Californication

The song reached #69 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA, and #16 on the UK charts, and hit #1 on both US Modern Tracks and US Mainstream Rock Tracks. It is notable for its sparse combination of guitar and bass notes in the intro, and its unique music video. The song is mainly about the dark side of Hollywood. The song opens to the "Psychic spies from China try to steal your mind's elation." Kiedis says in his book Scar Tissue that he got the inspiration for the lyric from when he was in New Zealand and he heard a woman on the street ranting about there being psychic spies in China. The track also makes references to the decline in western society, and other topics such as pornography and plastic surgery and even some pop culture references including Star Wars ("Alderaan's not far away"), Star Trek, ("Space may be the final frontier, but it's made in a Hollywood basement"), Celebrity Skin magazine ("Celebrity Skin is this your chin", although this could also be a reference to Hole's song, "Celebrity Skin"), and Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain ("Cobain can you hear the spheres"). The line "teenage bride with a baby inside" refers to the fictional character Dani California, who is also mentioned in later songs By the Way and the eponymous Dani California. The song's riff closely resembles the song "Elevation" off of "Marquee Moon" by Television. Guitarist John Frusciante exclusivlely recorded this song and Otherside with a vintage Gretsch White Falcon hollow body electric guitar, he also played these songs live with the White Falcon until 2007 when he retired it for one of his vintage Fender Stratocasters. In Kiedis' book, "Scar Tissue", Kiedis reveals that the band had enormous difficulty in putting the song together, and didn't think it would even make it on the album, as the lyrics had been written, but they couldn't figure out how the song should be played, and to what riffs. Kiedis then explains that Frusciante walked into the recording studio one day, and exclaimed that he had "figured it out". He then played the song as he visualised it, and it went from being a song that could have been an afterthought, to Lyrics: Psychic spies from China Try to steal your mind's elation Little girls from Sweden Dream of silver screen quotations And if you want these kind of dreams It's Californication It's the edge of the world And all of western civilization The sun may rise in the East At least it settles in the final location It's understood that Hollywood sells Californication Pay your surgeon very well To break the spell of aging Celebrity skin is this your chin Or is that war your waging [Chorus:] First born unicorn Hard core soft porn Dream of Californication Dream of Californication Marry me girl be my fairy to the world Be my very own constellation A teenage bride with a baby inside Getting high on information And buy me a star on the boulevard It's Californication Space may be the final frontier But it's made in a Hollywood basement Cobain can you hear the spheres Singing songs off station to station And Alderon's not far away It's Californication Born and raised by those who praise Control of population everybody's been there and I don't mean on vacation [Chorus] Destruction leads to a very rough road But it also breeds creation And earthquakes are to a girl's guitar They're just another good vibration And tidal waves couldn't save the world From Californication Pay your surgeon very well To break the spell of aging Sicker than the rest There is no test But this is what you're craving

[Verse 1] Psychic spies from China try to steal your mind's elation And little girls from Sweden dream of silver-screen quotation And if you want these kind of dreams, it's Californication [Verse 2] It's the edge of the world and all of Western civilization The sun may rise in the East, at least it settled in a final location It's understood that Hollywood sells Californication [Bridge] Pay your surgeon very well to break the spell of aging Celebrity skin: is this your chin or is that war you're waging? [Pre-Chorus] First born unicorn Hardcore soft porn [Chorus] Dream of Californication Dream of Californication Dream of Californication Dream of Californication [Verse 3] Marry me, girl, be my fairy to the world, be my very own constellation A teenage bride with a baby inside getting high on information And buy me a star on the boulevard, it's Californication [Verse 4] Space may be the final frontier but it's made in a Hollywood basement And Cobain, can you hear the spheres singing songs off Station to Station? And Alderaan's not far away, it's Californication [Bridge] Born and raised by those who praise control of population Well, everybody's been there, and I don't mean on vacation [Pre-Chorus] First born unicorn Hardcore soft porn [Chorus] Dream of Californication Dream of Californication Dream of Californication Dream of Californication [Guitar Solo] [Verse 5] Destruction leads to a very rough road but it also breeds creation And earthquakes are to a girl's guitar, they're just another good vibration And tidal waves couldn't save the world from Californication [Bridge] Pay your surgeon very well to break the spell of aging Sicker than the rest, there is no test, but this is what you're craving [Pre-Chorus] First born unicorn Hardcore soft porn [Chorus] Dream of Californication Dream of Californication Dream of Californication Dream of Californication