Throw away your television
Time to make this clean decision
Master waits for it's collision now
It's a repeat of a story told
It's a repeat and it's getting old

Throw away your television
Make a break big intermission
Recreate your super vision now
It's a repeat of a story told
It's a repeat and it's getting old

Chorus:
Renegades with fancy gauges
Slay the plague for it's contagious
Pull the plug and take the stages
Throw away your television now

Throw away your television
Take the noose off your ambition
Reinvent your intuition now
It's a repeat of a story told
It's a repeat and it's getting old

(Chorus)

Throw away your television
Salivate to repetition
Levitate this ill condition now
It's a repeat



Lyrics submitted by on_a_plain_11

Track duration: 03:45


Throw Away Your Television song meanings
Add your thoughts

54 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment:maverickdvo, i love you for mentioning pink floyd's lack of sellout. rhcp, great band. this song is amazing, great message.
    Flag jacksoncanneryon May 13, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think that this song is about how Kiedis and Frusciante went through the their addictions to heroin and cocaine and how they were able to eventually "throw it away". So, to me television is a metaphorical word for drugs, so then replace all the "televisions" with "drugs" and that's what I think it means. It means throwing away your drug uses and then lapsed over with starting a new life (thanks joetheboy, for that theory). With my lyrical formula here would the first verse and then my translation of it.

    "Throw away your drugs," (Start over your life, by simply excluding or throwing away your drugs)
    "Make this clean decision," (Make the decision so that you and your life will become clean)
    "Master waits for it's collision now," (He's prepared for the addiction to pull him back)
    "It's a story told," (This drug problem has been a constant hype of him)
    "It's a story growing old," (The drug story is beginning to bug him and it is settling opinions with the public on him)

    So that is my way of seeing it. =)

    Flag Baby Gnomeon December 23, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think that television in this case is a metaphor for drugs. The opening lyrics would make sense replacing each world with television to drugs:
    "Throw away your drugs,"
    "Make this clean decision."

    And he's saying to make the decision to be clean.

    Just a thought! Great song too.
    Flag Baby Gnomeon December 23, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Stop doing the same things over again , like getting high and expecting different results as its a repeat (the insanity of addiction), pull the plug and work the stages means ,, stop acting on that repeated belief and work "the steps/program" ;) its all about recovery
    Flag daveygabcon April 16, 2008   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:Same exact meaning as Incubus's "Idiot box", which was released 5 years earlier. I guess the Chili Peppers took a page out of Incubus's book on this one, instead of the other way around like most people think.
    Flag incubus is amazingon December 09, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"Throw away your television
    Time to make this clean decision
    Master waits for it's collision now
    It's a repeat of a story told
    It's a repeat and it's getting old"

    stop replaying the same old crap and believing the insanity of addiction ,, television could be also seen as video recorder ,, replaying the same old tapes in your head
    Flag daveygabcon August 21, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:anyone seen this live at slane castle?? its amazin. The bit at the end sounds like a song my band wrote!! chuffed!
    x
    Flag Chad_Is_Godon June 03, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is pretty simple. when i heard it i though of this-

    anthony and his g/f are watching tv on a regular lonley saturday night. and they see something, (the girl hes dating is a high profile hollywood actress) and so they see on like, access Hollywood, or E! or some station like that, and they see that there talking about her. and the tabloids are trashing her becasue shes too skinny...(you know the way hollywood and the tabloids are these days...) and so she gets extremely upset. Anthony writes a song. and this is what he comes up with. "Throw away your televison..time to make this clean decsion.." "Take the noose off your ambition...." that makes perfect sense to what im trying to get at. shes a model/actress whatever and hes saying get a new ambition or job. "and its getting old" thats very true. hes saying all this shit in hollywood is getting old and im tired of it. throw away your television and there wont be a problem. anyone agree ??
    Flag nicolelovesrhcpon March 20, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I hit the wrong button.Anyway I was going to say as far as Anthony doing massive amounts of drugs,have you ever once heard him say that doing drugs was ok?No.In fact,in the early stages of RHCP he once talked to the audience about staying away from drugs and he even tried to get Hillel to get out of it.So it isn't about doing what Anthony did,in my opinion he's just saying to get out there and live your life instead of staying in front of the television.Simple as that.
    Flag Scar_Tissue11on January 15, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Maybe so,but at least he was being creative.He still wasn't sitting in front of the tv all the time.Besides,as far as
    Flag Scar_Tissue11on January 15, 2007   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

Back to top
explain