Mountain is an American rock band mainly active in the early 1970s. The ban… Read Full Bio ↴Mountain is an American rock band mainly active in the early 1970s. The band still tours and had a number of UK and US dates scheduled in 2006.

The classic-era lineup of the group was Leslie West on guitar, Felix Pappalardi on bass, Corky Laing on drums (the original drummer was N. D. Smart), and Steve Knight on piano and organ. West's raw vocals, Laing's flowing drumming, and Pappalardi's heavy but not overly imposing bass lines were the elements of Mountain's distinctive sound.

Mountain played at the Woodstock Festival but the band did not appear in the film of the event nor was it included on the first album. The group's first album, Climbing! was released in 1970 and featured the band's best-known song, "Mississippi Queen"; the song reached the middle of the top-40 charts and the album reached the top 20 on the US album charts.

The follow-up album Nantucket Sleighride (1971) also reached the top 20 on the US albums chart but failed to yield a hit single. (The title track from Nantucket Sleighride was used as the theme tune to the UK political and current affairs television program Weekend World, which was aired between 1972 and 1986). After these early releases the band continued to receive a certain measure of critical acclaim but never achieved great commercial success.

The band was inspired by legendary power trio Cream, which Pappalardi was an "unofficial" member of; he was featured heavily on Cream's second LP, Disraeli Gears. Following Mountain's initial breakup in 1972, West and Laing formed West, Bruce and Laing with Cream bassist Jack Bruce. They produced three albums.

In 1974 West and Pappalardi reformed Mountain with Allan Schwartzberg on drums and Robert Mann on keyboards. A tour yielded the live Twin Peaks followed by the studio album Avalanche, with Laing and rhythm guitarist David Perry, who as an African American was also credited for "added color." It was the last heard of from Mountain until the mid 1980s when West, sometimes with and sometimes without Laing, has worked under the name Mountain, New Mountain or the Leslie West Band.

On April 17, 1983 Gail Collins Pappalardi, Felix's wife and songwriting partner, shot him once in the neck in their fifth-floor East Side Manhattan apartment. He was pronounced dead at the scene and Gail was charged with second-degree murder, but acquitted. Richie Scarlet has taken over as bass player on the band's recent tours.

Mountain is ranked number 98 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".

There are other artists with the same name:

2. Romanian electronic producer; an alias of candlestickmaker.
check out: http://asiluum.com/site/2010/11/08/mountain-contorsionist-split/

3. Møuntain - post-rock from Austria
https://www.last.fm/music/M%C3%B8untain

4. Mountain is a Nigerian musician based in Lagos.

5. Kamiyama Shigeta – better known to you or I as Mountain, is a drum & bass producer from the hustling hub of activity that is Osaka, Japan.

Born into a musical family Kamiyama grew up immersed in various forms of music. At age 18 he finds Dance music and after picking the basics of a DAW, he starts producing Drum and Bass under this alias. He begins DJing in his hometown too – racking up support slots for the likes of: Sigma, Netsky, London Electricity, Metrik & the beast that is Andy C.

The Laird
Mountain Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The Laird is arriving
He ran to the east
He stood in the courthouse
Pleading his case
His crime was a passion
An aching for peace

And heÂ´s not alone

And heÂ´s not alone
And heÂ´s not alone
And heÂ´s not alone

Let my people go
His soul is on paper
Freshly changed
And white men they keep him
Oh and not changing

And heÂ´s not around, yeah
And heÂ´s not around
HeÂ´s not around

HeÂ´s not around, yeah
Let my people go

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "The Laird" by Mountain seemingly describe a scenario where a man named "The Laird" is going through some legal trouble in a court of law. The lyrics suggest that The Laird is arriving, running to the east and pleading his case in the courthouse. The implication is that The Laird has committed a crime, but it was motivated by a desire for peace. The lyrics also suggest that there are others involved in this situation, as there are repeated mentions that The Laird is "not alone". The refrain of the song is "let my people go", indicating that this situation may involve an oppressed group of people looking for freedom.

One possible interpretation of these lyrics is that The Laird is a political activist, fighting for the rights of a marginalized group of people. The mention of his crime being a "passion for peace" could suggest that his actions were motivated by a desire to end oppression or bring about social change. The repeated phrase "let my people go" is a clear reference to the story of Moses in the Bible, who demanded that the Pharaoh release the Israelites from slavery. This reinforces the idea that The Laird's cause is one of freedom and liberation for a group of people who have been oppressed.

Overall, the lyrics of "The Laird" are quite open to interpretation, but they seem to tell a story of a man fighting for justice and freedom for himself and others. The use of biblical references and symbolic language underscores the urgent and deeply meaningful nature of this struggle.

Line by Line Meaning

The Laird is arriving
The person of high rank is coming

He ran to the east
He hurried towards the direction of the rising sun

He stood in the courthouse
He stood in front of the building where legal cases are heard

Pleading his case
Presenting arguments to prove his innocence

His crime was a passion
He committed the crime because of a strong emotion

An aching for peace
He did it in the hopes of achieving peace

And heÂ´s not alone
There are others with him

Let my people go
A request to free a group of people from oppression or captivity

His soul is on paper
His thoughts and feelings are recorded on a written document

Freshly changed
Recently altered or revised

And white men they keep him
The authorities who are in power are holding him