Under the Bridge

In a recent Rolling Stone article, the infamous David Fricke interviewed "guitar gods," the top three being John Mayer, Derek Trucks, and John Frusciante.

In my opinion, it's all about John.

What I found the most interesting was John's brief commentary on Jimi Hendrix (an influence to John) and creating "Under the Bridge."

John says, "'Under the Bridge' was an attempt to do a song in the style of Jimi Hendrix's prettier songs--'Castles Made of Sand,' 'Bold as Love.'"

He goes further into how he actually came up with writing the music behind the lyrics created by Anthony Kiedis.

"Castles Made of Sand" might be one my favorite songs, as it offers a smooth, melodic beat accompanied by such strong lyrics, eventually breaking out into an incredible guitar solo that makes you feel an entirely different feeling from the beginning of the song. "Under the Bridge," similarly, takes me through different emotions from the calming, steady beat, and repititious chorus, then delivering into a heavier elevation, a culmination of energy with the joining of voices singing strong together. Somehow we can all relate to these shifts in emotion, shifts in sounds, or just simple lines in the lyrics. Both songs are legendary.

When I think of "Under the Bridge," I recall a moment from Anthony Kiedis' autobiography Scar Tissue. The vocal notes required of Anthony to sing for that song are the lowest of any song they have ever recorded. Anthony struggled for weeks, continuously trying to record the track, but he simply has a higher voice than the written notes. After many attempts, they finally recorded the track. "Under the Bridge" became an instant hit, climbing the charts to reach single-status, a song that would now be required of them to play while on tour. Anthony recalls getting stage freight (something foreign to his outgoing personality), for he feared singing the low notes to a live audience on the spot. When his cue to begin singing came, he froze--but the audience chimed in, singing all the words instead of him. Anthony played it cool and let the audience take the lead. I can't imagine the incredible feeling that artists must feel when an audience can recite your entire song's lyrics back to you.

Watch the music video; it's very cool. Check out young Anthony with long hair.

Sometimes I feel
Like I dont have a partner
Sometimes I feel
Like my only friend
Is the city I live in
The city of angel
Lonely as I am
Together we cry

I drive on her streets
cause shes my companion
I walk through her hills
cause she knows who I am
She sees my good deeds
And she kisses me windy
I never worry
Now that is a lie

I dont ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way

Its hard to believe
That theres nobody out there
Its hard to believe
That Im all alone
At least I have her love
The city she loves me
Lonely as I am
Together we cry

I dont ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way

Under the bridge downtown
Is where I drew some blood
Under the bridge downtown
I could not get enough
Under the bridge downtown
Forgot about my love
Under the bridge downtown
I gave my life away