Frusciante joined the Chili Peppers at the age of 18 after the death of guitarist Hillel Slovak, and first appeared on their album Mother's Milk (1989). His second album with the band, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), was their breakthrough success. Overwhelmed by the band's newfound popularity, he quit in 1992. He became a recluse and entered a period of heroin addiction, during which he released his first solo recordings: Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt (1994) and Smile from the Streets You Hold (1997). In 1998, he completed drug rehabilitation and rejoined the Chili Peppers, taking them to major success with their albums Californication (1999), By the Way (2002) and Stadium Arcadium (2006). He left the Red Hot Chili Peppers again in 2009 to focus on solo work, and rejoined in 2019.
Frusciante's solo work encompasses genres including experimental rock, ambient music and electronica. He released six albums in 2004, each exploring different genres and recording techniques. In 2009, Frusciante released The Empyrean, which features Chili Peppers bassist Flea and guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. Frusciante also releases acid house under the alias Trickfinger. With Klinghoffer and Joe Lally, he has released two albums as Ataxia.
Frusciante was named one of the greatest guitarists by Rolling Stone and Gibson, and in a BBC poll. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2012.
Frusciante's musical style has evolved over the course of his career. Although he received moderate recognition for his early guitar work, it was not until later in his career that music critics and guitarists alike began to fully recognize it: in October 2003, he was ranked eighteenth in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Frusciante attributes this recent recognition to his shift in focus, stating that he chose an approach based on rhythmic patterns inspired by the complexity of material Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen produced. On earlier records, however, much of his output was influenced by various underground punk and new wave musicians.
In general, his sound is also defined by an affinity for vintage guitars. All the guitars that he owns, records, and tours with were made before 1970. Frusciante uses the specific guitar that he finds appropriate for a certain song. All of the guitars he owned before quitting the band were destroyed when his house burned down in 1996. The first guitar he bought after rejoining the Chili Peppers was a 1962 red Fender Jaguar. His most-often used guitar, however, is a 1961 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster that was given to him as a gift from Anthony Kiedis after Frusciante rejoined the Chili Peppers in 1998. He has played this guitar on every album since rejoining the Chili Peppers, and their ensuing tours. He also owns a 1955 Fender Stratocaster, his only Strat with a maple fretboard. Frusciante's most highly appraised instrument is a 1955 Gretsch White Falcon, which he used twice per show for the songs Californication and Otherside. Since 2006, he only uses it for the latter song, saying there was "no room for it", preferring multiple Stratocasters for the Stadium Arcadium tour. Virtually all of Frusciante's acoustic work is played with a 1950s Martin 0–15.
After leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers, he switched to using a Yamaha SG as his primary guitar for his solo work. "With the Yamaha SG, I could play along with guitar players who were playing, say, Les Pauls, and feel like the sound matched what I was hearing on the record. ... People like Robert Fripp, Mick Ronson, Tony Iommi, and particularly John McGeoch from Siouxsie and the Banshees, who played a Yamaha SG, which is why I bought one in the first place". Frusciante has also noted his increased use of the Roland MC-202 for his electronic music, saying that he was at the point "where I thought as much like a 202ist as I did a guitarist ..." The MC-202 has been his primary melodic instrument in his electronic music.
With the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Frusciante provided backing vocals in a falsetto tenor, a style he started on Blood Sugar Sex Magik. He thoroughly enjoyed his role in the Chili Peppers as backing vocalist, and said that backing vocals are a "real art form". Despite his commitment to the Chili Peppers, he felt that his work with the band should remain separate from his solo projects. When he returned to the Chili Peppers in 1998, Kiedis wanted the band to record "Living in Hell", a song Frusciante had written several years before. Frusciante refused, feeling that the creative freedom he needed for his solo projects would have conflicted with his role in the band.
Your Warning
John Frusciante Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Was the safest thing to say
This trying to get out a very tight spot
Isn't even worth a shot
And all of the world calls out at once
Give us pain
It's a friend to us
What we are we owe to the fear of love
Don't bring it around I've reached for that
Once it is found it turns its back
What's it called when you're married
And you've fallen out of love
What's it called when the family
You raised you don't know at all
Give us a point to miss
Endings are killing me slow
I only ask for this
Emptiness replace my soul
The first verse of Your Warning seems to portray a situation where the singer is being warned to stay out of harm's way. It could be interpreted as a situation where someone is being threatened or where an argument is about to occur. The line "trying to get out of a very tight spot/Isn't even worth a shot" implies that escaping the situation may seem impossible. The second verse then takes a darker turn with the lyrics "all of the world calls out at once/Give us pain/It's a friend to us/And we don't decide for ourselves very much." These lines suggest that people are attracted to pain and that they don't have much control over their decisions.
The chorus is then introduced, "What we are we owe to the fear of love/Don't bring it around I've reached for that/Once it is found it turns its back," which seems to suggest that the singer has been hurt in the past and no longer wishes to be involved in love or feelings of affection. The final verse paints a picture of a failed marriage and a dysfunctional family. The line "give us a point to miss" implies that the singer is searching for a reason to continue living, despite the pain and emptiness they feel. The song then ends with the plea "emptiness, replace my soul."
Overall, the lyrics of Your Warning explore themes of pain, fear, and emptiness, and the way that these emotions can shape our lives and relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
You're warning me to get out of the way
You advise me to step aside
Was the safest thing to say
That was the best advice
This trying to get out a very tight spot
Escaping a tricky situation
Isn't even worth a shot
It's not even worth trying
And all of the world calls out at once
The whole world is screaming
Give us pain
We crave pain
It's a friend to us
Suffering is our ally
And we don't decide for ourselves very much
We're often not in control of our choices
What we are we owe to the fear of love
Our identity is often shaped by fear of romance
Don't bring it around I've reached for that
Don't bring that up, I've been there
Once it is found it turns its back
Once love is found, it can betray us
What's it called when you're married
What's it called when you're wed
And you've fallen out of love
Yet you've lost your affection
What's it called when the family
What's that which is dubbed when the relations
You raised you don't know at all
You raised them but are strangers now
Give us a point to miss
Provide us something to long for
Endings are killing me slow
Conclusions are slowly murdering me
I only ask for this
All I want is this
Emptiness replace my soul
Replace my spirit with emptiness
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JOHN FRUSCIANTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Valentina Henriquez
You're warning me to get out of the way
Was the safest thing to say
This trying to get out a very tight spot
Isn't even worth a shot
And all of the world calls out at once
Give us pain
It's a friend to us
And we don't decide for ourselves very much
What we are we owe to the fear of love
Don't bring it around I've reached for that
Once it is found it turns its back
What's it called when you're married
And you've fallen out of love
What's it called when the family
You raised you don't know at all
Give us a point to miss
Endings are killing me slow
I only ask for this
Emptiness replace my soul
Ian Webster
I'm glad its not more well known. It feels a bit more pure because it isn't marketed and hyped. It feels more like a secret club of genuine fans this way.
Cherry Smoke
@James Prada i had a really bad time trying to understand what you wrote
Fikri Al ahmad Lamdu
Im so grateful that Jhon Frusciante didnt end up like Kurt Cobain and Jimmie Hendrix!!!he thaught us everything about this life!! the bravest person i have ever known
Steve K.
Man, "emptiness replaced my soul". That lyric gets me every time...
Hi
@Ivan Egic thx... never thought it
Michael McAlpin
Me too
Nick Rios
I know right
Ivan Egic
He actually says ' I only ask for this - emptiness, replace my soul!' because he wants emptiness in his soul instead of hard feelings and memories...
Wilbur Jenkins
+Steve Kress Yep, both my Dad and Grandma died last week. Since then I don't think I've listen to much music besides John.
Awakening Navigator
Every song of his makes me think I just love this man.He's never met me and I never met him, but he gets it..he gets me..he understands life.Its beyond explanation what a beautiful experience his music is.