Released: November 18, 2000

Songwriter: Chad Smith Anthony Kiedis Flea John Frusciante

Producer: Rick Rubin

[Verse 1]
Road trippin’ with my two favorite allies
Fully loaded we got snacks and supplies
It’s time to leave this town, it’s time to steal away
Let’s go get lost anywhere in the U.S.A
Let’s go get lost, let’s go get lost
Blue you sit so pretty west of the one
Sparkles light with yellow icing just a mirror for the sun

[Chorus]
Just a mirror for the sun
Just a mirror for the sun
These smiling eyes are just a mirror for

[Verse 2]
So much has come before those battles lost and won
This life is shining more forever in the sun
Now let us check our heads and let us check the surf
Staying high and dry’s more trouble than it’s worth in the sun

[Chorus]
Just a mirror for the sun
Just a mirror for the sun
These smiling eyes are just a mirror for

[Verse 3]
In Big Sur we take some time to linger on
We three hunky dory’s got our snakefinger on
Now let us drink the stars, it’s time to steal away
Let’s go get lost right here in the U.S.A
Let’s go get lost, let’s go get lost
Blue you sit so pretty west of the one
Sparkles light with yellow icing, just a mirror for the sun

[Chorus]
Just a mirror for the sun
Just a mirror for the sun
These smiling eyes are just a mirror for
These smiling eyes are just a mirror for
Your smiling eyes are just a mirror for

Red Hot Chili Peppers

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.