Under the Bridge
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“Under the Bridge” is a song by popular rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers. More than two decades into the California bands career, it remains their most successful U.S. hit single, having reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1992. Released on their 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik, the music video won an MTV Video Music Award and propelled the band to stardom.
“Under the Bridge” is an introspective reflection on Anthony Kiedis drug habit. The title comes from the song lyric, “Under the bridge downtown/Is where I drew some blood,” reportedly referring to an experience in which Kiedis used drugs under a bridge with a member of a Mexican gang, although Kiedis himself refuses to reveal the exact location. The song almost did not make the album, because the lyrics and nature of the song made Kiedis reluctant to show it to producer Rick Rubin and also to record it. It has been noted that the bridge shown in the “Under the Bridge” video is the same one shown in the “By the Way” video. Some fans believe that the man in the taxi that took him to the bridge was portrayed as a drug dealer trying to get him back into drugs by stirring up old memories from under the bridge.
“Under the Bridge” originally reached #26 in the United Kingdom; a re-issue in 1994 reached #13. The song became a hit again in 1998, when U.K. girl group All Saints re-recorded it for their debut album and released it as a double-“A”-side with their cover of Patti LaBelles “Lady Marmalade,” reaching #1 on the U.K. charts. Notably, the All Saints cover of “Under the Bridge” left out the final verse, which includes the only drug references in the song – likely done to maintain the girl groups “clean” image.
Guitarist John Frusciantes playing is one of “Under the Bridge”s most distinctive elements, recalling Jimi Hendrixs “Little Wing”; an iconic image from the video features Frusciante playing the signature melody on a turquoise-colored Fender Jaguar in the desert, wearing a ski cap. The songs coda features a mass of high-pitched background vocals, sung by a church choir containing Frusciantes mother. (Frusciante himself is famed for providing high, keening background vocals on a number of Chili Peppers songs.)
The song is always a staple in most of their concerts ever since its release,