Red Hot Chili Peppers: Wet Sand Meaning
Wet Sand Lyrics
Keeps coming back dissatisfied
Elementary son, but it's so
My love affair with everywhere
Was innocent why do you care
Someone start the car
Time to go
You're the best I know
My sunny side has up and...
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1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:"You don't form in the wet sand" means many things to me. It means you have no depth. You are a shallow person. You don't make an impression. You are not like me. We could have been good together but you didn't see it.
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2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:This song is a direct correlation between the addict mind and his interpretation of the world. If u go into his head, mine or any other addict u put yourself in a place where you are powerless over people, places and things. This includes sex, relationships, idealizations of the world, and most of all the drugs that keep all of the overbearing sense of reality that all of these bring. When he starts off the song with " my shadow side so amplified, keeps coming back dissatisfied". He is talking about the dark side of him who is terminally different from the rest of the world, and can't take enough dope to numb the pain. An addict as well can't get enough of a relationship they take it to extremes, his shadow side might be hooked on a girl where he can't get enough and keeps trying to get more to satisfy him. His dark shadow side can't get enough of sex, drugs, or rock and roll...as he states when he says "my love affair with everywhere was innocent, why do you care", he has a love affair with drugs, being on the move, rock and roll, sex...and can't ever be satisfied. In a nutshell this song is about loneliness where he can't have what he wants, that perfect idea of a relationship, a basic understanding of being normal in a fast life of drugs and rock and roll. The drugs are not working so he tries another dose and travels coast to coast on the road but nothing changes. The people who do not form in the wet sand are not addicts and don't understand, we do...get it right.
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3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:I thought it was about losing a lover or close friend :
"My shadow's side so amplified" - There is noone beside him anymore besides his shadow.
"You're the best I know" - Thinking back on their past and how close they were.
"My sunny side has up and died" - The best part of him is gone.
"Universal shift into a love
The travesty that we have seen
Are treating you like Benzadrine" - He realises he had true feelings for the person but when they were alive he abused them (Benzadrine was a speed like drug orignally used as medicine but was abused for the effects)
"My what a good day for a, walk outside
I'd like to get to know you a little better baby
God knows that I'll really try" - Wishing he'd realised how much he truely cared for the person and is thinking back on his behaviour. I also see the line "My what a... walk outside" as ironic.
"I saw you there so unaware
Those hummingbirds all in your hair
Elementary, son, but it's (soul)
The disrepair of Norma Jean
Could not compare to your routine" - Originally he was attracted to her for her purity, which he took away. I think the Norma Jean would be reference to Marilyn Monroe, he is saying that her tumble from grave doesn't compare to the character in the story.
"I thought about it and I brought it out
I'm motivated by the lack of doubt
I'm concentrated but I'm not devout
The mother, the father, the daughter" - Thinking on how his actions brought the person to and end (Getting them onto drugs?)
"Right on the verge just one more dose
I'm traveling from coast to coast
My theory isn't perfect but it's close
I'm almost there why should I care" - He let this person pass as he was more concerned with getting high, the line "Right on...one more dose" suggests he pressured this person.
"Oh you don't form in the wet sand
You don't form at all
Woah you don't form in the wet sand, I do, yeah" - Walking on the beach, he leaves footprints but they're alone. Wondering why he lived and they didn't. Could also be seen as realising he has a second chance. -
It has to do with the ego - Carl Gustaf Jung referred to the ego as "the shadow", and the most prominent feature of the ego is constant dissatisfaction - in fact, it is dissatisfaction itself
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Written by Chad Smith and Flea.
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My shadow side so amplified
Keeps coming back dissatisfied
to me it means his demons are still haunting him but he doesnt give them the power he did when he was addicted
Elementary son but it's so...
he is speaking internally here its a easy problem, easy fix, but still he choose to ignore the consequence
My love affair with everywhere
was innocent why do you care?
His rationionalizing his abuse and is defensive about his insecurity of past drug use.
Someone start the car
time to goo...
You're the best I know
He's escaping with his mate he trusts to understand, without being said.
My sunny side has up and died
I'm betting that when we collide
hes coming out of the "romance of sobriety" and his person he left with
is now seen as a pseudo-enemy
The universe will shift into a low
this is his internal insecurity being confronted shaking his known world.
The travesties that we have seen
Are treating me like Benzedrine
they struggled together used together seen the worst of each other
Automatic laughter from a proo
he is angry his partner is able to laugh at what he cant move on from.
My what a good day for/awalkoutside
I'd like to get to know you a little better baby/God knows that I really tried
My what a good day for a /take out bride/ I'd like to say we did it for the better of......
this is his internal conflict reverting to old habits. clean body, addicted mind. "oh well i tried" pretty much,so rationalize with his past mind state is giving him a false sense of security
I saw you there/so unaware
Those hummingbirds/all in your hair
I seen you do what i did, how can u be oblivious, im convinced ur voices in your head were the same as mine.
Elementary son but it's so...
inside i know the problem i just cant face it.
The disrepair of Norma Jean
Could not compare to your routine
the way you handled yourself was so contradicting to your actions you made it seem easy,like a normal problem
Balarama beauty going toe 2 toe
a Eastern Wisdom term for Avatar, he/she made it look beautiful but The imprint on him was Huge.
I thought about it and I brought it out
I'm motivated by the lack of doubt
ipresented my true self and wasnt happy with his response or lack of support
I'm consecrated but I'm not devout
im very much enthusiastic for myself but not totally devoted to my own perceived enthusiasm
The mother/ the father/ the daughter yeah....
The change of being married,a father in its true sense responsible for his daughter.
Right on the verge just one more dose
I'm traveling from coast 2 coast
Im feeling that pull towards the past his mind making plans on changing
My theory isnt perfect but it's close
my belief in my own self soloution is wanting approval,but i know its not
the right choice the acceptence of his insecurity is out
I'm almost there why should I care?
im scared but im close to it,but you dont care so y should I?
My heart is hurting when I share
Im pouring my pure guilt and shame
and it hurts my ego is shattered
Someone open up and let it show
pleading for pity, but its his own battle he knows
ohhhhh
You don't form in the wet sand
your not as heavy in ego based fear weighing me down
You don't form at all ohhhhh
You don't form in the wet sand
I do! yeaaaaaaaa
Well I AM scared, I know it
You don't form in the wet sand
You don't form at allllll
He is at the brink of peace within
its been a inner dialougue the whole time.
oh oooh
You don't form in the wet sand
I DO!!!
I Am Here I ACCEPT myself.
YEAH!!!!!!!!
Finding Your TrueSelf and Defeating them and Forgiving yourself is THE hardest thing. so Fuck yeahhh
I did it!
written by a drug addict,alcohol abuser in recovery for eleven years
now a fully capable human that makes mistakes abd doesnt run.
B -
i listen to this song for 2 days and i think this song the begining is the end and the rest is reminising and trying to put an end on this kind of relationship...(my opinion) but fact is this song is about two people who are interested in each other and everyone in their surrounding think they are a perfect match still the girl can't show her emotions and has issues and can't forget a man in her past and he tries and tries but she remains cold...
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'My shadow's side so amplified
Keeps coming back dissatisfied
Elementary son, but it's so'
The darkness inside him which he restrains is beginning to break out, but he accepts that without it he wouldn't be who he is.
'My love affair with everywhere
Was innocent why do you care'
He's had a lot of girlfriends, and never became emotionally attached.
'Someone start the car
Time to go
You're the best I know'
The way this part is sung makes me think of him realising that he's now developed feelings for a girl. He knows the relationship will turn out bad, so he moves on for her sake, even though she was the one person he's ever loved.
'My sunny side has up and died
I'm betting that when we collide
The universe will shift into a low
The travesties that we have seen
Are treating me like Benzedrine
Automatic laughter from a pro'
He's heartbroken because he can't be with her, but nobody will ever know, he just laughs and acts carefree.
'My what a good day for a, walk outside
I'd like to get to know you a little better baby
God knows that I've really tried
My what a good day for a take out bride
I'd like to say we did it for the better of
He tries to escape his feelings, but just gets more drawn into them. He turns to drugs.
'I saw you there so unaware
Those hummingbirds all in your hair
Elementary, son, but it's so
The disrepair of Norma Jean
Could not compare to your routine
Ballarama beauty going toe to toe'
He's now looking back.The girl was beautiful, everything he wanted.I think he maybe knew her for a while, but had never told her of his feelings. He moves away from her,he doesn't want to tie her down or make her unhappy because of his personal demons.
'My what a good day for a, let it slide
I'd like to say we did it for the better of
I thought about it and I brought it out
I'm motivated by the lack of doubt
I'm concentrated but I'm not devout
The mother, the father, the daughter'
Let it slide might refer to letting his sobriety slip away once more, bringing out drugs. He has no doubt that he did the right thing by letting her go, as he would only hurt her.
'Right on the verge just one more dose
I'm traveling from coast to coast
My theory isn't perfect but it's close
I'm almost there why should I care
My heart is hurting when I share
Someone open up, let it show'
He is suicidal now.On the verge of an overdose. He knows that drugs don't help, but he just wants to be numb. He wishes there was someone he could care for, someone who would open up to him.
'My what a good day for a, walk outside
I'd like to think we did it for the better of'
He begins to get over her, becoming sober again.
'Oh, you don't form in the wet sand
You don't form at all
Whoah, you don't form in the wet sand,
I do, yeah
You don't form in the wet sand
You don't form at all
Whoah you don't form in the wet sand,
I do, yeah!'
He walks along the beach, reflecting. He is alone, and thinks about the girl. He realises at this point that she won't ever be with him, but he's still happy to be alone for her sake.
First time interpreting a song, it might not be right but that's what the song means to me, from personal experience. I love you kate. -
In my opinion, this song is about anthony's drug addiction and the losses that drugs caused him. When he says "Right on the verge just one more dose/I'm traveling from coast to coast" I think that he refers to his friend Hillel Slovak, former guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who died because of heroin overdose. He also mentions his own addiction problems when he says "My shadow's side so amplified/Keeps coming back dissatisfied" where I believe that he talks about his craving for drugs that will never leave him. Finally, the last verse "Oh you don't form in the wet sand/You don't form at all/Woah you don't form in the wet sand, I do, yeah" it might has to do with the gradual retrieval of himself which gives him hope.
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Wet Sand...the title itself is an allusion to various creation myths, where mankind was created out of clay. I think, at least in my opinion, that this shows that regardless of the past, you, just like "wet sand," can mold yourself to whatever you want to be. It is never too late to change, to turn your life around.
Like in many other Red Hot Chili Peppers songs, drugs, sex and love are recurring motifs throughout, from the lyrics to the heartfelt acoustics. But this song also shows the effect of faith. It is a story of a heartbroken soul finds solace in belief. It allows us to have hope, that as bad as things are today, tomorrow will be better. More than all the drug references, or the implied heartbreaks, that is truly what "Wet Sand" means to me, -
This song is reminiscent of the blinding aspect of love fading as one eventually begins to see things as they actually are. It's a story of love when the man (Anthony) realizes the one he was so enamored with has no depth. He then is making a conscious decision to move on rather than trying to fix something that will never work. This song could possibly be about the same relationship that "dosed" is written about, in which he got an old girlfriend pregnant and he wanted to keep the child but she had an abortion. This song could be the finality of that relationship where anthony finally realizes he'll never get over her killing the daughter he was going to have. (Hence "the mother, the father, the daughter")
My shadow's side so amplified
Keeps coming back dissatisfied
Elementary son, but it's so
My love affair with everywhere
Was innocent why do you care
Someone start the car
Time to go
You're the best I know
He starts by saying how me misses and her and how his shadow doesn't run into hers anymore when he walks in the sun "My shadow's side so amplified Keeps coming back dissatisfied".
In the next line "Elementry son, but is so (soul)" He's referring to how easily the pain could be fixed but in the long run his soul needs to be separated from her.
My love affair with everywhere
Was innocent why do you care
Someone start the car
Time to go
You're the best I know
He then states how she always blamed him for things being the way they were (possibly having the abortion because she thought he would always be on the road touring) but, that he only traveled for his passion and work (music/RHCP). Then by saying " someone start the car" he infers that he needs someone to help him get away from her. At the end he also says "your the best I know" to indicate how much love he still feels for her.
My sunny side has up and died
I'm betting that when we collide
The universe will shift into a low
The travesties that we have seen
Are treating me like Benzedrine
Automatic laughter from a pro
He initiates here by describing the pain being apart from her is like. It's as if every day is gloomy. Then he states his fear of going off the deep end if he sees her again (possibly returning to drug usage). "The travesties that we have seen are treating me like Benzedrine" means that all the memories he has with her are treating him like a highly addictive drug and keep resurfacing in his mind. After that, he throws in a line to show how good he has become about hiding feelings that deeply hurt him with "automatic laughter I'm a pro"
My what a good day for a, walk outside
I'd like to get to know you a little better baby
God knows that I've really tried
My what a good day for a take out bride
I'd like to say we did it for the better of
The medley that sort've functions as a partial chorus starts by talking about how he would go out to think and possibly pray (while walking or just hanging out "let-it-slide") about her and how they could fix things or possibly forget the abortion. After that by take out bride he means that it would be nice if he could find someone else he knew would love him and wouldn't emotionally damage him any further, and then closes by saying how he keeps trying to make himself think they did the right thing (although it's almost as if he knows they didn't possibly again speaking of the abortion) "I'd like the think we did it for the better of".
As the song escalates his mood brightens and his strength apart from his love grows. In the Chorus when he says "I'm motivated by the lack of doubt" he means although it still hurts he knows he is doing the right thing. This brightening of mood, in a sense, continues all the way until the end when they start repeating "You don't form in the wet sand" meaning she held no substance to her character. It's like comparing a ghost to a human walking in sand, where a ghost has no substance and leaves no footprints but a living being does have substance and molds into the sand. The substance they sing of is more along the lines of a moral and emotional substance though. He finally to concludes by saying that he does form. This is saying the he does have an emotional depth which is why they could never last together.
A really wonderful song, modern-day music can't even scratch the surface of the depth this holds.
Garrison Nuckols -
interesting interpretations everyone but i'm pretty sure i read an inteview with anthony somewhere sometime that it's actually about a couple with different religious beliefs, i.e. one believing in evolution and one believing that man was formed (in wet sand, hint hint) by God. references to relious (especially christian) beleifs are all through the song such as "i'm consecrated but i'm not devout, the mother, the father, the daughter" can be seen as reference to the holy trinity. and "my theory isn't perfect but it's close" could refer to several different beliefs
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I always thought the wet sand bit was a reference to Jimmi Hendrix Castles made of sand...the song is about is addiction and the forming in the wet sand is about rebuilding himself
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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I think that the song is about Anthony's friend which is his band mate who passaway due to heroin. at the time of his addiction with his friend in heroin, they are both happy at that state but when his friend died, he realized that drugs would not do anything good to him.
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Yes it's about drugs. What Anthony is saying is that he has finally gotten over drugs. "You don't form in the wet sand. I do" is saying that drug addiction is no longer an obstacle for him. It's a metaphor saying that the drugs no longer form an imprint on his life, like they're not real anymore, so they don't form in the wet sand.
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'You don't form in the wet sand' could mean that she doesn't conform to any rules or anything or follows her own path and always stood out from the crowd.
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