Nevermind
Red Hot Chili Peppers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning | Line by Line Meaning

Never mind the Pac Jam
Never mind the Gap Band
Never mind the Zap Band
Never mind the Funk Scam

Cause we're
The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Never mind the British bands

Never mind the Synth Funk bands
Never mind the Wham Wham band
Never mind Duran Duran

Cause we're
The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Never mind the Soft Cell shit
That's strictly for the twits
Never mind the Men At Work
Those tunes are for the jerks

Cause we're
The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Never mind Hall and Oates
Those guys are a couple of goats
Never mind the Culture Club
That jive's just one big flub

Cause we're
The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Overall Meaning

The lyrics in Red Hot Chili Peppers' song "Nevermind" express the band's belief in their superiority over other popular bands at the time. The first verse dismisses bands such as Pac Jam, Gap Band, Zap Band, and Funk Scam, labeling them as irrelevant in comparison to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The second verse continues with a similar message, expressing disregard for British bands, synth funk bands, Wham Wham band, and Duran Duran. The final verse dismisses Soft Cell, Men At Work, Hall and Oates, and Culture Club, calling them "twits," "jerks," and a "big flub" respectively, while elevating themselves as the ultimate band.

The lyrics can be interpreted in different ways, but overall they express the band's confidence and arrogance. The repetition of "never mind" serves to emphasize the dismissive tone of the lyrics, and the use of derogatory language towards other bands reinforces the idea that the Red Hot Chili Peppers see themselves as superior to their contemporaries.

Overall, the lyrics of "Nevermind" reflect the band's confidence and sense of superiority over their contemporaries. While the song may come across as arrogant, it also highlights the band's self-assurance in their own music and ability to stand out in a crowded music landscape.

Line by Line Meaning

Never mind the Pac Jam
Forget about Pac Jam and their music

Never mind the Gap Band
Don't pay attention to Gap Band and their music

Never mind the Zap Band
Zap Band's music is not important

Never mind the Funk Scam
Ignore Funk Scam and their music

Cause we're The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Because we are the Red Hot Chili Peppers who are superior to those other bands

Never mind the British bands
British bands are not worth considering

Never mind the Synth Funk bands
Synth Funk bands are unimportant

Never mind the Wham Wham band
Ignore Wham Wham band and their music

Never mind Duran Duran
Duran Duran's music is not worth your attention

Never mind the Soft Cell shit
Do not waste your time on Soft Cell's music

That's strictly for the twits
Only foolish people would listen to Soft Cell's music

Never mind the Men At Work
The music of Men At Work is not important

Those tunes are for the jerks
Only foolish people would listen to Men At Work's music

Never mind Hall and Oates
The music of Hall and Oates is not worth considering

Those guys are a couple of goats
Hall and Oates are not talented musicians

Never mind the Culture Club
Ignore Culture Club and their music

That jive's just one big flub
Culture Club's music is a failure

Cause we're The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Because we are the Red Hot Chili Peppers who are superior to those other bands

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, MoeBeToBlame, Peermusic Publishing, WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: Anthony Kiedis, Michael 'Flea' Balzary, Hillel Slovak, Jack Irons

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

The Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk, punk rock and psychedelic rock. The band consists of co-founders Anthony Kiedis (lead vocals) and Flea (bass), as well as drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante, the latter of whom has been in the band across three stints. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the best-selling bands of all time. Read Full BioThe Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk, punk rock and psychedelic rock. The band consists of co-founders Anthony Kiedis (lead vocals) and Flea (bass), as well as drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante, the latter of whom has been in the band across three stints. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the best-selling bands of all time. They are the most successful band in the history of alternative rock, with the records for most number-one singles (13), most cumulative weeks at number one (85) and most top-ten songs (25) on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. They have won six Grammy Awards, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, and in 2022 received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers were formed in Los Angeles by Kiedis, Flea, guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons. Due to commitments to other bands, Slovak and Irons did not play on the band's 1984 self-titled debut album, which instead featured guitarist Jack Sherman and drummer Cliff Martinez. Slovak rejoined for their second album, Freaky Styley (1985), and Irons for their third, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan (1987). Irons left after Slovak died of a drug overdose in June 1988.

With new recruits Frusciante and Smith, the Red Hot Chili Peppers recorded Mother's Milk (1989) and their first major commercial success, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991). Frusciante was uncomfortable with their newfound popularity and left abruptly on tour in 1992. After a series of temporary guitarists, he was replaced by Dave Navarro, who appeared on the group's sixth album, One Hot Minute (1995). Although successful, the album failed to match the critical or popular acclaim of Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Frusciante and Kiedis struggled with drug addiction throughout the 1990s.

In 1998, following Navarro's departure, Frusciante rejoined the band. Their seventh album, Californication (1999), became their biggest commercial success, with 16 million copies sold worldwide. By the Way (2002) and Stadium Arcadium (2006) were also successful; Stadium Arcadium was their first album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Frusciante left again in 2009 to focus on his solo career; he was replaced by Josh Klinghoffer, who appeared on I'm with You (2011) and The Getaway (2016), before Frusciante rejoined in 2019. They released their 12th album, Unlimited Love, in 2022.

The Chili Peppers' mix of hard rock, funk and hip hop has influenced genres such as funk metal, rap metal, rap rock and nu metal. Kiedis said the band were early to combine "hardcore funk and hip-hop-style vocals", and suggested they had influenced Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, and Linkin Park. Smith said, "Certainly Anthony's singing style and voice lends itself to being unique, and nobody sounds like him. The cool thing about it is we can play any style of music whether it's hard and fast, or loud or quiet, slow or medium, whatever it is; rock or funk, and it still sounds like us. I'm proud of that because sometimes bands don't have that strong personality where you go, 'Oh, that's boom, right away.'"

The Chili Peppers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame In April 2012. The induction lineup was Kiedis, Flea, Smith, Klinghoffer, Frusciante, Slovak (represented by his brother James), Irons and Martinez; Frusciante was invited, but did not attend. Navarro and Sherman were not inducted; Sherman said he felt "dishonored". The band performed "By the Way", "Give It Away" and "Higher Ground", which included Irons and Martinez on drums. It was the first time Kiedis and Flea had performed with Irons in more than 20 years.

In 2003, Rolling Stone released their first list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", with Blood Sugar Sex Magik at 310 and Californication at 399. In 2012, a revised list was released, with Californication at 401. In 2020, Rolling Stone released another version of the list, with Blood Sugar Sex Magik at 186 and Californication at 286.

The band received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 31, 2022. George Clinton, Woody Harrelson and Bob Forrest unveiled the star at the ceremony.