Red Hot Chili Peppers

Released: June 17, 2016

Songwriter: Chad Smith Anthony Kiedis Josh Klinghoffer Flea

Producer: Danger Mouse

[Verse 1]
Throw me all around like a boomerang sky
Whatever you do, don't tell me why
Poppies grow tall then say bye bye
The wave is here
A seamless little team and then we tanked
I guess we're not so sacrosanct
The tip of my tongue but then we blanked
The wave is here
Waiting on the wind to tell my side
Ready set jet but she never gets far
Listen to your skin from the seat of my car
Two centipedes stuck in one glass jar
The longest wave
Waiting on the wind to tell my side

[Pre-Chorus]
Whatcha want?
Whatcha need?
Do you love?

[Chorus]
Maybe I'm the right one, maybe I'm the wrong
Just another play, the pirate, and the Papillon
Time to call it a day
Maybe you're my last love, maybe you're my first
Just another way to play inside the universe
Now I know why we came

[Verse 2]
Sterile as the barrel of an old 12 gauge
Under my skin and half my age
Hotter than the wax on a saxifrage
The longest wave
Waiting on the wind to turn my page
Steady your sails for the butterfly flap
Whatever you do, don't close that gap
I'm dreaming of a woman, but she's just my nap
Your ship is in
Waiting on the tide so I can swim

[Pre-Chorus]
Whatcha want
Whatcha need
Do you love

[Chorus]
Maybe I'm the right one, maybe I'm the wrong
Just another play, the pirate, and the Papillon
Time to call it a day
Maybe you're my last love, maybe you're my first
Just another way to play inside the universe
Now I know why we came

[Outro]
Now I know why we came
Now I know

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.

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