Imagine that you are a young rock musician who, along with his bandmates, actively uses alcohol and drugs in between rehearsals (or even right at them). One day you decide to come to your senses and begin to lead a healthy lifestyle. Do you think you can continue to maintain close relationships with friends who have not given up addictions?
Anthony Kiedis, lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, didn’t fail. He gave up drugs after his friend Hillel Slovak died from an overdose. And Milk “Flea” Balzari and John Frusciante were still smoking marijuana and growing more and more distant from him. But Kiedis was not going to return to the past, although he was very sad for his former friendship. The longing was heightened by the memory of Ione Skye’s ex-girlfriend.
The story behind of the song Under the Bridge
Anthony expressed these experiences in the poem Under the Bridge, which was too personal for him to make a song out of it. But one day he gave a notebook with poems to their producer Rick Rubin. He was delighted with Under the Bridge and convinced Kiedis to show it to the rest of the RHCP.
After listening to the verse, Frusciante and Flea immediately took up their instruments and began to pick up the chord progression and rhythm. John tried to balance the depressing lyrics with positive music. He spoke about it this way:
I thought if the lyrics are really sad, I should write more joyful chords.
A few days later the composition was ready.
The meaning of Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers
The history of the creation of the Red Hot Chili Peppers track is certainly curious, but its content is of much greater interest. Kiedis speaks of Los Angeles as a woman (inanimate nouns have no gender in English) and calls the city his only friend, alone with whom he can only cry.
The bridge referred to in the title, as well as the last verse of the song, was where Anthony went to get drugs. There, surrounded by gangsters, he lost his love (an allusion to Iomie Sky) and almost ruined his life. Kiedis never explained exactly which location he was talking about, although some believe it is a bridge near MacArthur Park in Los Angeles.
At the same time, no matter how sad Anthony was at that moment, he did not regret the decision. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, he said:
As sad or lonely as I may be, I’m a million percent better now than I was two years ago when I used drugs all the time. It can’t even be compared.
Release and achievements
The song Under the Bridge was included on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ fifth studio album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Then it was released as the second single from this record (the first was Give It Away). It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum.
Video of Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Let’s watch the online music video Under the Bridge by the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Interesting Facts
- In the final part of Under the Bridge, John Frusciante’s mother and her friends from the choir sing.
- Representatives of Warner Bros. Records came to the band’s concert to select a song for the second single. While performing Under the Bridge, Kiedis forgot the lyrics, but the audience sang them for him. After that, the producers had no doubts about which song to give preference to.
- The popularity of the single Under the Bridge and the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik forced John Frusciante to leave the band, as he did not like the RHCP’s star status.
- RHCP played Under the Bridge at the controversial Woodstock 1999 festival, where the band arrived as a headliner.
Under the Bridge Lyrics by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Sometimes I feel
Like I don’t have a partner
Sometimes I feel
Like my only friend
Is the city I live in
The city of angel
Lonely as I am
Together we cry
I drive on her streets
’cause she’s my companion
I walk through her hills
’cause she knows who I am
She sees my good deeds
And she kisses me windy
I never worry
Now that is a lie
I don’t ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way
It’s hard to believe
That there’s nobody out there
It’s hard to believe
That I’m all alone
At least I have her love
The city she loves me
Lonely as I am
Together we cry
I don’t ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way
under the bridge downtown
Is where I drew some blood
under the bridge downtown
I could not get enough
under the bridge downtown
Forgot about my love
under the bridge downtown
I gave my life away
Lyrics of Under the Bridge Alternate
Sometimes it seems to me,
That I don’t have a partner
Sometimes it seems to me,
That my only friend
This is the area where I live
abode of angels
Since I’m alone
We cry with her
I drive through her streets
Because she is my friend
I walk in her hills
Because she knows who I am
She notices my good deeds
And kisses me with the wind
I never worry
Now that’s a lie
I don’t want to feel anymore
Like that day
Take me to the place that I love
Take it away completely
It’s hard to believe
that there is no one there
It’s hard to believe
that I’m all alone
At least I have her love
Areas – she loves me
Because I’m lonely
We cry with her
I don’t want to feel anymore
Like that day
Take me to the place that I love
Take it away completely
Under the city bridge
I shed some blood
Under the city bridge
I missed everything
Under the city bridge
I forgot about my love
Under the city bridge
I was losing my life
Song quote
My loneliness brought back memories of a time when I was with Ione, this beautiful, angelic girl who wanted to give me all her love, and instead of hugging her, I went downtown to f***ing bandits and dope under the bridge.
Anthony Kiedis
Download Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers
On Blimey you can not download the song Under the Bridge in mp3 for free, but you can listen to Red Hot Chili Peppers tracks online and watch the band’s clips in good quality.
