretty rare thing. So we got to the studio and were both like, 'Whoa.' The ideas for the instrument started forming; we can distort this thing or make it sound like guitar. Basically what it is, it's an electric guitar in a keyboard format. It has guitar strings and the whammy bar is a classic element of a guitar, so we thought it would work great in a rock band. That's how that instrument came to be in our band.

Comments: 1

  • Ryan from Austin, TxLove this effing song! I wake up singning ofen....
see more comments

Editor's Picks

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary MachineSong Writing

Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The Remasters

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The RemastersSong Writing

Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.

Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket

Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet SprocketSongwriter Interviews

The "All I Want" singer went through a long depression, playing some shows when he didn't want to be alive.

Marvin Gaye

Marvin GayeFact or Fiction

Did Marvin try out with the Detroit Lions? Did he fake crazy to get out of military service? And what about the cross-dressing?

Steve Morse of Deep Purple

Steve Morse of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple's guitarist since 1994, Steve talks about writing songs with the band and how he puts his own spin on "Smoke On The Water."

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?