Soul to Squeeze

"I got a bad disease Up from my brain is where I bleed"- psychologically and emotionally ill.

"Insanity it seems It's got me by my soul to squeeze Well all the love from me" its starting to make them feel numb. "all the dying trees I scream The angels in my dream They turn to demons of greed That's me"- they want to feel love but all thei good intentions turn bad

"Where I go I just don't know I got to, got to, gotta take it slow When I've found my piece of mind I'm gonna give you some of my good time" doesnt know if it will ever get better, but if it does their gonna give love to whoever gives it to them or whoever made them better.

"Today love smiled on me It took away my pain, said please I'll let your ride be free You gotta let it be" -something/someone made them feel loved, so their gonna give it back w/o expecting anything else.

"You're so polite indeed Well I got everything I need Oh make my days a breeze And take away my self destruction"-the love is all they need and it makes them stop behaving so destructively

"It's bitter baby and it's very sweet I'm on a rollercoaster but I'm on my feet Take me to the river lay me on your shore Well I'll be coming back baby I'll be coming back for more."-feeling loved, feeling numb is all mixed up and crazy and confusing.

"I could not forget but I will not endeavor Simple pleasures are more special but I won't regret it never" they wont forget how they were self destructive, but they wont try to be like that anymore, but still, they wont regret how they once were.

"Where I go I just don't know I might end up somewhere in Mexico When I find my piece of mind I'm gonna keep for the end of time" -once they get that piece of mind, they wont let it go.

Let me preface this by saying 1. I am not a person who perceives every song to be drug-related. I will be the first to say that a song is not about drugs. 2. I am an addict.

That being said, if I've ever heard a song about drugs, it's this one. However, though it is about drugs, it is also about God. The message of the song is hope and recovery.

I've got a bad disease But from my brain is where I bleed.

He is describing the disease of addiction and depression; they are both diseases, but of the mind and spirit rather than the body.

Insanity it seems Has got me by my soul to squeeze.

Insanity is a favorite term among the rooms of AA and NA. Addicts suffer from insanity because, no matter how badly they want to stop and no matter the consequences, they will continue to do drugs even after their family deserts them and all bridges have been burnt. The feeling of being controlled by the drugs grips the addict at the soul and squeezes until help is found or death comes.

Well all the love from thee With all the dying trees I scream.

His loved ones cannot help him, no matter how hard they try. He has "welled" all of the love they can muster by lying, manipulating, and stealing from them, taking advantage of their love for him. When they can't take anymore and he has no one to turn to, he "screams" (figuratively) in desperation, but cannot be heard, like the trees.

The angels in my dreams (yeah) Have turned to demons of greed that's me.

He is a good person at heart. While he once had faith and hope, the demon of addiction has invaded his very soul, turning him into a self-centered, selfish, greedy person; he now identifies himself as this person "that's me."

Where I go I just don't know I got to got to gotta take it slow.

Another popular slogan of AA/NA is "Easy does it" meaning that sobriety can take a long time to achieve, but one must be patient. It didn't take a week to become an addict, and it won't take a week to recover. As they say in the rooms, "Keep coming back." He doesn't know what his path will be, but he must trust in God and have faith.

When I find my peace of mind I'm gonna give you some of my good time.

When he eventually does find peace and serenity, he wants to share it with others. He wants to be the good-hearted person he knows lies deep inside, and he wants to be able to help others, which was impossible when he was in the grips of addiction. He knows that until he does find that peace over his inner conflict, he cannot be very effective at helping others.

Today love smiled on me. It took away my pain said, "Please, Oh let your ride be free. You gotta let it be." oh yeah

Today he finally felt the feeling of love. While he was using, he could never feel love because the drugs robbed him of that ability. Love, which I believe to be a metaphor for God, asked him to let himself be free of the bondage of addiction for the ride: his life. God said "You gotta let it be," because the addict is known to get caught up in trying to change things that are out of his control, and this is often the downfall into relapse.

Oh, so polite indeed Well I got everything I need.

He is now a decent person and respects others. Since he has allowed God into his life, God has taken care of him and, although he may not get everything he wants, he gets everything he needs.

"Oh make my days a breeze And take away my self-destruction."

This sounds like a prayer. He is asking for peace in his life and to be free of the chaos that used to plague him. This peace will take away his self-destruction, meaning his obsession with his chemical of choice and his old self-defeating ways.

It's bitter baby, And it's very sweet. I'm on a rollercoaster, but I'm on my feet.

He is describing life, which brings ups and downs for everyone, but he is now "on his feet" meaning he is recovered from his dilemma and is no longer crippled by drugs.

Take me to the river, Let me on your shore. I'll be coming back baby, I'll be coming back for more.

He can now appreciate God's creation, nature, for its beauty; when he was using he could not appreciate anything, let alone a river. Now that he has experienced this feeling of true happiness, he will not abandon God, but will come back for more.

I could not forget But I will not endeavor

He still craves drugs once in a while, he cannot forget the feelings of euphoria he felt while high. However, he will not make the mistake of using again, because he knows it will result in doom.

Simple pleasures aren't as special But I won't regret it never.

The drugs have somewhat damaged his ability to fully enjoy the simple things in life, like walking down the street and breathing fresh air, but he does not regret his experiences with drugs, because without going through hell and experiencing the worst, he could not have been saved and find God and his inner peace.

Where I go I just don't know I might end up somewhere in Mexico.

Again, he does not know where the road of life will take him, but he accepts that it is God's will and he is happy wherever it may be.

When I find my peace of mind I'm gonna keep it for the end of time.

He cherishes his peace of mind, and he refuses to give it up by picking up drugs again. He never wants to feel like he felt in addiction again.

This is my absolute favourite song. It holds real meaning for me. I had a siezure last year and for a while I was living with the possibility that it might have been caused by a brain tumour - thank god it turned out to be something manageable (epilepsy). I think this is a beautiful song. I thought it was about depression and feeling like you were worthless and that life was wasted on you, because no one ever showed you how special and infinitely beautiful you are, and then love came and the world became a place of exploration, and something you could contribute to because someone believed you have something special to offer. AntipsychoStar's interpretation also makes a lot of sense though.

In so many words, its about explaining that you can't commit yourself to your "Soul to Squeeze", because first you need take a personal journet to clear your head (the bleeding is a metaphor for insanity, not literal), and vanquish some demons making you have some self destructive habits. Then you'll be ready to share your peace of mind and be coming all over her shores.

anthony is really sad . he used to be nice but all the evil arould him has takin over and now too is evil

I love this song it has a great background guitar riff, and as a bassist myself i have to say that the wonderful melodic bassline takes center stage on this one. one of my favorite chili peppers songs. singing out now: Jam

All of these meanings are incorrect. Allot of red hot chili pepper songs are about heroin addiction. Anthony was addicted to dope for quite some time. "I've got a bad disease But from my brain is where I bleed. Insanity it seems Has got me by my soul to squeeze." The disease is addiction and its becoming insane how he needs the drug more and more. " Well all the love from thee With all the dying trees I scream. The angels in my dreams (yeah) Have turned to demons of greed that's mean." All the love he felt for the high in the beginning has turned to greed as he does whatever it takes to catch his next fix. Maybe taking from loved ones. "It's bitter baby, And it's very sweet. I'm on a rollercoaster, but I'm on my feet. Take me to the river, Let me on your shore. I'll be coming back baby, I'll be coming back for more." When you shoot dope, the taste in the back of your throat is bitter, but its sweet because it takes away all of his problems. Hes on a rollercoaster, a.k.a. addiction, and he'll be "coming back" to his dealer to cop later. "I could not forget But I will not endeavor Simple pleasures aren't as special But I wont regret it never." He won't forget the bliss of heroin and although he cannot help himself he still does not regret the high.

I think this song is about Hillel's death and life in general. After he heard the bad news Anthony went to Mexico for few weeks because he was devastated. He hasn't been to his funeral or visited his grave long time after that. "Where I go I just don't know I might end up somewhere in Mexico. When I find my piece of mind I'm gonna keep you for the end of time."

My opinion is that he's describing his feelings of sadness and pain at the begining of the song. "I've got a bad disease But from my brain is where I bleed. Insanity it seems Has got me by my soul to squeeze. Well all the love from thee With all the dying trees I scream. The angels in my dreams (yeah) Have turned to demons of greed that's mean."

The thing is that Anthony was addict too and if he doesn't stop with the bad habit he will probably end up like his friend. He knew that Hillel's looking at him right now and that he wants Anthony to stop using drugs and take care of himself. But we know and he knows that's not easy at all. "Oh make my days a breeze And take away my self destruction."

So he's describing some feelings related to that: "It's bitter baby, And it's very sweet. I'm on a rollercoaster, but I'm on my feet. Take me to the river, Let me on your shore. I'll be coming back baby, I'll be coming back for more."

There were some good moments because Anthony was in love when everything with Hillel happened. He was in Mexico with his girlfriend Ione and he loved her more than anything. She helped him during bad times and in one moment eveything was much easier because of her: "Today love smiled on me. It took away my pain say please All that you had to free You gotta let it be oh yeah."

In chorus he had to face the reality after coming back from Mexico. He's lost right now, he has drug problems, he lost his best friend and everything else... but he wants find himself, get better and get sober because of Hillel and other people who loves him. Give them some of his good time. "Where I go I just don't know I got to got to gotta take it slow. When I find my piece of mind I'm gonna give you some of my good time."

I finished reading Anthony's autobiography "Scar Tissue" few days ago and in one part at the end of the book he was saying something about regreting. He said he wouldn't change a thing about his life because this life made him person who's he today. "I could not forget But I will not endeavor Simple pleasures aren't as special But I won't regret it never. "

This is really beautiful and emotional song!

Red Hot Chili Peppers best song ever!! I highly recommend the A Capella version of this song. IT'S SWEEEEEET.

anthony wrote beautiful lyrics, like otherside, under the bridge, i could have lied, etc. but this is special, i love it