Otherside
♫ Red Hot Chili Peppers Lyrics


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How long, how long will I slide?
Separate my side, I don't
I don't believe it's bad
Slit my throat it's all I ever

I heard your voice through a photograph
I thought it up and brought up the past
Once you know you can never go back
I gotta take it on the other side

Centuries are what it meant to me
A cemetery where I marry the sea
Stranger things could never change my mind
I gotta take it on the other side
Take it on the other side
Take it on, take it on

How long, how long will I slide?
Separate my side, I don't
I don't believe it's bad
Slit my throat it's all I ever

Pour my life into a paper cup
The ashtray's full and I'm spillin' my guts
She wants to know am I still a slut
I've got to take it on the other side

Scarlet starlet and she's in my bed
A candidate for a soul mate bled
Push the trigger and I pull the thread, I gotta take it on the other side
Take it on the other side
Take it on
Take it on

How long, how long will I slide?
Separate my side, I don't
I don't believe it's bad
Slit my throat it's all I ever

Turn me on, take me for a hard ride
Burn me out, leave me on the other side
I yell and tell it that it's not my friend
I tear it down, I tear it down
And then it's born again

How long, how long will I slide?
Separate my side, I don't
I don't believe it's bad
Slit my throat it's all I ever





How long, I don't, I don't believe it's bad
Slit my throat it's all I ever

Overall Meaning

The song "Otherside" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a reflection on addiction and the constant struggle to stay clean. The song opens with the line "How long, how long will I slide?" which portrays a feeling of hopelessness and desperation. The singer is struggling with addiction and trying to separate himself from that part of his life, but it seems like a lost cause. He doesn't believe it's a bad thing to indulge in his addiction and even contemplates death.


The second verse of the song talks about hearing the voice of someone from the past through a photograph, and realizing that once you know something, it's impossible to go back to not knowing it. The singer is haunted by his past and is trying to escape it by taking it "on the other side." The idea of centuries and a cemetery where he marries the sea suggests that the singer feels like he's been trapped in this cycle of addiction for a very long time.


In the third verse, the singer pours his life into a paper cup, showing that he's given everything he has to his addiction. He's also spilling his guts, being honest and open about his situation. The line "She wants to know am I still a slut" suggests that the singer has been promiscuous while under the influence, and is being judged for it. The final verse of the song talks about the singer's struggle to resist the pull of addiction, and how he tears it down, only for it to be born again.


Line by Line Meaning

How long, how long will I slide?
The artist is questioning how long he will continue to struggle and suffer.


Separate my side, I don't
The artist wants to separate himself from the parts of him causing pain and suffering.


I don't believe it's bad
The artist does not believe that this struggle is inherently negative or harmful.


Slit my throat it's all I ever
The artist is expressing a feeling of hopelessness and that he is stuck in this negative cycle.


I heard your voice through a photograph
The artist is reminiscing on a past memory and is reminded of it through a photograph.


I thought it up and brought up the past
The artist's memory was triggered by the photograph.


Once you know you can never go back
The artist recognizes that once he remembers this past event, he cannot un-remember it.


I gotta take it on the other side
The artist needs to find a way to deal with this past event and move past it.


Centuries are what it meant to me
The artist feels that this struggle he is facing is taking an indefinite amount of time.


A cemetery where I marry the sea
The artist is using metaphorical language to describe a feeling of being trapped and a sense of finality.


Stranger things could never change my mind
No amount of alternative experiences or perspectives can change the artist's current state of mind.


Pour my life into a paper cup
The artist feels like his life is being drained and is insignificant.


The ashtray's full and I'm spillin' my guts
The artist is exposing his innermost thoughts and feelings.


She wants to know am I still a slut
Someone is trying to inquire about the artist's promiscuity.


I've got to take it on the other side
The artist feels a need to confront and deal with this negative aspect of his life.


Scarlet starlet and she's in my bed
The artist is describing a romantic encounter he had.


A candidate for a soul mate bled
Despite the potential for this person to be the artist's soul mate, things did not work out.


Push the trigger and I pull the thread
The artist is using metaphorical language to describe a feeling of powerlessness and uncertainty.


Turn me on, take me for a hard ride
The artist is seeking out an intense emotional experience.


Burn me out, leave me on the other side
The artist wants to undergo an emotional experience and come out the other side changed and healed.


I yell and tell it that it's not my friend
The artist is confronting his struggles and recognizing their harmful effects.


I tear it down, I tear it down
The artist is committed to destroying this negative aspect of his life.


And then it's born again
Despite the artist's efforts, this struggle continues to come back and plague him.


How long, I don't, I don't believe it's bad
The artist repeats that he does not think this struggle is inherently harmful or negative.


Slit my throat it's all I ever
The artist ends the song reiterating his feeling of hopelessness and being trapped in this negative cycle.




Lyrics © MoeBeToBlame
Written by: Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith, Michael Balzary, John Frusciante

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@fndzyi

Road trippin' with my two favorite allies
Fully loaded we got snacks and supplies
It's time to leave this town, it's time to steal away
Let's go get lost anywhere in the USA
Let's go get lost, let's go get lost
Blue, you sit so pretty west of the one
Sparkles light with yellow icing, just a mirror for the sun
Just a mirror for the sun
Just a mirror for the sun
These smiling eyes are just a mirror for
So much as come before those battles lost and won
This life is shining more forever in the sun
Now let us check our heads and let us check the surf
Staying high and dry's more trouble than it's worth in the sun
Just a mirror for the sun
Just a mirror for the sun
These smiling eyes are just a mirror for
In Big Sur we take some time to linger on
We three hunky-dory's got our snakefinger on
Now let us drink the stars, it's time to steal away
Let's go get lost right here in the USA
Let's go get lost, let's go get lost
Blue, you sit so pretty west of the one
Sparkles light with yellow icing, just a mirror for the sun
Just a mirror for the sun
Just a mirror for the sun
These smiling eyes are just a mirror for
These smiling eyes are just a mirror for
Your smiling eyes are just a mirror for



@cicitmungil

Folks Lyric Meaning :

1. "...This song is about a trip Anthony Kiedis took in rural California with John Frusciante and Flea: "Road Trippin with my two favorite allies." This trip consolidated their friendship in this new phase of The Red Hot Chili Peppers. The song reflects a more mature Kiedis, who wrote about this friendship triangle in "Under The Bridge" when he felt left out."

2. "... like the line "these smiling eyes are just a mirror for [the sun]"

it's an alternate way of looking at the value we place on ourselves as individuals. We look out from our eyes and see the world as though we were the center of it, and as though the world revolves around us. We are the main character in the story. But in this, our eyes are so much more insignificant. Simply mirrors for the sun.

It's humbling- but not debasing. I think the intent is not to say that we are worthless, but to say that we are small. Juxtaposed with the rest of the song, we need to let go because we are small and not significant, and must make the most of what we have. For them, it is hitting the surf. For another, it might be devotion to ones family, or religion, or the environment, or cooking if they love that- but do what is important to you, and remember your eyes are just a mirror for the sun."

3. "...to me this song means getting away with the people that mean most to you and it doesnt mater where you go, as long as the company is right your'e gonna have a good time and get away from your problem for a while"

Song Fact :
~ This is one of the few Red Hot Chili Peppers songs with no drums. Drummer Chad Smith appears only briefly at the end of the video, arriving in a boat

~ The Peppers used a Chamberlin Organ on this song to get the sort of orchestral sound. According to Anthony Kiedis and Chad Smith's interview on Music Express, the original intention was to get legendary Led Zeppelin musician John Paul Jones to arrange that part. They decided against it after seeing how much it would cost them.



All comments from YouTube:

@RedHotChiliPeppers

On this day in 2000, the music video for “Road Trippin’” was released. Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.

@guliovictorioriccirubio5175

remember nostalgically enjoyed this video .... I was a teenager watching MTV 

@jaddeengell

***** si

@marcelaparenti9376

LOS AMOOOO!!!,Y ESTE VIDEO EN PARTICULAR.GRACIAS

@DanielNava12031985

Para mi, una de las mejores bandas de la historia del rock. Que buena música.

@Carollimmah

My tribute to this lovely song/band: http://soundcloud.com/kansuproject-1/road-trippin

71 More Replies...

@hdmat101

Chad's talent really shines in this song

@iolo1920

Bruh

@raiame9977

That's true. A good drummer
knows when to play and when not. This song wouldn't be the same if there was drums in it

@EZal17

@@raiame9977 wonder how it’d sound if it were somewhat slower, but had percussion

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