In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Hoo, Lord
Well, I'm gonna ride a saber tooth horse through the Hollywood hills
The farther west, the farther out
Yeah, that's the way I feel
Well, I dig the dirt an' I dig the dust I barbecue my meals
Ridin' wild on a paisley dragon through the Hollywood hills, yeah
Huh, Hollywood hills
Well, I'm gonna ride a saber tooth horse through the Hollywood hills
Just don't show me anything 'cause that's the way I feel
Well, I dig the dirt an' I dig the dust
I barbecue my meals
Ridin' wild on a paisley dragon through the Hollywood hills, yeah
Huh, Hollywood hills
Passion dripping from the coyote's eyes
He can taste his blood
An' blood never lies pale face die
True men don't kill coyotes
True men don't kill coyotes
Well, I'm gonna ride a saber tooth horse through the Hollywood hills
The farther west, the farther out yeah, that's the way I feel
Well, I dig the dirt an' I dig the dust I barbecue my meals
Ridin' wild on a paisley dragon through the Hollywood hills, yeah
Huh, Hollywood hills
Passion dripping from the coyote's eyes
He can taste his blood
An' blood never lies pale face die
True men don't kill coyotes
True men don't
Well, I'm gonna ride a saber tooth horse Through the Hollywood hills
Just don't tell me anything 'cause that's the way I feel
Well, I dig the dirt an' I dig the dust I barbecue my meals
Ridin' wild on a paisley dragon Through the Hollywood hills, yeah
Huh, Hollywood hills
Passion dripping from the coyote's eyes
He can taste his blood
An' blood never lies pale face die
True men don't kill coyotes
True men don't
True men don't kill coyotes
True men don't
True men don't kill coyotes
True men don't
Well, I'm gonna ride a saber tooth horse through the Hollywood hills
The farther west, the farther out
Yeah, that's the way I feel
Well, I dig the dirt an' I dig the dust I barbecue my meals
Ridin' wild on a paisley dragon through the Hollywood hills, yeah
Huh, Hollywood hills
Well, I'm gonna ride a saber tooth horse through the Hollywood hills
Just don't show me anything 'cause that's the way I feel
Well, I dig the dirt an' I dig the dust
I barbecue my meals
Ridin' wild on a paisley dragon through the Hollywood hills, yeah
Huh, Hollywood hills
Passion dripping from the coyote's eyes
He can taste his blood
An' blood never lies pale face die
True men don't kill coyotes
True men don't kill coyotes
Well, I'm gonna ride a saber tooth horse through the Hollywood hills
The farther west, the farther out yeah, that's the way I feel
Well, I dig the dirt an' I dig the dust I barbecue my meals
Ridin' wild on a paisley dragon through the Hollywood hills, yeah
Huh, Hollywood hills
Passion dripping from the coyote's eyes
He can taste his blood
An' blood never lies pale face die
True men don't kill coyotes
True men don't
Well, I'm gonna ride a saber tooth horse Through the Hollywood hills
Just don't tell me anything 'cause that's the way I feel
Well, I dig the dirt an' I dig the dust I barbecue my meals
Ridin' wild on a paisley dragon Through the Hollywood hills, yeah
Huh, Hollywood hills
Passion dripping from the coyote's eyes
He can taste his blood
An' blood never lies pale face die
True men don't kill coyotes
True men don't
True men don't kill coyotes
True men don't
True men don't kill coyotes
True men don't
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never heard it but chilli peppers rule! so it must be good, right?
Theres obviously the struggle between native americans and white settlers (pale face die), but i think its also about the struggle to stay, for want of a better word, normal, while everything becomes the same (Hollywood), and the bands decision not to buy into the Hollywood scene (ride... THROUGH the Hollywood Hills)
@rock_bunny <br /> You are right a bit, but lacking some major detail....<br /> <br /> 14 YEARS AND I'VE RISEN FROM THE DEAD TO TELL YOU WHAT THIS SONG MEANS IN FULL.<br /> <br /> IN THE 1980's (til today), HEROIN ADDICTS HUNG IN THE HILLS. "Riding the dragon" is a colloquial phrase that means shooting dope (in this case, the PAISLEY (white skinned/scaled) dragon... Paisley means pure white... Dragon, in reference to China and the related phrase "chasing the dragon", which is to suck the escaping fumes of smoke that rise when heating dope on tin foil or a plate... The ball or little mound of powdered dope heats up and melts... Because it is hot, it has nearly no viscosity, so it moves like a bead of water, and will create trails of smoke resemblant of a "dragon's tail"... In addition, CHINA WHITE heroin is the whitest of the paisley dragons... To ride it is to feel the drug course through ones veins... Riding the dragon, one basically can't dismount... Once it goes in, it starts taking over... Chasing it is one step away, shorter lasting, and people can likely exert a greater control over it...<br /> <br /> So, we've got the fucking paisley dragon part covered... What about the sabertooth fucking horse?<br /> <br /> Well, smack is so strong that one sniff of it, one light of it, one shot of it, will put one in a daze as if they've drunk a full pint of whiskey... Or for the liars, one fifth.<br /> <br /> He equated it to "riding a sabertooth horse", because heroin makes people have opiate like dreams... So he starts the song with "HOO! LORD!", describing the rush he gets right after injection and the sudden ability of his mind to travel anywhere in space, to any fantasy...<br /> <br /> REAL MEN DON'T KILL COYOTES... Literally. The starving heroin junkies were LITERALLY EATING coyotes... and at the same time, they became the wild coyotes themselves, "Passion dripping from the coyote's eyes", perhaps an unintentional double-entendra.<br /> "He can taste his blood<br /> An' blood never lies pale face die." Right, they've infiltrated the hills, and the coyotes were sad, killed, displaced, with a bunch of heroin addict piece of shit Californians.<br /> <br /> Yes, you got thing, a hint to the Native Americans... but it is the Native in Kiedis being the only reason he summons or speaks for the Indians... He carries their spirit. Yes, to never venture into the hills but go under the bridge. The sabertooth his envisionment of the animal that could gobble up those junkies... while shooting dope himeself... That's Hollywood. It's a shit town overall.
this is a sweet ass song. i love the intro. and the part where he says "and blood never lies"... but yeah. thank you rhcp for making such awesome music. <3<3<3
kul song about anthony being part native american.
Where did you see the video cause i can't find it anywhere on the Internent??
this song is obviously saying not to kill coyotes, or hunt any animals. ired somewhere that flea is an enviromentalist, so that could be one reason 4 this song. anthony kiedes is half native american, so that too could also be a reason, and i saw an interview somewhere and flea sed that him and anthony were at a cafe when anthony randomly sed "if you shoot me i'll fall all oakey, but true men don't kill coyotes". i no that sounds dumb but i remember hearing it on an interview
Anthony wanted their first album to be named after this song, but their label wanted it to be called The Red Hot Chili Peppers. :( poor swan, sorry they didn't let you have your way, but hey that's why you can do whatever the fuck you please now!
ha i love this song so cool and cat chy the video for it is hilarious its like so cool and they are soo crazy... iwant some of that paint they have and yeh the songs pretty darn good, i really love the bass line
I know there are some interpretations about native Americans, primarily through the line 'Pale face die.'
But for me, this is a song about a man who wants to get out of the artificial life one might encounter in Hollywood. He wants to get back to the roots: Dig the dust and do barbeques in the hills.
But he seems delusional. Maybe he took some drugs because he's still not in the vast lands. He's just talking about his plans while still being stuck in his old lifestyle. After all, he wants to ride a saber tooth horse or a paisley dragon.
He's looking for the ultimate encounter of being eye to eye with a coyote hoping that this will make him a true man. But it's weird, and I think it's just a man talking big without really pulling through.
this song is amazing and catchy. its all about this incredible fantasy and the battle between native americans and white settlers "pale face die" the red hot chili peppers just rock and we'll leave it at that
this is such a classic songs, so good i say. The definate best of that album