‘Under the Bridge’ is a song by American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers on their fifth studio album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991). Vocalist Anthony Kiedis wrote the lyrics while reflecting on loneliness and the struggles of being clean from drugs, and almost did not share it with the band. Released in March 1992, ‘Under the Bridge’ was praised by critics and fans for its emotional weight. The song was a commercial success and the band's highest-charting single, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, number one on the Cash Box Top 100 and certified platinum. It was also a success in other countries, mostly charting within the top 10. Gus Van Sant directed the song's music video, which was filmed in Los Angeles.
‘Under the Bridge’ helped the Red Hot Chili Peppers enter the mainstream. David Fricke of Rolling Stone said that the song "unexpectedly drop-kicked the band into the Top 10". The song has become an inspiration to other artists, and remains a seminal component of the alternative rock movement of the early and mid-1990s.
During the production of the Red Hot Chili Peppers's 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik, producer Rick Rubin regularly visited singer Anthony Kiedis to review his new material. He found a poem titled ‘Under the Bridge’ in Kiedis's notebook and took an interest in the poignant lyrics. Rubin suggested that Kiedis show it to the rest of the band: "I thought it was beautiful. I said, 'We've got to do this.'"
Kiedis was reluctant, as he felt the poem was too emotional and did not fit the Chili Peppers's style. After singing the poem to guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith, they "got up and walked over to their instruments and started finding the beat and guitar chords to match it". Frusciante chose the chords to balance the dark lyrics, saying "I thought if the lyrics are really sad like that I should write some chords that are happier".
Frusciante and Kiedis worked on the song for several days. It was one of the few tracks completed prior to the band moving into the Mansion, where they recorded the album. After the song was recorded, Rubin felt the grand ending would benefit from a large group of singers. Frusciante invited his mother, Gail, and her friend, both of whom sang in a choir, to perform.
Kiedis wrote many of the lyrics during a period of depression. After struggling with heroin and cocaine addiction, he had been sober for roughly three years. He felt that this had distanced him from his bandmates, who continued to use marijuana together; Kiedis felt that Frusciante was "no longer in [his] world". Driving home after rehearsal in April 1991, Kiedis thought of his addiction during his relationship with his former girlfriend Ione Skye. He wrote in his 2004 memoir Scar Tissue: "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 fucking gangsters shooting speedballs under a bridge." Kiedis's alienation led him to feel that the city of Los Angeles was his only companion, and that "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".
‘Under the Bridge’ was released on March 2, 1992. Journalist Jeff Apter noted that it "was the bona fide, across-all-formats radio hit that the band had been working towards for seven years". It spent 26 cumulative weeks on the United States Billboard Hot 100 chart. The single has been certified 6× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Label – Warner Bros.
Songwriters – Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante, Chad Smith
Producer – Rick Rubin
SONG LYRICS
[Instrumental Intro 00:00-00:29][Verse 1]
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 Angels
Lonely as I am, together we cry
[Verse 2]
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
Well, I never worry, now that is a lie
[Chorus]
I don't ever wanna feel like I did that day
Take me to the place I love, take me all the way
I don't ever wanna feel like I did that day
Take me to the place I love, take me all the way
[Post-Chorus]
Yeah, yeah, yeah
[Verse 3]
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
[Chorus]
I don't ever wanna feel like I did that day
Take me to the place I love, take me all the way
I don't ever wanna feel like I did that day
Take me to the place I love, take me all the way
[Bridge]
Yeah, yeah yeah
Oh, no, no, no, yeah, yeah
Love me, I say, yeah, yeah
(One time)
[Outro]
(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, yeah
Yeah, yeah
(Away)
Oh, no, no no no, yeah yeah
(Away)
Oh no, I said oh, yeah yeah
(Away)
Where I'll stay