10 Songs You're Not Supposed To Understand
7. Give It Away - The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Only on rarest occasion do Red Hot Chili Peppers' songs focus on the lyrics. For as much as songs like "Knock Me Down" or "Otherside" have some heartbreaking moments on the lyric sheet, the band was always trying to get you into a groove rather than make you think too hard. They could tug on the heartstrings when they wanted, but you aren't really going to be seeing too much of that on "Give It Away."
That is, if you can even decipher the lyrics, given Anthony Kiedis' unique style of sing-rapping. Like most of the Peppers' funk jams, there are some sexual euphemisms sprinkled here and there, but it's hard to keep track of Kiedis' agenda while still trying to figure out "what I got you got to give it your mama/papa/daughter." It doesn't really help matters when Kiedis starts summoning the energy of Bob Marley and talking about getting down with the pow wow.
Though a lot of the lyric sheet may seem like gibberish, it feels absolutely magical when paired with Flea's bass and John Frusciante's in-the-pocket guitar work. There are probably still skeptics trying to figure out the "it" that we're supposed to be giving away, but if you're seriously hung up on the lyrics, you might be listening for the wrong reasons.