Red Hot Chili Peppers: Under the Bridge Meaning
Song Released: 1991
Under the Bridge Lyrics
Like I dont have a partner
Sometimes I feel
Like my only friend
Is the city I live in
The city of angels
Lonely as I am
Together we cry
I drive on her streets
cause shes my companion
I walk through her hills
cause...
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1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:I guess anthony himself put to rest all our interpretations of this song in his autobiography, "scar tissue." in the book he says that after he got clean for the first time, a lot of things changed in the band dynamic. He began to feel like a bit of an outsider, especially when the others were doing drugs. One day John and flea were smoking pot in the studio, and he looked into john's eyes and he knew he had lost him as a friend. On the bus back to his apartment, he began humming and wrote a few lyrics to suit his mood, "I don't ever want to feel/like I did that day" he shows the comfort his home city (la "the city of angels") gave him in the line, "at least I have her now/the city she loves me"
the bridge in the title is the one anthony went to to shoot up with mexican dealers and gang members this is one of the most beautiful, melodic and tragic songs about addiction, and it is consumated beautifully by the church choir at the end (not John f's mother!)
in their singing with kiedis, (kiedis's part in brackets)
under the bridge downtown
(is where I drew some blood)
under the bridge downtown
(forgot about my love)
under the bridge downtown
(I gave my life away!) -
2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:Anthony started singing this tune while driving after an argument with john. Anthony was reluctant to sing it and show producer rick rubin, and it almost didn't make the album. Under the bridge is where he was taken by a mexican drug dealer who would serve him when they went to the drug den but it was only for freinds and relatives, so he pretended to be the guy's future brother-in-law in order to be able to get high. The song is based on drugs, and the city, 'city of angels' is an obvious reference to los angeles.
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3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation: -
Hiya. I Just want to say That i believe the part sang by the choir is Much deeper than losing a girlfriend when he says "forgot about my love" i believe it has to do with his ability to give and receive love. I was a junkie myself and have been clean for two years but i had to hit rock bottom before i felt the error of m'y ways and it was so so painful i had also forgotten about my love. Forgotten That every being including myself is sacred. This song is a very represesentative poem about the isolation You feel when You go through drug addiction and the most shocking thing is to be a junkie is a conscious choice. A junkie by définition has an innability to love. I also believe That the choice of the choir is very important in This interprétation,it perhaps shows how far he had grown from god, i know That i dont ever want to feel like i did That day ie cast out from god's love. So its True That songs are subject to different interprétations but for me There is little doubt That i shared This similar experience and because i wouldnt recommend using drugs as a lifestyle choice ( wich is very different to using once in a while ) i give You a different insight from m'y own firsthand expérience...
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The lyrics of Under the Bridge by the Red Hot Chili Peppers explain the difficulties of recovering from a drug addiction, namely heroin. At the end of the song, "the bridge downtown" is referred to, which is where he would go to escape his emotions and get high. After fighting his addiction and being able to kick the habit, he was having a tough time finding relations with his former friends. Because they were all still using drugs, he felt that he had to distance himself from them in order to protect his life.
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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This song is about drugs Yes! But specifically the first time he did heroin an the affect it had on him an how it took its toll. He remembers how he felt and recalls the regret. He said he never wanted go back again.
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Under the Bridge, as mentioned before, revolves around Anthony Kiedis's addiction to heroin, as well as the loneliness that led him to shoot it. He shot the heroin "Under the Bridge", hence the name of the song.
It also regards the bond he feels with his home city, Los Angeles, the City of Angels. However, when he says "take me to the place I love/take me all the way", he's referring to the state he's in when he's high. Think - before that line, he said he never wanted to feel like he did that day. Easiest way to forget? Getting high. Is it otherwise relevant? No. Besides, he's already in LA, so it wouldn't make sense to "take him there". -
The song is definately about doing drugs, and the struggles and Anthony went through, and where he did it. But the song is also about Anthony's broad connection with the city of Los Angeles, its as if he and the city are one with each other. The reason being, the lyrics " 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" respresent his natural bond with the city. Drug use is huge in this song, he lost his love which was at the time his girlfriend Ione Skye. She was at home while he was under the bridge doing serious hardcore drugs. In interviews he has disclosed that the bridge is in Los Angeles, but he will not condone where. He has also stated that " Its easy to be a junkie". This is my favorite song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. A really good song in my opinion.
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This song is about love and pain and the harm he know he caused himself and his loved ones while using as well as the loneliness now that his drug companion is now gone and is no longer there to fill his needs and numb his pain leaving him alone to deal with reality on his own
-mary jane -
After doing some research on the Red Hot Chili Peppers and learning more about each band member I was able to analyze their song, “ Under The Bridge”. This song was written by Anthony Kiedis to express his feelings of loneliness and show how heroin affected his life. As his band members grew closer, Anthony began to feel alone and sad (“Sometimes I feel like I don’t have a partner.”) Since he had no real friends, Anthony imagined Los Angeles as being his only friend (“Sometimes I feel like my only friend is the city I live in, the city of angels.”) As Anthony and his band members grew farther apart, he felt the only way to escape was to shoot up heroin under the bridge downtown (“ I don’t ever wanna feel like I did that day. Take me to the place I love, take me all the way.”) As his addiction grows worse, Anthony feels the only thing he can rely on is his city (“ 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.”) Eventually, all Anthony could do was heroin and it caused him to forget about his love for music (“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.”)
Hope this helps. Sawyer<33333333 -
A sad and haunting song about being addicted to the "rush" and the things that lead you to a place in your life where firing up seems like the only escape. It's a ritual and after the deed is done you feel good for awhile only to get the uncontrollable craving again and again (oh no, no no oh yeah yeah)....If you haven't "drawn blood" you probably don't fully understand the song. Sorry to be so blunt but it's a fact!
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This song is about Anthony feeling left out of the chili peppers b/c flea and the others were shooting up and ignoring him...its also about how he lost his girlfriend b/c of his addiction
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ok i agree this song is about anthonys drug using days, but its also about the connection he lost with john during the blood sugar days. i kno this is true bcs i read anthony keidis's bio scar tissue at least 19 times. "Under The Bridge" wasnt even sopposed to be a song, it was a poem anthony wrote when he realised he lost the connection with john. Rick Rubin was flipping thru anthony's notebook and found it, then got him to show it to john and chad while waiting for flea to get to rehersal. but yeah
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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Well I think that it was about a friend, and I've heard that it was a poem AK wrote this poem about him.
They would both go under that bridge downtown to shoot up heroine, and his friend OD'd under that bridge and now he feels like the only friend he has and the only one who loves him is the City he lives. and where he's been for so long. Hence "Lonely as I am, Together we cry"
When he says "I don't ever want to feel like I did that day" he's saying that he doesn't want to go through the pain of losing that friend, and "take me to the place I love" is he's talking about using heroine or another drug to run away from the sadness of his friend.
That's what I get out of it. -
I know this is probably wrong, but I live in Grand rapids Michigan, so since my theory involves this I had to say something about it. Since Anthony Kiedis grew up in grand rapids, do you think he could be talking about it since people in southern Michigan are sometimes referred to as living "under the bridge" since the mackinaw bridge is separating the two peninsulas, and so he lived "under the bridge", but I'm probably wrong...
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Anthony Keidis wrote this song about how he doesn't want to feel bad about doing drugs, also fuck the guy who's about to vote.
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