The first single from the album Californication. It was the first single to feature the return of guitarist John Frusciante, who left the band in 1992 after the release of their breakthrough album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. He returned to the band for the recording of Californication.
The song spent 16 consecutive weeks atop the US Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart as well as 10 weeks atop the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and it reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100.. It also won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song in 2000.
Scar tissue
Red Hot Chilli Peppers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sarcastic mister know it all
Close your eyes and I'll kiss you 'cause
With the birds I'll share
With the birds I'll share
This lonely view
With the birds I'll share This lonely view
Push me up against the wall
Young Kentucky girl in a push-up bra
Fallin' all over myself
To lick your heart and taste your health 'cause
With the birds I'll share
This lonely view
With the birds I'll share
This lonely view
With the birds I'll share
This lonely view
Blood loss in a bathroom stall
Southern girl with a scarlet drawl
Wave good-bye to ma and pa 'cause
With the birds I'll share
With the birds I'll share
This lonely view
With the birds I'll share
This lonely view
Soft spoken with a broken jaw
Step outside but not to brawl in Autumn's sweet we call it fall
I'll make it to the moon if I have to crawl and
With the birds I'll share
This lonely view
With the birds I'll share
This lonely view
With the birds I'll share
This lonely view
Scar tissue that I wish you saw
Sarcastic mister know it all
Close your eyes and I'll kiss you 'cause
With the birds I'll share
With the birds I'll share
This lonely view
With the birds I'll share
This lonely view
With the birds I'll share
This lonely view
The lyrics of "Scar Tissue" by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers are somewhat scattered, as the song jumps from one scenario to the next without offering an overarching narrative. However, what's clear is that the song is about trying to connect with someone else despite the emotional scars that each person carries within themselves. The opening lyrics, "Scar tissue that I wish you saw / Sarcastic mister know it all," introduce this theme of hiding one's emotional damage behind a facade of cynicism. The next lines, "Close your eyes and I'll kiss you 'cause / With the birds I'll share," suggest that the singer wants to share a moment of intimacy with this other person, as a way of transcending the pain they each carry.
The chorus, "With the birds I'll share / This lonely view," seems to reflect a desire for companionship in a world that can feel isolating and bleak. The imagery of sharing a view with birds emphasizes the idea of being high up, alone, and looking out upon a vast, empty expanse. The second verse is more sexually charged than the first, with the lines "Push me up against the wall / Young Kentucky girl in a push-up bra / Fallin' all over myself." This suggests the kind of passionate encounter the singer is envisioning, even as he acknowledges that it may be fueled, in part, by a desire to escape his own pain. The third verse features grittier, more violent imagery, with a character who's bleeding in a bathroom stall and saying goodbye to their parents. Again, the chorus emphasizes the theme of loneliness and vulnerability.
Overall, "Scar Tissue" is a song about the difficulty of connection in a world that can feel alienating and cold. It's about the desperate need for human warmth and intimacy, even as we carry our own wounds and scars.
Line by Line Meaning
Scar tissue that I wish you saw
The emotional damage that I have experienced and carry with me is something that I wish you could see and understand.
Sarcastic mister know it all
The person who constantly acts like they know everything and isn't willing to listen to others.
Close your eyes and I'll kiss you 'cause
Being in the moment and enjoying the present, without worrying about anything else.
With the birds I'll share
This lonely view
The feeling of loneliness is something that I share with the birds who fly in the sky.
Push me up against the wall
The feeling of wanting to give into someone in a romantic moment and be physically intimate.
Young Kentucky girl in a push-up bra
The image of a young, attractive and potentially promiscuous woman.
Fallin' all over myself
To lick your heart and taste your health 'cause
The feeling of complete infatuation and desire to be with someone romantically, and wanting to take care of them and have them reciprocate those feelings.
Blood loss in a bathroom stall
Southern girl with a scarlet drawl
Wave good-bye to ma and pa 'cause
Living a reckless and self-destructive lifestyle that harms both myself and those who care about me, and the willingness to leave them behind.
Soft spoken with a broken jaw
Being in a physically or emotionally vulnerable state, but still willing to speak up and be heard.
Step outside but not to brawl in
Autumn's sweet we call it fall
I'll make it to the moon if I have to crawl and
The determination to succeed and get through hard times, even when it feels like the odds are stacked against me.
Contributed by Sydney O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@TheCarlylePodcast
My Dad’s funeral song. Today is his 58th birthday, the first without him. I miss you Dad.
@cerealkilla8930
I'm sorry. My Dad was 56. I'd like to say it gets easier but the truth is I just learned to live with it. Smile when you can and remember him fondly. ❤
@itssjp1458
This song came on, on my way home from work. RIP life is short.
@xacto5208
Im sorry bro he's smiling down
@przemekkropornicki8845
RIP
In God we trust.
Day by Day is closer. You will see your father again. For ages.
Only LOVE is important :)
@ryankelly9543
Hope your doing well he would be proud of you
@cocoxo7873
I honestly think this may be the greatest Red Hot Chili Peppers song of all time. Obviously they have plenty of other insanely good songs, but there's just something special about Scar Tissue. The lyrics, the guitar solos (especially the last one), the meaning behind this song (knowing everything the band went through right before this time). It's beautiful.
@ToWnHeAdAARON123
What did they go through?
@malcolmboyd3467
+LingLing MemeKing Alot if drugs. Especially john who nearly died
@WBOWLER126
Malcolm Boyd Not to mention Hillel who DID die.