Red Hot Chili Peppers: Californication Meaning

Song Released: 2000

Californication Lyrics

Psychic spies from China
Try to steal your mind's elation
Little girls from Sweden
Dream of silver screen quotations
And if you want these kind of dreams
It's Californication

It's the edge of the world
And all of western...

1. Vandy

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   Nov 22nd 2011 !⃝

   Hello, and hello. The song, in my view, is of the spread of media and lies, though in the sense of movies and music rather than news and politics. Californication refers to the influx of people and areas becoming hellbent on fame. The various references to "the western civilizations" are also to California, Hollywood precisely, and it's influence on the great world of nothing. And another point I have is of Alderaan, a part everyone seemed to miss. This is, if you've watched Star Wars, a fictional planet that is famous for being destroyed by the great Death Star. To me, this is a little implement that the world will be destroyed in some way, thanks to Hollywood, or Hollywood is the next Alderaan.
   I'd love to do more, but hell, got a bed to sleep on.
2. anonymous

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   Nov 10th 2011 !⃝

   I believe this song talks about California
3. anonymous

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   Oct 15th 2011 !⃝

   Many of you have good ideas. But what we need to focus on is "fornication" and it's real definition. Fornication is premarital sex. In today's world that means finding someone and sleeping with them and then breaking up with them. And California, Hollywood, is broadcasting this. Children can see this on the television. I think it's about how society's look on bad things is getting lower and lower. People just don't care what's on TV.
   "It's understood that Hollywood sells Californication"
   A perfect example of how sex sells.
4. anonymous

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   Sep 24th 2011 !⃝

   In my opinion the song wants to make people aware that the humanity is coming to an end as the world reaches the state of Californication.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
5. anonymous

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   Jul 18th 2011 !⃝

   Many of these "interpretations" are nice and all... but all of you seem to be forgetting that California isn't just about Hollywood. It's a gorgeous state with incredible and well-maintained National Parks, where landmark green legislation has passed, the liberal "hippie" state, the best public universities in the entire nation, and the Silicon Valley that gave all of you your Macs and Xboxes.
   
   What I'm trying to say is that I think this song is about Hollywood only, since the RHCP were from California and they would know all this stuff. Some person up there said that the lyrics may not be referring to California, but what we think of when someone talks about California: Hollywood.
   
   I've lived in California my entire life (the South Bay) and while I agree that Hollywood has negative influences, I cannot stand to see all of you insult the entire state. The fact that people see California as Jersey Shore or the OC is ignorant on THEIR part.
   
   I'd also like to point out that plastic surgery is frowned upon and that "typical" housewives can't afford it (South Korea holds the record for the most amount of plastic surgeries, btw). Hollywood may have negative influences, but movies can have a positive impact also. Movies such as Schindler's List and documentaries like Food Inc. send powerful and good messages. It's up to us to pick which Hollywood movies affect us.
6. Saket

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   Apr 30th 2011 !⃝

   Hmmm . . . . So many interpretations . . .i m from india . . . . N we r all californiacted . . . . . . .point is hollywoods influenced da whole world . . . wth its rockstars (music as a form of rebellion n liberation) its glamour . . . . .its movies . . . .music . . .da lifestyle of celebs. . . . Its all so attractive ,everyone dreams to be a part of it. . hollywood has everythin . . .It sells sex in every variety (hahahaha) . . . Soft porn ,hard porn hmmm . . whole world changes if ders i change in america . . .west is where da sun sets, its evil tht spreads from california. With its drugs, gangs ,plastic lifestyle . .but i guess tht is da reason why we all love dis song . . . Inside all of us want to be a part of what hollywood represents . .whats life without a little bit of fun . . .Cool though song so truth infused in every word . Definitly a classic . .:)
7. Nike

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   Apr 20th 2011 !⃝

   First of all, this song NOT (only) about the state of California and its characteristics.
   
   Here, Californication also means "Globalization", and if you exchange the two words anywhere in the song (except the second verses, and damn the rhyme!) it works as far as understanding and English is concerned.
   
   California is just used as a medium which represents the whole world as it is, changing and growing worse. This is suggested by the "(pregnant)teenage bride"(line 23) and also how people are trying to "break the sign of ageing" for a completely useless (and unexplained) case.
   
   IN A NUTSHELL, this song says:
   (How) People are becoming obsessed for money, as also other materialistic gains, leading to loss of cultures of other lands.
8. anonymous

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   Feb 10th 2011 !⃝

   This song seems to be about porn. People are looking into it a little too deep.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
9. anonymous

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   Sep 25th 2010 !⃝

   Hello? Has anyone realized the fact that fornication means consensual intercourse between two unmarried heterosexual (not gay) adults or minors. Hard core soft-porn? Californication= porn/prostitutes/just plain sex

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
10. whatshouldiput

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    Aug 19th 2010 !⃝

    ok, i don't know why no one's thought of this , but "It's the eddge of the world in all the western civilization" is talking about Anthony moving to Califonia and drugs ruining his life. "The sun may rise in the east" he was born in Michigan. "At least it settled in a final location" he finally found somewhere to stay and live. i'm not completey sure about the rest of the song, but this seems pretty logical to me.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
11. anonymous

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    Jun 26th 2010 !⃝

    The majority of this song is about Kurt Cobain. "Celebrity skin" is Coutney Love's album. "First born unicorn" is Frances Bean. He actually says "Cobain" at one point. The entire verse about destruction breeds creation is about the destructive lifestyle that Kurt led and how it made him a genius, but also ultimately killed him and nothing could save him from himself. The whole concept of Californication embodies everything that Kurt hated.
12. anonymous

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    Feb 15th 2010 !⃝

    first of all when he says chin hes not refering to china, he means what he says, the actual meaning of the lyric is that the world is so fake and messed up that you cant tell whats what anymore using the face as a metaphor and also the bit about alderans not far away isnt about the world being destroyed but rather a reference to the line "space may be the final frontier but its made in hollywood basement" implying that if the government told people that they had landed a man on alderan the state of the world is so poor that most people would probably belive them.
13. anonymous

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    Dec 20th 2009 !⃝

    California sells sex and brainwashes the people because they pretty much control the way we dress and act because everyone wants to be like them but most of them are fake and plastic.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
14. anonymous

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    Oct 12th 2009 !⃝

    Someone mentioned somewhere here that part of it is talking about the war in Iraq. First of all there in no lyric in the song that sounds like they are talking about an actual war (We can argue for years about how they might be talking about the war against real culture by a superficial sub-culture created by the media). Also it is in no way possible because chronologically the song was released before the war in Iraq and before 9/11. So, there is no way they could ever be talking about the war in Iraq and even though the song is not new, it is not anywhere old enough to be talking about George Bush Senior's interventions in Iraq.
15. vitja

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    Feb 24th 2009 !⃝

    Ok, english isn't my mothertongue, but I'll try: I think that the essential text line for the sound mood is in verses "...the tidal waves could't save the world from californication..." (-ruffly or exactly): So, it's about spookiness of the way of living in USA and in California (actually-in the West in general), which started with the invasion of the europeians (who then made the genocide killing the natives, etc, etc, until the present structure of society in California)which was PREDESTINED, since it happened, which shows even more spooky and mercyless picture of the world and of possible Creator which allowes such things...THAT is a aroma of our world, not the idilic children church singing...
    Funny enough-the group and the singer ARE from L.A. and from that very culture, not just that but-they MAKE LIVING exactly by fokusing on California things...
    And finaly: I have a hunger to understand singer's world view, he's giving it in many songs, especially in in Give It Away, in Higher Ground: Is there anywhere a proffesional analysis of his texts, like they study Dilans text in universities? Take care.

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