Background
"Jane Says" is a song from alternative rock band Jane's Addiction's debut self-titled album, released on May 15, 1987. The band opted to record their debut album live in an attempt to better capture the energy they were known for. The album's basic tracks were recorded live at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles on January 26, 1987, with additional overdubs and corrections added at The Edge Studio in Los Angeles, including an audience applause dub from a Los Lobos concert.
The song was re-recorded in the studio for the follow-up album, Nothing's Shocking, featuring steel drums that are not present on the cut from the self-titled album. Its title refers to lead singer Perry Farrell's ex-housemate, Jane Bainter, who was the muse, inspiration, and the namesake of the band.
In May 2001, Chester performed a solo acoustic version of the song during Linkin Park's shows, after the encore break. Chester talked about the song during a LPU chat in early 2002: "thanks for the vote of confidence on jane says it's just a song i've been playing for a long time i'm glad you enjoyed it".[1]
Jane's Addiction is a known influence of Chester's. During a interview with KROQ on October 8, 2013, he admitted to looking up to vocalists Al Jourgensen from Ministry, Perry Farrell from Jane’s Addiction, and Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots.[2] In an interview with 97x on October 9, 2013, Mike Shinoda said when they first brought Chester to the band, his only criticism of him was that he sounded too much like Perry Farrell and Scott Weiland.[3]
Other bands who covered the song includes Limp Bizkit, Band With No Name, and Rob Thomas.
The original song was made available to download on November 29, 2011 for use in the Rock Band music video game series, meaning it has stems available.
Live
"Jane Says" may be a staple of Jane's Addiction's setlists, but it was only featured in Linkin Park setlists for a very brief time. Its first performance was in Brisbane, Australia, mid-way through the 2001 US-To-Europe Tour. It was the first time the Chester had performed a song solo, and also the first time a completely acoustic version of any song found its way into a Linkin Park setlist. It was dropped when the band returned to America, meaning it was only performed five times (assuming it was played at the last show of the Japan run, since we don't have the setlist). It has not been performed since. At the very last show of the tour, in London, England, Chester again performed an acoustic song, but this time offered a choice: "Jane Says" or one of his own songs. The crowd chose the latter, and Chester performed "Morning After" for the first time ever. That song was reworked for his side project Dead By Sunrise years later.
Lyrics
Jane says, "i'm done with sergio
He treats me like a ragdoll
She hides the television
Says, "i don't own him nothing, but if he comes back again
Tell him to wait right here for me or, try again tomorrow
I'm gonna kick tomorrow
I'm gonna kick tomorrow
Jane says, "have you seenmy wig around? i feel naked withoutit"
She knows they all want her to go
But that's ok man she don't like them anyway
Jane says, "i'm going away to spain
When i get my money saved
I'm gonna start tomorrow
I'm gonna kick tomorrow
I'm gonna kick tomorrow
She gets mad and she starts to cry
Takes a swing but she can't hit!
She don't mean no harm
She just don't know what else to do about it
Jane goes to the store at eight
She walks up on st.andrews
She waitsand gets her dinner there
She pulls her dinner from her pocket
Jane says, "i've never been in love"
No she don't know what it is
She only knows if someone wants her
"i want 'em if they want me
I only know they want me"
Jane says... jane says