Red Hot Chili Peppers

Released: September 12, 1995

Songwriter: Dave Navarro Chad Smith Flea Anthony Kiedis

Producer: Rick Rubin

[Verse 1]
It started when we were little kids
Free spirits, but already tormented by our own hands
Given to us by our parents
We got together and wrote on desks
And slept in laundry rooms near snowy mountains
And slipped through whatever cracks we could find
Minds altered, we didn't falter
In portraying hysterical and tragic characters in a smog filled universe
We loved the dirty city
And the journeys away from it
We had not yet been or seen our friends, selves
Chase tails round and round in downward spirals
Leaving trail of irretrievable, vital life juice behind
Still, the brothers, blood comrades, partner, family, cousin was impenetrable
And we lived inside it
Laughing with no clothes, and everything experimental until death was upon us
In our face, mortality
And lots of things seemed futile then, but love and music can save us
And did, while the giant grey monster grew
More poisoned and volatile around us
Jaws clamping down and spewing ugly shit around
Nothing is the same
So we keep moving
We keep moving

[Chorus 1]
(Ooh Shit! Ooh Shit!)

[Verse 2]
Went off and got some hair cuts
Looking wild and got all drugged up
Hopped a train into the night
Got a ride with a transvestite
Two boys in San Francisco
Two boys in San Francisco
Blasted off in a BART bathroom
Those coppers woke us up
The motherfuckers woke us up

[Chorus 2]
Two young brothers on a hovercraft
Telepathic love and belly laughs

[Verse 3]
Storm the stage of Universal
Slim shine talk boy go subversal
Papa's proud and so he sent us
Pounding hearts full and relentless
Two boys in London, England
Two boys in London, England
Climbing out of hostel windows
Wearing gear so out but in though
Come on kid and do the no, no

[Chorus 2]
Two young brothers on a hovercraft (yeah)
Telepathic love and belly laughs (oh yeah)

[Chorus 1]
(Ooh Shit! Ooh Shit!)

[Verse 4]
We went to Fairfax High School
Jumped off buildings into their pools
We'd sit down and grease at Canters
Run like hell they can't catch us
Two boys in L.A. proper
Two boys in L.A. proper
Stealing anything that we could
Got to sneak into the Starwood
Got to peak into the deep good

I remember
10 years ago in Hollywood
We did some good
And we did some real bad stuff
But the Butt-hole Surfers said
It's better to regret something you did
Than something you didn't do
Yea, we were young
And we were looking
Looking
Looking for that deep kick
Yeah, (I've) seen them come, seen them go

[Outro]
(And I feel I'm getting close to you)

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are a rock band based in Los Angeles, CA that incorporates elements of rap, funk, punk, and rock into their work, mainly classified as an alternative rock band. They made it mainstream off the success of their 1991’s fifth studio album Blood Sugar Sex Magik, led by singles “Give it Away” and “Under the Bridge.” After losing guitarist John Frusciante and losing popularity following the release of the less successful One Hot Minute, the band reunited for 1999’s Californication. The title track and hit singles “Around the World,” “Scar Tissue” and “Otherside” propelled them back to the fame. After 2002’s solid release By the Way and 2006’s double-disc Stadium Arcadium, Frusciante once again left the band to further pursue his solo career. The band added Josh Klinghoffer to help fill his void, and released I’m With You in 2011.

In December 2019, the band announced via Instagram that Klinghoffer had left after 10 years, and Frusciante would be rejoining.

Their lyrical content was mostly centered around sex, drugs, and the Los Angeles lifestyle, and lead singer Anthony Kiedis mostly rapped them as he wasn’t confident as vocalist. Most members of the band also suffered from drug addiction, as Kiedis and Frusciante had to check themselves into rehab for heroin addiction at various points in their lives. But Californication marked a change in the band’s content matter and lifestyle. The band was sober for the most part, and the lyrics had shifted to songs about love and the pains of addiction, the title even criticized the city they loved so much. In addition, Kiedis had started to sing his lyrics much more often as he finally felt comfortable with his voice. That change has allowed the band to stick around for over 20 years despite multiple changes to their lineup and is part of why they remain relevant.

more tracks from the album

One Hot Minute

From the album

One Hot Minute (1995)

Red Hot Chili Peppers popular songs

Deep KickRed Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers

One Hot Minute