Famous
Musical Pieces
Under the
Bridge
Composed and performed by: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Released: March 13, 1992
Album: Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Producer: Rick Rubin
Hear the song here
Inspiration
The producer, Rick Rubin, actually sparked the inspiration for this
song. He often visited Anthony Kiedis, the lead singer for the band
(in photo at right, in the blue jacket). Flipping through the pages
of Anthony's notebook, he found a poem he had written called "Under
the Bridge".
Touched by the lyrics, he suggested that Anthony show it to the
rest of the band. Kiedis wasn't sure. In fact, he thought it was a
bit too emotional for the band's punk rock style. Anthony sang the
song to his band members. The other members then got up and started
finding the rhythm and chords to match his song.
Lyrical analysis
Anthony Kiedis explained that he wrote this song's lyrics
because he felt alienated from the rest of the band. He was sober
for about three years, and this had distanced him from the other
bandmates - bandmates John Frusciante and Flea often smoked
marijuana together, ignoring Kiedis. He felt a deep sense of loss
as well as his former relationship with British actress Ione Skye.
His feelings of alienation led him to believing that his only
companion was the city of Los Angeles.
"I felt an unspoken bond between me and my city. I'd spent so much
time wandering through the streets of L.A. and hiking through the
Hollywood Hills that I sensed there was a nonhuman entity, maybe
the spirit of the hills and the city, who had me in her sights and
was looking after me." - Anthony Kiedis
"Sometimes I feel
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 she knows who I am
She sees my good deeds
And she kisses me windy
I never worry
Now that is a lie
"The
loneliness that I was feeling triggered memories of my time with
Ione and how I'd had this beautiful angel of a girl who was willing
to give me all of her love, and instead of embracing that, I was
downtown with gangsters shooting speedballs under a
bridge". - Anthony Kiedis
Under The Bridge
The "bridge" Kiedis
is talking about in this song was a gang territory which was
located underneath a bridge. Kiedis had gone there to buy drugs,
and pretended that a sister of one of the gang members was his
fiancée in order to enter. Kiedis considers this experience as one
of the worst moments in his life - illustrating how low he was
willing to sink in order to feed his drug addiction.
"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"
Musical
analysis
"My brain
interpreted it as being a really sad song so I thought if the
lyrics are really sad like that I should write some chords that are
happier." - Frusciante
Guitarist John Frusciante also said that he was inspired by the
chord melody and introduction from David Bowie's song "Andy Warhol".
Impact
on Music History
This song received critical acclaim and was loved by the band's
fans as well. The music video for the song was directed by famous
American film director Gus San Vant, which you can see here.
"Under the Bridge" has been covered by many artists. Some notable
ones include:
- Rapper Mos Def used some of the verses in his song Brooklyn.
- British pop girl group All Saints sang a modified version (Kiedis was displeased with this cover because it had lost all personal significance)
References/Images
Kidoryo
Kufo
Allposters
Flea777
Leungs
online
Wikipedia
Post Comments