Red Hot Chili Peppers – Give It Away

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Send "Give It Away" Ringtone to Cell

What I've got you've got to give it to your mama
What I've got you've got to give it to your papa
What I've got you've got to give it to your daughter
You do a little dance and then you drink a little water

What I've got you've got to get it put it in you
What I've got you've got to get it put it in you
What I've got you've got to get it put it in you
Reeling with the feeling don't stop continue

Realize I don't want to be a miser
Confide w/sly you'll be the wiser
Young blood is the lovin' upriser
How come everybody wanna keep it like the kaiser

[chorus]
Give it away give it away give it away give it away
now x 3
I can't tell if I'm a kingpin or a pauper

Greedy little people in a sea of distress
Keep your more to receive your less
Unimpressed by material excess
Love is free love me say hell yes

I'm a low brow but I rock a little know how
No time for the piggies or the hoosegow
Get smart get down with the pow wow
Never been a better time than right now

Bob Marley poet and a prophet
Bob Marley taught me how to off it
Bob Marley walkin' like he talk it
Goodness me can't you see I'm gonna cough it

(chorus)

Lucky me swimmin' in my ability
Dancin' down on life with agility
Come and drink it up from my fertility
Blessed with a bucket of lucky mobility

My mom I love her 'cause she love me
Long gone are the times when she scrub me
Feelin' good my brother gonna hug me
Drink my juice young love chug-a-lug me

There's a river born to be a giver
Keep you warm won't let you shiver
His heart is never gonna wither
Come on everybody time to deliver

(chorus)

(repeat first verse)

Send "Give It Away" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by shut

Track duration: 04:44


Give It Away song meanings
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121 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:love
    Flag jefnoon March 04, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:In the book Scar Tissue, Anthony say's this song was inspired by one of his friends who gave him a jacket that he admired. She just gave it to him because she was cool like that. The song is about sharing ourselves with others, loving the people around us. It's the hippie kind of ideal that Love is free love me say hell yes! "What I got you got to get it put it in you" is referring to the peace & love he is feeling. The Bob Marley reference is about Anthony trying to 'couch' up the same kind of compassion and love Marley sang about. ♫
    Flag mamashirlon June 23, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:At its base, this song is about a friend of AK's who gave him an expensive leather jacket when he was a young junkie. He protested that it was a very expensive item for her to give to him, but she replied that nothing is worth anything unless you "give it away". He remembered this some years later when writing this song.
    Flag meghanfruon March 23, 2012   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:It s more about sex with no limits , not about love ...
    Marley s reference ... is that even Bob Marley Poet and Prophet had many known adventures with other women ... SO why Anthony, who is not really known for his prophecy should be ashamed of having sex and giving it ( juice love) away now ... He is also by the way trying to convince a virgin girl to sacrify her young blood .... Crazy guy !
    Flagged yheon January 03, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:In his book Anthony Kiedis said himself that its about giving things away to make yourself feel good. His girlfriend gives him this jacket that he really likes and she basically says take it I have a closet full of clothes and you like it I would like if you took it. So he took it and came up with this song because giving things away makes you feel happy. So contrary to the popular belief its not about sex.
    Flag RHCP4lifezon June 30, 2011   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:lol theres no way this song has a meaning its just gibberish but it sounds good
    Flagged JamzXIVon June 10, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:I understand that the last verse could be interpreted as a reference to River Phoenix, and that Anthony talks about that in Scar Tissue, but what I don't understand is that River Phoenix died on Halloween in 1993, and Blood Sugar Sex Magik was released in September of 1991. So I don't understand how there could be a direct reference to the death of Phoenix two years before he died.
    Flagged dmbgirl42on January 07, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:AK is at the top of his game on this freakin' great tune!
    Flag dopeon April 01, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:No! this song isn't specifically about love and sex.
    It's actually about being a giving person.
    I read that this song started out with them all just free styling on their instruments and Anthony came up with the "Give it away" part from when the singer of Nena (she sang 99 red balloons) gave him something of hers and she said something like "If you have something, why not give it to someone else and make their day?"
    Flag Lovetoyouon July 27, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The video to this is sick. You really gotta give it to them. They're a great band and quite diverse.
    Flag kmk_natashaon May 21, 2009   Link

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