Red Hot Chili Peppers

Released: July 9, 2002

Songwriter: Chad Smith Flea John Frusciante Anthony Kiedis

Producer: Rick Rubin

[Verse 1]
I'm an ocean in your bedroom
Make you feel warm, make you want to re-assume
Now we know it all for sure
I'm a dance hall dirty breakbeat
Make the snow fall up from underneath your feet

[Pre-Chorus]
Not alone, I'll be there
Tell me when you want to go

[Verse 2]
I'm a meth lab, first rehab
Take it all off and step inside the running cab
There's a love that knows the way
I'm the rainbow in your jail cell
All the memories of everything you've ever smelled

[Pre-Chorus]
Not alone, I'll be there
Tell me when you want to go
(Sideways fallin', more will be revealed, my friend)

[Chorus]
(Sideways fallin', more will be revealed, my friend)
Don't forget me, I can't hide it
Come again get me excited

[Verse 3]
I'm an inbred and a pothead
Two legs that you spread inside the tool shed
Now we know it all for sure
I could show you to the free field
Overcome and more will always be revealed

[Pre-Chorus]
Not alone, I'll be there
Tell me when you want to go
(Sideways fallin', more will be revealed, my friend)

[Chorus]
(Sideways fallin', more will be revealed, my friend)
Don't forget me, I can't hide it
Come again make me excited
(Sideways fallin', more will be revealed, my friend)
Don't forget me, I can't hide it
There’s a match, now let me light it

[Guitar Solo]

[Verse 4]
I'm the bloodstain on your shirt sleeve
Coming down and more are coming to believe
Now we know it all for sure
Make the hair stand up on your arm
Teach you how to dance inside the funny farm

[Outro]
Not alone, I'll be there
Tell me when you want to go
I'll be there, tell me when you want to go
Come on in and tell me when you want to go
More will be revealed, my friend

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

By the Way

From the albums

By the Way (2002)
By the Way (Deluxe Version) (2002)

Red Hot Chili Peppers popular songs

Don’t Forget MeRed Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers

By the Way